Three firefighters die battling Hanoi karaoke blaze

[ASEAN NOW News]

Firefighters use a fire ladder to approach a blaze that broke out on the sixth floor of a karaoke parlor in Hanoi's Cau Giay District, August 1, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Chieu

 

Three firefighters died while trying to extinguish a fire that broke out at a 6-story karaoke parlor on Quan Hoa Street in Hanoi's Cau Giay District Monday afternoon.

 

According to VN Express, at 1 p.m., a fire broke out on the sixth floor of the Isis 231 karaoke parlor on Quan Hoa Street.

 

The building is about 3.5 m wide and more than 20 m long, with a billboard and an exit iron staircase outside.

 

Although the parlor has been temporarily closed for repairs, employees report to work every day.

 

Hundreds of officers were dispatched by the Rescue Information Center, along with dozens of firefighters and ladder trucks and water trucks.

 

The firefighters were divided into three teams, one of which entered the building through the main door to search for people and bring them out to safety.

 

Another team used the ladder truck up to break a small glass door on the side of the building as well as the corrugated iron roof. The third team kept spraying water in front of the building.

 

However, due to the building's closed structure and many soundproof devices that easily fire, the blaze grew stronger and stronger.

 

Smoke billowed up from the parlor's broken glass doors and gap in the roof.

 

At 3:28 p.m., authorities announced the deaths of three firefighters from the Cau Giay District Police's Fire Prevention and Fighting Team.

 

The three were identified as Dang Anh Quan, the captain, and two others, Do Duc Viet, and Nguyen Dinh Phuc.

 

They had reached the fourth floor when the ceiling collapsed on them. The three firefighters’ bodies were retrieved an hour later.

 

A section of Quan Hoa Street was closed off as the blaze was being fought.

 

Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Long, Vice Chairman of Hanoi City Le Hong Son and Major General Nguyen Anh Tuan, director of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department, visited the scene.

 

The fire was completely extinguished by 6:45 p.m., and firefighters and fire trucks were withdrawn.

An investigation has been launched into the tragedy.

 

Preliminary information is that the fire was started by a welding machine being used to repair the parlor.

 

In November 2016, a karaoke parlor on Tran Thai Tong Street in Hanoi's Cau Giay District had caught fire, killing 13 people. It took the authorities six hours to extinguish the fire and evacuate the victims.

 

Fire breaks out at a karaoke parlor on Quan Hoa Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi, August 1, 2022. Video by VnExpress/The Quynh

 

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