How the house fire that killed four grandmother and grandchildren happened

Hanoi Fire broke out fiercely, some people used mini fire extinguishers, threw explosives into the fire, shouted for people trapped inside but no one answered.

On the morning of May 14, one day after the fire that killed four grandmothers and grandchildren, the house at 24 Thanh Cong Street, Quang Trung Ward, Ha Dong District, was unsealed, the burned furniture was gathered in one place, and the first floor was used to place two altars for the grandmother and three young grandchildren. From the funeral home of Hospital 103, the hearse carried the bodies of the four grandmothers and grandchildren past the house one last time before going to Van Dien cemetery for cremation and then returning to their hometown in Dong Anh for burial.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Minh (burned on both hands) and his family held a funeral for four grandmothers and grandchildren at the funeral home of Hospital 103 on the morning of May 14. Photo: Pham Chieu

Coming to burn incense for the unfortunate victims, some relatives and neighbors said that the family of Nguyen Quang Minh (43 years old) and Nguyen Thu Ha (39 years old) moved to the house on Thanh Cong street nearly two years ago. Minh's father passed away more than 20 years ago, his mother, Nguyen Thi Xuyen (67 years old), helps take care of the children.

The newly renovated three-story house with an attic is adjacent to Doan Ket Primary School at the back, with houses on both sides. The floor area is about 40 square meters, with a 5-6 square meter yard in front. The first floor is the staircase, kitchen, and outside is a car park; the second and third floors are bedrooms and classrooms, with an anti-theft iron frame and fire escape outside. The attic is airy, and people in the house can escape to the attic to go to the neighbor's house.

Normally, Minh and his wife wake up very early to help their grandmother prepare to take their three children, aged 4 to 10, to school. Yesterday was Saturday, the children had a day off from school so they woke up late. Ms. Ha went to work at Hospital 103, Minh got up, drove the car out, then used his Lead motorbike to buy breakfast for the four of them.

Witness account of fire that killed 4 people in Ha Dong

Witness account of house fire that killed 4 people. Video : Huy Manh

At around 7:40 a.m. on May 13, passing by Minh's house, Nguyen Thuy smelled a burning smell and looked up to see smoke coming from the cracks in the first floor roller shutters, so she shouted loudly, "Is anyone inside? The house is on fire." "No one responded, while the fire spread quickly to the floors, accompanied by small explosions," Thuy recounted.

Residents then reported the fire at around 7:45. Some people pulled up the first floor shutters, used mini fire extinguishers, and threw explosives into the fire compartment. "But the fire flared up so quickly, in just a moment it spread to the second and third floors. We were almost helpless, unable to put it out," said Nguyen Dang Khoa, 38, who lives about 100 meters away.

According to Mr. Hoang Van Tam, Chairman of Quang Trung Ward, when she discovered the fire, Ms. Xuyen called her son, but he was on the road, and when he returned, he rushed in to save the four of them. Because the fire was raging, emitting hot steam that burned his face, he was stopped by everyone. Coming into contact with the burning object, Mr. Minh's two hands were burned.

Fire escaped to the third floor of the house on the morning of May 13. Photo: Xuan Hoa

Black smoke from the burning house fell across the street, obscuring vision and making it impossible to see people's faces. The yard, about 5 square meters wide, in front of the first floor was a rare place where the fire did not spread, thanks to which a few children's bicycles were brought out. The families next to the burning house hurriedly ran out.

At around 7:50 a.m., four fire trucks and dozens of firefighters arrived at the scene. Because Thanh Cong Street is small, only about 3 meters wide, the fire trucks had to stop at two major streets, Quang Trung and Dong Dua, about 50-100 meters from the burning house, to bring in water hoses to put out the fire.

At this time, the red column of fire escaped to the balcony of the second and third floors, smoke billowed dozens of meters high. Access from the first floor was difficult, the second and third floors had anti-theft iron fences, the police had to use pliers to cut part of the iron frame of the second floor to guide the water hose into the house.

By 8:15 a.m., the fire was basically extinguished. Police found Ms. Xuyen and her granddaughter Nguyen Quang Minh Hien (4 years old) dead in the third-floor bedroom, and her two grandsons Nguyen Minh Phuc (10 years old) and Nguyen Quang Minh Duc (8 years old) dead on the second floor, said Quang Trung Ward Chairman. The bodies were transferred to the morgue of Ha Dong General Hospital, about 800 meters from the scene, for autopsy.

Inside the first floor of the burned house. Photo: Gia Chinh

The furniture on all three floors of the house was burned down. The walls were peeling, the plaster ceiling was bare, and only the iron frame remained. The handrail of the stairs to the second floor was deformed.

Sharing with the victim's family, the city's labor sector supported the family with 140 million VND; Ha Dong district with 100 million VND. Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang requested the Hanoi People's Committee to coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security to direct functional forces to overcome the consequences and quickly investigate the cause of the fire.

Viet An

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/vu-chay-nha-khien-bon-ba-chau-tu-vong-dien-ra-the-nao-4604927.html