A huge blaze engulfed eight houses in central HCM City, leaving one man dead on December 30, with fire officials saying the source of the fire was a possible short circuit in a karaoke bar.
The fire engulfed eight houses in HCM City on December 30 evening.
The fire, on Tran Quoc Thao Street, started at about 9pm at New Karaoke Bar and spread quickly, fire officials said. Three houses were destroyed while the rest were seriously damaged. Residents were able to flee the blaze, but a man was found dead on the ground floor of the Idol Karaoke Bar.
Extinguishing fire on higher floors
Nguyen Van Bang, deputy head of the HCMC Fire Department, said due to the scope of the fire, firefighters in District 3 called for support, with units from Districts 1, 4, 11 and Binh Thach responding to help fight the blaze, which took an hour to bring under control. The Rescue Department was at the scene. In total, 28 fire trucks with 226 firefighters and rescuers were involved.
Firefighters bring fire under control
Tat Thanh Cang, vice chairman of HCMC People's Committee, said initial investigations indicated a short circuit inside the sign board of the New Karaoke Bar triggered the fire. He urged leaders in all localities to raise awareness of fire prevention.