Reflections on the 4·14 fire accident in Xiangyang, Hubei

It is understood that the Centrino Star Network Club where the fire broke out rented a house from the hotel and renovated and built a shed by itself. Not only did the Internet cafe where the incident occurred not have fire-fighting facilities, it was still open at 6 a.m. on the day of the incident, which did not comply with the regulations in the "Regulations on the Management of Internet Access Service Business Places" that "the daily operating hours of Internet access service business locations are limited to 8:00 to 24:00." An official from the Xiangyang Municipal Government said that relevant departments had inspected the Internet cafe 17 times and fined it, but the Internet cafe had not been closed as required. Firefighters involved in the rescue said that in addition to those who were directly engulfed by the fire or died by jumping from the building, a large number of casualties were due to suffocation caused by smoke poisoning. The hotel rooms have fire escape facilities such as anti-fog masks and flashlights. But no one was found using it.

Netizens expressed doubts about the on-site rescue, saying that the fire fighters arrived at the scene but did not bring ladders and air mattresses, and that they received the fire alarm at 6:38 and only arrived at the scene at 7:15. (Regardless of the reason, it is a dereliction of duty if the fire department is slow to dispatch the police and fails to bring life-saving equipment such as ladders and air cushions. On the contrary, if the fire department dispatches the police sooner, the fire-fighting facilities and fire-fighting measures will be better. With more efforts, the loss of people's lives and property can be minimized. It can be seen that the fire in Xiangyang, Hubei Province exposed the shortcomings of firefighting.