7 people escaped from the house that caught fire unexpectedly

Hai Phong A fire broke out in a one-story, 100-square-meter house with a mezzanine. Five adults and two children were able to escape through the back door in time on the morning of August 19.

At around 4am, Mr. Pham Van Thai, 56 years old, house number 12 Cat Vu street, Trang Cat ward, Hai An district, was dozing off when he suddenly heard a small explosion and smoke coming from the main door.

In front of the house there were many construction materials, behind there was a mezzanine, yard and back door. Mr. Thai shouted for his two children to run out, at that time the fire had already caught on two motorbikes. The three of them hurriedly scooped water and used fire extinguishers to put out the fire but were unsuccessful.

The front door of the house on fire. Photo: Le Tan — The front door of the house on fire. Photo: *Le Tan*

"After just one minute, black smoke engulfed us, making it difficult to breathe," Mr. Thai recalled. Knowing that the fire could not be put out, Mr. Thanh, Mr. Thai's eldest son, ran upstairs, picked up his two children, and ran with his mother and wife to the back door, climbing over the water tank to a relative's house next door.

At this time, Mr. Thai and his second son were still trying to put out the fire. Seeing this, Mr. Thanh quickly turned back to call the two to escape. "If I tried to stay and get my things, I wouldn't be able to survive," said Mr. Thai.

Authorities coordinate to extinguish the fire and rescue victims. Photo: Le Tan — Authorities coordinate to extinguish the fire and rescue victims. Photo: *Le Tan*

Immediately after receiving the news at around 4:40 a.m., the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department dispatched a vehicle and many firefighters to the scene to coordinate with Hai An District Police to put out the fire.

At this time, the fire and black smoke spread to the entire first floor. There were many construction materials in the house, the passage was only more than one meter wide. The authorities used a metal cutter to cut the locks of the two iron folding doors at the front door, then used a water hose to cool and extinguish the fire. At about 5:40 a.m., the fire was extinguished, there were no human casualties, some properties on the first floor were burned.

Scene inside the burning house. Photo: Le Tan — Scene inside the burning house. Photo: *Le Tan*

Mr. Thai said that about an hour before the fire, he and his wife had just returned from a funeral and had just fallen asleep, so they discovered it in time. "When I came home, there was nothing unusual in front of the house. However, when the fire broke out, we saw a plastic can placed on a brick, with a small tube leading to a bundle of rags placed in front of the door," Mr. Thai suspected that someone had poured gasoline on his house and set it on fire.