An old house in Hoi An City is burned down on March 6
A fire erupted at a two-story century-old house in the central city on the evening of March 6, severely damaging its properties and architecture.
The house, which is made mostly of bricks and wood at 134 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, was being used as a food and beverage establishment.The fire was discovered by some local residents who tried to help the house's owner put it out but failed. Firefighters were then called and the flames were put out after about two hours. Although there were no casualties, the house was totally destroyed and two other neighbouring houses were also badly damaged.
Nguyen Tran Vu, chairman of Minh An Ward People's Committee said that they were still carrying out an investigation into the cause of the fire, though several witnesses said it was most likely due to an electrical fault.
Pham Phu Ngoc, director of the Hoi An Centre for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation, said that they were facing difficulties in fire prevention and control work in the area, especially related to the old houses.
"We are carrying out fire safety checks once a year," he said. "The city has over 1,000 old wooden houses that can easily catch fire. They are mostly used as shops and restaurants without people in at night. Therefore, the fires here are usually detected too late, causing a large amount of damage."
Hoi An has built a fire prevention project worth VND200 billion in the old town area during the 2020-2025 period.