Luoyang Christmas fire

2000 fire in Luoyang, China

34°41′02″N 112°28′25″E / 34.683931°N 112.473680°E / 34.683931; 112.473680Also known as洛阳东都商厦“12·25”特大火灾TypeFireDeaths309Non-fatal injuries7

The Luoyang Christmas fire was a major fire that occurred in Luoyang, in China's Henan Province, on 25 December 2000, killing 309 people.^[1]

Background

Building

Dongdu Commercial Building was a commercial building, completed on 3 November 1990, then as Laocheng Mall. Prior to that, the site had mostly commercial slums and before that, it was the site of a Fire God temple.^[2] It was located on the busiest part of Zhongzhou Road.^[3] The building had four floors above ground and two floors below ground. The building had four stairwells, each in one corner of the building. Fire doors existed for below ground level 1, above ground levels 1, 2 and 3. The southwest, southeast stairwells were fitted with a steel gate between the third and fourth floors.^[4]

Below ground level 2 was occupied by a furniture store and also as goods storage by the Dennis department store, below ground level 1 to above ground level 2 were also used for retail by the department store. Level 3 was sparsely rented out to retailers. Level 4 contained the building managment on the southern and eastern side, a conference room on the northern side, a KTV club on the west side and the dance club in the centre.^[4]

Throughout the 1990s, four modification directives were given by the fire department.^[2]

Renovations

Due to mismanagment, the building owners had struggled to operate the building successfully. The contract to jointly operate the building with the Dennis department store was intended to improve the building's environment and make it more attractive to consumers. Renovations started in 6 November, trial operations started on 25 December and it was intended to officially open it on 28 December. To prepare for the opening, many employees of the stores worked overnight to prepare for stock.^[3]

Incident

On the night of the incident, over 400 people were celebrating Christmas in the dance club.^[4]

The fire, triggered by sparks from welding activity at the Dongdu building, broke out in the basement at 9:35 p.m. local time, trapping construction workers on the second and third floors.^[5] It was extinguished by 12:45 a.m Tuesday. Some 800 police officers and firefighters and 26 fire engines rushed to the scene after receiving the call.^[6]

A total of 309 people were killed in the fire: 174 females and 135 males. Among the dead were construction workers working on the second and third floors and nightclub patrons who were attending a gala celebration for Christmas Day at a dancing hall on the fourth floor.^[6]

Aftermath

An emergency meeting was held early Tuesday morning in the province and in the afternoon, Shi Wanpeng, vice-minister of the State Economic and Trade Commission, also arrived in Luoyang. To prevent similar accidents, the Ministry of Public Security released an urgent circular, asking local governments to spare no efforts to ensure safety during the New Year's Day and the Spring Festival holidays.^[6]

Virtually all nightclubs in Luoyang were closed in the aftermath of the fire, due to mass checks finding fire hazards in almost all of them.^[7] The building was repaired and reopened for business after the fire, however, very few tenants returned; nearby streets had also been impacted, with the area no longer being bustling. Fire sprinklers were partially installed, but funding ran out before the system was fitted to the entire building.^[2]

References

^ "China tries 23 over Christmas disco blaze". CNN. 13 August 2001. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c 张, 沉. ""12·25"洛阳人不会忘记——在东都商厦的耳闻目睹". 现代职亚安全. 2004 (12): 30–31.
^ ^a ^b 林, 凌锋. "小焊渣酿出惊世大祸——洛阳东都商厦大火原因有说法". 甘肃消防. 2001 (4): 15–16.
^ ^a ^b ^c Xi, Yong; Fu, Qin-Yong (2009). "某商厦火灾重构数值模拟研究" [Numerical simulation of a commercial building fire]. 建筑防火设计 (Fire Science and Technology) (in Chinese). 28 (2): 104–106.
^ "Christmas Day blaze kills at least 309 in central China". ABC News. 25 January 2000. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Big Fire in Luoyang Cleaned Up, 309 Suffocate". People's Daily. 27 December 2000. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
^ "庭审:揭开洛阳"12.25"火灾墨纱". 时代消防. 2001 (9): 30–34.