Billions of dong in damage after fire at 7 kiosks in front of Thanh Da market

On March 18, the scene of the fire at the row of kiosks around Thanh Da market (Lo Cho, Thanh Da Residential Area, Ward 27, Binh Thanh District) was sealed off to serve the investigation, clarify the cause and calculate the damage. Traders mobilized people to the scene to search for remaining assets after the fire. Many people were sad because goods worth billions of dong were turned to ashes in an instant.

At the scene, the row of kiosks that were on fire had a temporary brick wall structure, iron frame, corrugated iron roof, and were not solidly built in front of Thanh Da market. The heat of the fire caused the kiosks to collapse and deform. The 7 kiosks that were on fire were stalls selling books, newspapers, children's toys, clothes, stuffed animals, food, and household items.

Outside the scene, many items were raked out of the fire and lying scattered on the road. Ms. Duong Thi My Ha (born in 1965, owner of 2 children's toy kiosks) was heartbroken when she saw all the goods worth more than 2 billion VND turned to ashes.

Ms. Ha said that she has been selling toys for more than 22 years at Thanh Da market. Just a few days ago, she imported about 2 billion worth of goods to sell. Normally, this row of kiosks sells until after 9 p.m., when everyone closes their stalls and no one stays in the kiosks.

“Last night, when she had just finished packing her goods and returned home, Mrs. Ha heard her daughter report that the row of kiosks was on fire, her kiosk was engulfed in flames. When she got there, all her belongings were burning fiercely. She was heartbroken but there was nothing she could do!” Mrs. Ha said sadly.

Mr. Nguyen Van Duy (owner of a bedding stall) whose fire spread, said that his house was only a few dozen meters away from the kiosks. When the fire broke out, Mr. Duy had just closed his kiosk and gone home to sleep. When he heard people shouting about the fire, he ran out but could not go in to save his property because the fire was too big. "I suffered about 400 million VND in damage," Mr. Duy shared.

A beverage seller at the scene said the fire broke out at the newspaper counter: “It only took 1-2 minutes for the fire to flare up and spread. Many people brought fire extinguishers and pulled out water hoses to put out the fire, but the fire was so big and the black smoke was suffocating that no one could get close enough to put it out.”

Ms. Ut, who works for the owner of a book, newspaper, and school supplies stall at Thanh Da market, said that at around 9 p.m., she closed the kiosk, turned off the circuit breaker, and then went home. About an hour later, she received a fire report. "The entire stall was burned down. The damage from the fire was huge!" Ms. Ut said sadly.

White smoke was still billowing from inside the burnt kiosks overnight. Market security and vendors used water hoses to spray the fire in several locations to prevent it from rekindling.

Thanh Da market is known to be one of the largest wholesale markets in Ho Chi Minh City. The market has 495 stalls and 39 kiosks. At the time of the fire, the Binh Thanh District Area Team (Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department, Ho Chi Minh City Police) mobilized vehicles and officers to the scene to put out the fire and prevent the fire from spreading inside the market.

On the morning of March 18, leaders of the People's Committee of Binh Thanh District and functional units of the district went to the scene to encourage the small traders who suffered losses after the fire. Investigation teams took witness statements and extracted cameras around the area to determine the cause of the fire. Regarding the extent of the damage after the fire, the units are currently making statistics to clarify.

Some images of the scene after the fire at the row of kiosks in front of Thanh Da market: