How the house fire that killed three sisters happened

Hanoi When discovering a fire in a 5-story house in Tho Quan ward (Dong Da), neighbors quickly used water and spray bottles to put out the fire but were unsuccessful.

At around 5am on July 8, while on duty at the Tho Quan Ward Police Station, Mr. Thang smelled a burning smell from a burning object. Rushing outside, the police officer discovered smoke rising from Tho Quan Alley, spreading out onto Kham Thien Street. Calling the fire department, Mr. Thang and four others ran towards the house on fire about 150m away.

At this time, dozens of people gathered in front of the house. All of them tried to break the first floor rolling door to put out the fire but failed. The fire from the first floor was spreading quickly to the upper floors. The sounds of "pop pop" explosions were heard continuously.

"I thought some family had moved their belongings early, but when I went outside, I saw the fire spreading through the back door of my neighbor's house. I quickly shouted for help and ran over to help put out the fire," said Nguyen Thi Binh.

From the neighboring houses, people poured water on the burning house, others used fire extinguishers, but the fire continued to rage. Many people shouted for those trapped, but "there was no cry for help, nor any response".

About 60 meters from the fire, Mr. Nguyen Van Loc (65 years old, living on Kham Thien street) was awakened by the smell of chemicals going straight to his nose. Running after the people shouting fire, Mr. Loc was worried when he saw the fire spreading from the 5th floor and the attic of the house. "I saw the helplessness of the neighbors trying to break the roller shutter and find a way to put out the fire," he said.

The house was covered in smoke after the fire. Photo: Viet An — The house was covered in smoke after the fire. Photo: *Viet An*

At 5:15 a.m., the fire truck sirens blared as they rushed towards the scene. However, the burning house was located in a small alley about 40 meters from Kham Thien Street, not wide enough for the truck to enter. Dozens of firefighters dragged fire hoses into the alley.

One group of firefighters used hoses to continuously spray water on the fire. Another group used a ladder to approach the scene from the second floor. Because the house was sealed with a metal frame, the police had to use specialized tools to break the door open. A third group of firefighters went up to the attic of the house next door, breaking down the wall to let the smoke out.

Sergeant Nguyen Duc Anh, Fire Prevention and Fighting Team of Area 2, said that it was difficult to approach the house due to the high temperature. The stairs were slippery because the floor was tiled, and the handrails were burned, causing many people to slip and fall. "We tried to spray water to put out the fire and smoke because the scene was too dark and the smoke was so thick that we could not see clearly around," Duc Anh said.

Another soldier said that the house contained a lot of nail polish chemicals, so when the fire broke out, toxic gas was released. The house was sealed so each firefighter could only stay in for about 15 minutes before having to go out due to difficulty breathing. At least three oxygen pumps were later brought to the scene.

However, when approaching the rooms in the house, the authorities discovered that three people had died. The bodies of two children, Nguyen Quang Minh (13 years old) and Nguyen Phuong Uyen (11 years old), the children of the homeowner, were found in the bathroom; their cousin Duong Thi Diu (19 years old) died on the 4th floor. The bodies of the three victims were then taken to the Dong Da Hospital Funeral Home.

Police broke through walls and windows to let out the smoke. Photo: CACC — Police broke through walls and windows to let out the smoke. Photo: *CACC*

Three days ago, Mr. Nguyen Van Ke (38 years old, the owner of the house) and his wife started a pilgrimage to the provinces along the Central region. They asked Dieu - their cousin from Hung Yen to come and look after the house and their younger siblings. The trip was expected to last a week, but now the couple has received bad news.

Mr. Duong Van Hiep, the victim's father, said that his daughter had just finished high school and was on summer vacation so she went to visit her aunt and uncle. At 8am this morning, while working in Lang Son, he heard the news that his daughter had an accident.

After nearly 5 hours of firefighting, the authorities completely extinguished the fire. One officer was injured in the shoulder area and was taken to the emergency room, while many other police officers were exhausted.

The five-story, one-attic, tube-shaped house, with a facade of about 2.5 meters and a depth of 24 meters, was devastated after the fire. The furniture was burned to ashes, and the police had to use flashlights to illuminate the scene during the investigation.

Before the fire, the first floor of the house had many sofas and displayed many cosmetics and beauty chemicals. The second floor was a storage room, the remaining floors were for sleeping. The front of the first and second floors were surrounded by advertising signs, the remaining floors had glass windows, but they were covered with iron frames on the outside.

Recently, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have had many fires in tube houses (small, narrow houses with only one facade) that have caused many deaths. The most recent was a house fire on Thanh Cong Street, Ha Dong District, which killed four people.