A fire broke out in a residential area in District 1 (Ho Chi Minh City) this afternoon, causing many people inside to flee.
At around 1pm this afternoon, January 28 (29th of Lunar New Year), a fire broke out at a level four house with corrugated iron roof, wooden walls and concrete in an alley on Tran Dinh Xu Street, Co Giang Ward, District 1 (Ho Chi Minh City). At this time, many people inside shouted to each other to use mini fire extinguishers to put out the fire but were unsuccessful.
The fire broke out fiercely and spread to 6 other houses, many people ran outside. The fire then spread throughout the house, black smoke rose dozens of meters high, covering the entire residential area.
Ms. Kim Lan, who lives near the burning house, said the fire spread to the residential area in about 5 minutes. Many people tried to approach and put out the fire but were stopped by the heat. The burning house is rented by many migrant workers. When the incident happened, some of the houses locked their doors and went home to celebrate Tet.
The fire was nearly 1 km from the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department (PC07) of Ho Chi Minh City Police. Many fire trucks and more than 70 soldiers quickly arrived at the scene. District 1 Fire Police also sent support forces.
PC07 mobilized elite forces with smoke extraction trucks and fire fighting robots to the rescue. Police organized many groups to approach the fire, using water hoses to extinguish the fire after about 30 minutes, rescuing one person and a 70-year-old woman trapped in the burning house.
A representative of the People's Committee of District 1 said the incident damaged 7 houses measuring 8-12 square meters in the same row, of which 6 were completely burned, one was about 80% burned, and no casualties were recorded. The number of burned houses in the residential area includes 27 temporary, level 4 houses built in the 1980s.
After the fire, District 1 authorities visited and supported 7 households with 10 million VND each and arranged temporary accommodation for the people.