On Saturday night (28th), a high-rise building in Qinxian North Street, Xiaodian District, Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, caught on fire. The official report stated 1 fatality, 7 severe injuries, and 18 minor injuries. However, multiple interviewees claimed that there were at least a couple hundred people inside the building, which spans over ten floors. The fire started from the lower levels and spread to the rooftop, causing multiple casualties that the authorities might not disclose. The fire has been extinguished, but the cause remains unknown.
Many netizens shared videos showing the rapid expansion of the fire in a high-rise building in Xiaodian District of Taiyuan City. The flames quickly crawled up the exterior walls of the building, engulfing the entire facade in thick smoke and raging flames. Burning debris fell from the sky as people cried out in distress, creating a scene of great peril.
A witness named Zhang Li, who lives nearby, explained to reporters, “The building consists of a hotel, hotpot restaurant, convenience store, tobacco and liquor shop on the 1st to 5th floors. The 6th to 9th floors are KTV clubs, and above the 10th floor are several hotels and office spaces. It’s located opposite Phase 1 of Maoye.”
According to on-site reports, the fire spread rapidly from the bottom to the top of the building. Zhang Li speculated, “The visible fire downstairs at the restaurant probably ignited the windowsill’s insulating material, which is poorly constructed. Once ignited, the fire easily spread from the lower levels to the roof.”
The official report confirmed at least one fatality and 25 injuries, with 7 of them being severe. All injured individuals have been taken to hospitals for treatment.
Zhang Li expressed, “There are surely more casualties than reported. The building housed not just a couple hundred people but also numerous KTVs and bars. The exact number of fatalities is unknown, but I witnessed people being carried out, indicating multiple casualties.”
Another witness, Zhao Ming, recounted, “The building opposite the southern gate of Maoye on Yihewan Avenue (a building of about ten to twenty floors) was entirely ablaze. It was said to be caused by high voltage. Several people were rescued, more than one, and some are still missing, which won’t likely be disclosed by the authorities.”
Yun Feng, another witness, shared that his sister was present at the scene. He said, “The building opposite Maoye caught fire at 7:55 pm and was put out around 8:30 pm. Initially, no one managed the situation, allowing the fire to escalate. But the fire brigade arrived and extinguished it within half an hour. The place was quite crowded, as it was a hotel on fire.”
“The situation was quite distressing. One child seemed in critical condition on the spot, and several others were severely injured. Escaping from the upper floors was very challenging.”
Yun Feng added, “My sister was terrified. When she returned, she was still trembling. She left when the fire started. I told her to take a cab to me. She was in a barbecue restaurant but didn’t know if it was the initial source of the fire. She smelled smoke and immediately ran outside.”
“There were many restaurants in the area, all lined up. The scene was chaotic, with people screaming, crying, and feeling scared.”
She mentioned that the building housed more than a couple hundred people, with offices on the higher floors where people were working. The photos she sent showed that all three ground-floor shops were burned down.
Zhao Ming’s friend, who was delivering food at the time, mentioned that his electric scooter was also burnt down in the incident.
“I had several friends there, and they shared videos of the scene.”
“One friend delivering food saw his electric bike burned down when he came out. Luckily, he delivered to the building opposite, not the one on fire. His bike was parked under the burning building and got destroyed. He sent me a bunch of videos.”
Local emergency management authorities stated that the fire had been extinguished, yet the exact cause remains unclear. Firefighters on the scene explained that initially, a restaurant on the ground floor caught fire, igniting the exterior walls, which led the fire to spread upwards.
Local netizens commented that the building is near Maoye Shopping Mall, surrounded by nightlife and entertainment venues, suggesting it should have been regulated earlier.
Some netizens questioned how the exterior walls could catch fire so rapidly and suggested examining whether the insulation material was insufficiently flame-retardant, recommending an investigation into the building’s materials.
(To protect the interviewees’ identity, all names above are pseudonyms)