On the evening of March 17th, a female student dormitory at Heilongjiang Industrial College suddenly caught fire. According to students at the school, due to the alarm not ringing, some students were unable to escape in time. As a result, some students inhaled too much smoke, leading to carbon monoxide poisoning. Some were injured from falling in haste during the evacuation, and some had to escape by jumping out of windows.
Numerous netizens posted videos claiming that on the evening of the 17th, a fire broke out in a female student dormitory at Heilongjiang Industrial College. The building was filled with thick black smoke, and amidst the chaos, students were seen jumping out of windows to escape, with waves of ambulances rushing to the scene.
The video footage shows that the fire occurred in a 7-story dormitory building, with visible flames in a room on the 2nd floor and thick smoke billowing out of windows on the 7th floor. Multiple fire rescue and ambulance vehicles were parked downstairs, with many students gathered around. Photos from the scene also showed students still inside the dormitory rooms, some escaping through windows while others were being assisted on the ground.
According to informed netizens, “The alarm did not ring throughout the fire, and some students were still sleeping when it happened.” Another netizen mentioned, “My friend was also there, they didn’t even know there was a fire, it was only through a message in a group chat that they found out, and by the time they ran, the hallway was already filled with smoke.”
According to information obtained by the Xiaoxiang Morning Post from students at the school, the fire occurred at the 8a apartment building in the East Campus of Heilongjiang Industrial College, with fires on the second and seventh floors that night.
A student residing in the 8b apartment building mentioned that around 6:25 pm on the 17th, the lights suddenly went out in the dormitories and she noticed a lot of smoke. “I thought it was a fire drill, but there was no alarm ringing either.”
She further added that some of her classmates were in the dormitory on the second floor, near the junction of buildings 8a and 8b, “they were wearing headphones while playing on their phones, unaware of the fire, and later tested positive for carbon monoxide poisoning.”
Another student’s sister shared that her sister lived on the seventh floor of the burning dormitory. “She climbed out from the seventh floor, in thick smoke where visibility was low. Her roommate fell down while running, tumbled down two flights of stairs, and fractured her tailbone.” The cause of the fire is suspected to be aging electrical circuits.
Students on the second floor of the burning dormitory also stated that they did not hear any alarms during the fire. “One of my roommates was washing her hair when we found out, she came back screaming, and that’s when we realized we needed to run.” Many students on various floors were trapped, with some rescued using a cherry picker, some jumping from the second floor, and friends needing oxygen treatment in hospitals due to smoke inhalation.
The student mentioned that due to the rushed evacuations, they ran outside in slippers, pajamas, and track pants, with the outside temperature at around minus six to seven degrees Celsius, waiting in the cafeteria feeling cold.
According to students at the school speaking to Hua Shang Bao Dafeng News, the fire was extinguished around 8:50 pm that night. School staff directed students to return to their dormitories normally, with some students from the second floor of the dormitory transferred to other accommodations the following day, although the school did not disclose the cause of the incident.
The student also mentioned that some classmates were taken to Jixi Jikuang Hospital for treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning that night, while another student with a fractured tailbone underwent treatment in the hospital.
In response, Jixi Jikuang Hospital stated that they were unable to disclose further information. Staff at Heilongjiang Industrial College mentioned that there were no casualties in the dormitory fire incident, all students were safely relocated, and the fire department is investigating the cause of the fire, without providing additional details.
However, alleged students of the school commented online saying, “The dormitory electrical wires at Heilongjiang Industrial College are old and caused the fire. The school claims it was due to students not following regulations, and does not bear any responsibility.”
Some netizens mentioned that the video posted online was quickly deleted, with others stating, “It’s restricted, cannot be shared.”