Tragedies are not normally inevitable. They come out of nowhere. But when it comes to that of the deadly fire in Nanjing of late, a growing body of evidence is pointing to it being a case of something like this was going to happen eventually.
15 people died and as many as 44 were hospitalised after the fire in Building 6 of Mingshang Xiyuan Community of Yuhuatai District in Nanjing erupted during the night of 23 February. The incident hit the headlines worldwide, being reported by the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and many more.
The deadly fire was the result of e-bikes charging on an upper floor designated as approved, violating regulations. Residents have said they have been concerned about the possibility of fire for some time.
Many buildings within Mingshang Xiyuan have floors without complete external walls, which were originally used for residents’ fitness and leisure. However, after e-bikes were banned from parking in corridors in 2019, these floors became their parking and charging point. Prior to the February fire, as many as 180 e-bikes were found to have been parked in the building’s such space.
But fire, as it turns out, was not just a possibility. A writer for this very publication yesterday revealed that he used to live in the same apartment complex, in the building opposite where last month’s deadly blaze took place. He reported that circa. 2017, a fire broke out in his building whereby the entire lobby was literally destroyed.
Meanwhile, a resident in Building 2 of the Community spoke with local media, saying that a fire accident occurred there in 2019. That interviewee commented, “The safety risks are too great”.
Today, Nanjing is feeling the brunt of measures taken by authorities in the wake of the fire intended to reduce the possibility of another deadly incident.
Many major residential communities across the city have placed megaphones at their entrances which play a 10 second announcement, thereafter at 5-second intervals, urging residents not to take their e-bikes home to charge. The announcements play all day, every day, and well in to the evening hours.
Meanwhile, “no e-bike” stickers have also been placed in lifts far and wide, while security guards were yesterday seen taking away e-bikes which were partially blocking apartment building doorways before continuing their patrol.
Nanjing’s Fire Safety Committee has also weighed in, releasing a letter to the general public on 29 February, as The Paper reported. Therein, among the 10-point measures for fire-safety management is that granting any interested party the right to dissuade anyone who brings an e-bike or its battery into a lift.
Some such measures have also been extending beyond Nanjing’s City limits.
Up north in Lianyungang, on 6 March, that City’s fire-protection department took to destroying unqualified fire extinguishers, fire-proof doors and evacuation signs to remove their access to the market.
Elsewhere, law enforcement officers in Suzhou have been doing the rounds checking on e-bike sales outlets for non compliance with the “Technical Safety Specifications for Electric Bicycle Safety”, especially with regard to the tampering of electric motors and batteries.
In Nantong, just as in Nanjing, those automated announcements are also being heard, a local foreign resident confirmed for The Nanjinger. There too, posters have been plastered in conspicuous locations advising of best practices for e-bike charging.
How long the announcements will continue is anyone’s guess. That it is not forever will only serve to underline that cure, rather than prevention, won’t change the fact that February’s fire is a tragedy that did not have to happen.
