At about 18:00 on May 26th, a fire broke out at a balcony on the 24th floor of No.7 building in Binjiang Golden Garden at Lingzhi Subdistrict, Yuecheng District, Shaoxing City. The fire was burning fiercely and caused very dense smoke. Residents nearby noticed it and shot and posted videos of it through their WeChat moments.

However, the fire was put out in just ten minutes without any injuries after the fire trunk arrived at the spot. Wang Chunpeng, the deputy director of Shaoxing Fire and Rescue Detachment Beihai Special Service Station, was involved in the rescue and he told the reporter of Shaoxing Daily that it was because of a special “fire vanguard” that the fire could be put out so quickly.

“They have a whole set of smooth firefighting procedures and have done all preparatory work for us. The community micro firefighting station has really made an undeniable contribution this time!” When the staff of Shaoxing Yuecheng District Fire and Rescue Brigade investigated the fire cause at the residential quarter on the morning of May 27th, they commended members of the micro firefighting station of Waitan Community again. It turned out that on the accident day, members of the micro firefighting station had already opened the door of the house caught fire, connected the water hose, and put the fire extinguishers beside the doorway when the firefighters arrived.

The fire started at about 6:00 PM that day, and the security staff at the gate sentry discovered the high-rise fire at the first place. Director Yang of property management instantly activated the emergent fire rescue and called together members of the micro firefighting station. 4 minutes later, the first 4-person team went to the Building 7 to investigate and confirm the household that were caught fire and knocked every door to remind proprietors to leave for safe places. In less than 9 minutes, 15 members of the micro firefighting station branched out into two to connect the water hose at the doorway of the household caught fire and to guide residents and open up a path for the fire trunk.

On the afternoon of May 27th, the reporter of Shaoxing Daily came to Golden Garden again and found that the fire spot was still closed. “Thanks to the timely rescue, the burned area is limited to 3m2 and other rooms are basically not affected. Thanks to our property management staff and members of the firefighting station,” said the tenant of this house.

Binjiang Property staff of the Waitan Community micro firefighting station expressed their feelings of imperative fire rescue during this high-rise fire accident.

Xu Qingtao, a security guard at the south gate of the residential quarter, was the first one who noticed the smoke from above 20th floor of Building 7. Immediately, he reported the fire to directors as rushing to the fire spot. The foreman Wang Xusheng told, “My colleague and I were the first to arrive at the spot and we saw very dense smoke. Our primary task was to confirm the house on fire and evacuate proprietors. We always put the life security of our proprietors on the top.”

Director Wan Zhenhua and 3 team members rushed to the house caught fire with firefighting devices. They knocked the door but got no response. Worrying about the situation in the house, he immediately called the police and asked team members to break the door. The door was quickly opened, and the water hose and fire extinguishers were arranged well soon. Just at that time, the fire fighters arrived and organized fire fighting promptly. Wan Zhenhua felt released only after confirming that no injuries were caused.

Members involved in this fire fighting work agree that it should give the credit to the daily “three-check, two-training, and one-drill” emergent rescue training so that they could be calm and fearless and realize close cooperation and quick rescue this time.

They moved quickly to investigate the fire point, evacuate residents from door to door and layer by layer, break the door, and keep a clean fire passage. A series of standard and exemplary emergent measures earned firefighters some precious time to put out the fire timely. This accident also sounds the fire alarm and warns that the firefighting policy of “combining fire prevention and fighting with the emphasis on the former” and the primary principle of “self-prevention and self-rescue” should be insisted in terms of high-rise buildings.

Director Yang of property management addressed that after this event, they would strengthen firefighting popularization and training, enhance tenant management and safety check, and organize fire hazard troubleshooting throughout the residential quarter and prohibit high-rise littering and cigarette butt littering to avoid hidden dangers. Besides, there will be a firefighting popularization activity and a firefighting drill in June, aiming to enhance the firefighting awareness and self-rescue ability of proprietors and urge property management staff to master “four-understanding and four-knowing” for firefighting. In addition, it is also determined to guide office buildings and stores to make sure regular fire inspection and equipment testing.

We should always sound the alarm for fire safety and bear it firmly in mind.