On the morning of July 27th, a fire broke out on the 5th floor of a residential building in the Dongfang Lingxiu community in Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province. A mother and daughter waiting for rescue at the window tragically fell. During the incident, the firefighters did not set up a ladder, did not lay out an air cushion, and did not rescue from the lower floor window; they only sprayed water at the window with a water gun. The child’s father shouted not to spray water to rescue, but was unable to stop it. The entire internet questioned the inadequacy of the firefighting rescue.
A video lasting over 3 minutes showed thick smoke billowing from the 5th floor of the residential building. The adult trapped outside the window was holding onto the window grille with one hand and using their legs to secure the child between themselves and the wall to prevent the child from falling. Meanwhile, firefighters aimed water from a water gun at the window. The adult appeared to slip while trying to move downwards to find a safe foothold, leading to the tragic fall, followed by the child falling, prompting cries of alarm from onlookers.
On July 31st, the family members of the victims revealed to the “China News Weekly” that the incident occurred around 6 a.m. on July 27th. The 42-year-old adult and their 3-year-old daughter, a mother-daughter pair, were involved. Sadly, the daughter has passed away, while the mother remains in critical care, still in danger, as the family has not yet informed her of her daughter’s fate.
Family members also mentioned that when the fire broke out, the child’s father managed to escape, urging his wife and daughter to follow, but they became trapped in the fire. After descending the building, the child’s father shouted not to spray water to rescue the victims, but it was ineffective.
On July 31st, reporters from the “China News Weekly” attempted to contact the Lianyungang Municipal Emergency Management Bureau, the Municipal Fire Rescue Brigade, the Newhai Street Office, and the Dongfang Lingxiu Property Company at multiple times but did not receive any effective response. The Newhai Street Office had previously responded to the media that the incident was still under investigation, and the cause of the fire and responsibility had not been announced yet.
Subsequently, various topics related to this incident surged on Weibo, with the entire internet questioning the professionalism of the firefighters. Netizens asked, “Is five floors very high? Why didn’t they prioritize rescuing people? No ladder? No air cushion? Why spray water for so long? Why!” and “Why not rescue from the lower floor window?” and “Why not use a ladder and air cushion for the 5th floor? People clinging to the window outside waiting for rescue while being sprayed with a high-pressure water gun. Aren’t they afraid of hitting the person?”
Car blogger and Weibo influencer “Sun Dacheng” questioned, “Watching the rescue video, the site seemed spacious enough that the ladder could have been fully deployed. Even without the ladder truck, a ladder could have been set up on the 4th-floor platform to save the mother and child, but the rescuers did not take action. Instead, they hindered by spraying water, which generates high-temperature steam and thick smoke when heated. This caused the mother to be exposed to smoke and water. She was already exhausted from holding on for so long, and with the window both hot and slippery, the fall was inevitable. Waiting for a detailed report!”
Full-time lawyer “Wang Kai” questioned in a post, “That mother with her child managed to escape the fire, held on to the exterior wall for so long. When the firefighters arrived, due to the water sprayed from the gun making the wall slippery, they fell together with the child. To be frank, from the circulated video, it is difficult to see any effective rescue actions taken by the firefighters.
“The video shows firefighters continuously spraying high-pressure water on the wall. There are scenes of water jets directly hitting the evacuees. Under the impact of the water column, the wall became slippery, and the woman slipped while attempting to move, resulting in the fall. The doubts raised by netizens about ‘no rescue air cushion laid out in half an hour, no ladder set up, no rescue from the fourth floor’ are not evident from the video footage.
“What is more unsettling than doubt is the lack of authoritative voices till now. The incident occurred on July 27th, and up to July 31st, emergency management bureau staff responded with ‘waiting for the Propaganda Department to issue an announcement, we are not quite clear here.’ The street office stated that the investigation into the accident is ongoing, but the core issues that the public is most concerned about — why was there no ladder raised, no air cushion laid out, and no rescue from the fourth floor within half an hour? Did the water spraying exacerbate the risk of falling? — are still lacking a clear official explanation.”