Three firefighters die rescuing people from Hanoi blaze

Three firefighters died Monday afternoon in a search and rescue operation launched after a fire broke out at a six-storey karaoke parlor in Cau Giay district, Hanoi.

The fire broke out at 1 p.m. on the sixth storey of a karaoke parlor at 231 Quan Hoa street, then spread to the roof and lower storeys.

The parlor, about 3.5 meters wide and more than 20 meters long, and tightly built with a billboard and an iron exit staircase outside. When the blaze occurred, the facility had been temporarily closed for repairs, with many workers turning up everyday.

The Rescue Information Center under Hanoi’s Police Department dispatched firefighters, firetrucks, fireladder trucks and even water trucks from an urban environmental company to the scene.

Due the closed design of the parlor and many inflammable soundproof devices, the fire got stronger and spread rapidly.

At 3:28 p.m., authorities announced that three firefighters had died. After getting eight people out, they had resumed their search inside the building. When they were on the fourth floor, the ceiling collapsed on them. Their bodies were retrieved an hour later.

The fire was put out by 6:45 p.m. The site remains cordoned off for investigation. Initial information is that the fire was sparked by welding being done as part of repairs to the building.

Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Long, Vice Chairman of Hanoi Le Hong Son and director of the Rescue and Fire Prevention Agency Nguyen Anh Tuan were at the scene to oversee the firefighting and rescue work.

Six years ago, in November, 2016, another karaoke parlor fire in Cau Giay district had killed 13 people.

The parlor on Tran Thai Tong street was a tube house, with a sealed design, no ventilation windows and a large billboard on the wall outside. It took firefighters six hours to put out the fire.