A level four fire broke out in the Shichang mini-storage in Amoy Industrial Village, Ngau Tau Kok. Two firefighters died during the fire fighting. Inquiries into their deaths will continue today (25th).
The operation commander Weng Jinxiong continued to testify at the time of the incident. He denied that the site structure was chaotic that day, but agreed that there was an oversight.
In addition, a recording of the conversation between the scene and the control center was broadcast on the court, showing that when the firefighters were reported to be missing, the identity of the missing person could not even be confirmed.
From the time the Senior Fire Chief Zhang Yaosheng was notified of his disappearance until he was found, there was a full 30 minutes of harassment. The search and rescue procedure commonly known as "MayDay" has not yet been successfully activated.
The incident occurred on the morning of June 21, 2016. A level 4 fire occurred in the Shichang mini warehouse in Amoy Industrial Village, Kowloon Bay. The fire has been burned for 108 hours since then. Firefighters fight the blaze day and night. On the first night of the fire, the Senior Fire Chief Zhang Yaosheng was killed in the evening. Two days later, when Xu Zhijie, the head of the fire brigade, entered the fire scene, he was also in a coma during the retreat. He was rushed to the hospital and died after being rescued. Xu Jun was 37 years old and Zhang Jun was 30 years old.
On the day of the fire, the commander-in-chief of operations Weng Jinxiong denied that the site structure was chaotic, but agreed that the entrance commander did not set up a record blackboard, etc., which was negligent (photo by Liu Anqi).
Agree that the Fire Services Department did not formally discuss the cause of the incident afterwards
The commander-in-chief of the operation on the day of the fire and the then-Kowloon Central Commander Weng Jinxiong (currently the Deputy Fire Chief) gave a testimony today.
The director of inquiry asked about the search and rescue strategy in the fire scene that day, referring to why three teams were not sent into the fire scene at the same time, and one team was responsible for the search of a side alley.
Weng explained that the daily training of firefighters is to search along the throat, so it is relatively safe.
In addition, the compartments and entrances of the fire are very narrow. When the fire was fighting earlier, a team had 4 people entering the arena, which was already very chaotic.
If too many firefighters enter the fire site, it will make noise, which can easily lead to the illusion that Zhang Yaosheng is making the sound.
It was mentioned that after finding Zhang Yaosheng's position, two search and rescue teams went to the third lane by mistake, and failed to find Zhang. Some time was wasted. The inquiry officer asked what the criteria for firefighters chose to enter the fire scene to search and rescue at that time.
Weng said that the assignment of firefighters is the responsibility of the district commander. They will not ask if the firefighter has ever entered the fire scene because they believe that every firefighter is capable of performing their duties, and if they are really incapable, they will also report on their own. .
As for why the two consecutive search and rescue teams have gone the wrong way, Weng himself failed to explain, perhaps because the scene was too hot and the vision was not clear.
When asked whether the Fire Services Department had reviewed it afterwards, Weng was embarrassed at one point and finally agreed that the Fire Services Department did not formally discuss the cause of the incident afterwards, and also agreed that the "Mayday" Code had not been added afterwards.
Two firefighters died in the mini-storage fire. The main witness gave a statement.
(See the picture below for details)
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Cause of death of Shichang mini storage | Fireworks team exhausted Zhang Yaosheng took the initiative to ask Ying to re-enter the scene The warehouse was dark and asked if he would like to help the staff member said: "Well, the cause of death of Shichang's mini-warehouse|The fire fell from the ceiling and caused a big fire, Zhang Yaosheng had an accident on the first day of evacuating."
The recording showed that the control car had said that there was no record of Zhang Yaosheng's arrival at the scene
The court then broadcast the recording of the conversation with the control center that day. At 7:43 pm, the Acting Assistant Fire District Chief Zhao Xikun requested at least 6 more members of the Smoke Apparatus Team to support him. ".
The radio staff immediately stated that they would send a car for reinforcements and inquire about the identity of the missing person, but Zhao replied: "Unknown."
At 7:46, Assistant Director Li Liangming succeeded Weng as the commander-in-chief of on-site operations and notified the radio station to be upgraded to a level 4 fire alarm.
The radio station immediately notified the Information Services Department of the news and requested additional pump trucks, sub-rescue vehicles and ambulances to be sent to the scene for reinforcements to implement the "Mayday" search and rescue procedure.
At 7:50, the on-site command vehicle asked the radio station if it confirmed that Zhang had lost contact. The radio station said it was only "overheard" and did not receive an official notification. The control vehicle even said that it had "no record of passing the scene."
Weng later explained that if Zhang did not report after arriving, only the team members would know that he was there, and the other Zhang’s chief did not help him report.
By 8:14, the scene reported that Zhang Yaosheng had been rescued and put on a stretcher, but the "Mayday" procedure had not yet been successfully initiated at this time.
Weng then pointed out that on-site operations have a set structure, and his responsibility as the commander-in-chief is to set operational goals, and that the operational strategies and manpower assignments are determined by the team leaders.
The director of inquiry immediately questioned the operational structure of the day. He pointed out that Weng, the team commanders and the entrance commanders did not wear identification armbands that day, and some entrance commanders did not set up a record blackboard.
Weng agrees that there is an oversight, but does not agree that there is a problem with the structure, saying that "as long as each colleague returns to his own scope, the structure is work."
The inquiry continues.
Case number: CCDI333-334/16
