On June 21st at around 6 o’clock in the morning, a fire broke out in a residential building in Chaoyang Community, Wuxi Town, Luxi County, Hunan Province. The fire has already resulted in 6 deaths and 5 injuries.
According to the Luxi County Emergency Management Bureau, the fire quickly spread to the interior structure of the building after it broke out. The specific cause of the fire, the area affected by the fire, and detailed property losses have not been officially announced yet.
A popular social media influencer, “Gentle World Observer,” expressed in an article that because the fire occurred in the early morning when most residents were still asleep, it delayed their escape. Six individuals lost their lives in the fire. They could have been the elderly, children, couples, families, or even tenants. Regardless of who they were, the loss of 6 lives means the complete collapse of one or two families. No amount of aftermath can bring back those 6 individuals.
The article also mentioned that the aging electrical circuits in old residential buildings, blocked escape routes due to security window bars, and other safety hazards should have been taken seriously beforehand. The fire wasn’t a natural disaster, but a man-made one. Issues such as aging electrical circuits in old houses, unauthorized use of fire, accumulation of flammable materials, blocked fire exits, and sealed escape routes due to security window bars have been persistent problems. Why is it always that these issues are only taken seriously after a tragedy has occurred? Wuxi Town is not an isolated case. There are thousands of similar rural towns in China with thousands of similar old residential buildings where residents go about their daily lives without feeling any danger, until one early morning at 6 o’clock when the fire strikes. What is more distressing is that this kind of tragedy is not a first-time occurrence. Almost every year, similar news can be seen, following the same pattern: early morning fire, old residential buildings, multiple deaths, sealed escape routes due to security window bars. And then what? The incident location begins investigations, while other places continue to watch and wait until the next tragedy happens right in their neighborhood.