Jufuyuan Gongyu Hotel Fire, Xinjian Cun, Daxing District, Beijing, China: Images

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. Hotel front door. New Image taken between Nov 19 and Dec 04. Image updated 2017 Dec 03. Pretty impressive, Baidu

The big fire in Xinjian Cun, Daxing District, Beijing, China at the Jufuyuan Gongyu Hotel killed 19 people, and sparked the forced expulsion of migrant workers in Xinjian Cun, followed by the destruction of all buildings. It was a tragic event that followed with some heavy handed government clampdown on migrant workers. For sure migrant workers deserve to be treated better, but after seeing some images I now wonder about the circumstances of the fire. Seventeen people were killed, and that is tragic, but the aftermath might also be 10s of thousands of migrant workers expelled from Beijing.

Cause: The building has a cold storage basement, ground floor workshops and second story apartments are 8300 square meters large with a total of 305 rooms, rented to more than 400 people. The fire marshall says the electrical fire started in the south wall of the basement cold storage. The wire was buried in the polyurethane insulation of the wall. There is only a single staircase. The roof was polystyrene steel plate, which burned quickly and leaked toxic smoke into the apartments. All 19 casualties died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Having all three types of building usage is dangerous. source

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. Xinhua

Xinhua reports that the fire occurred in Xinjian Village, Daxing District, was reported at 6:15 p.m., according to the municipal fire department, and was extinguished at around 9 p.m. Xinhua incorrectly reports that it was a house fire, but this was a hotel with a booking site.

The hotel sign says it has separate washrooms, hot water machines, kitchen, heat, beds, dresser, internet access and more.

The Chinese news sources have lots of photos of the fire

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. An abandoned room. Sina

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. The hallway. tuku.qianlong

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. Wiring looks pretty suspect. tuku.qianlong

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. Outside is boarded up. tuku.qianlong

冷库入口处墙壁上的电闸箱清晰可见，有的线路已经烧焦、烧断。据11月27日晚官方发布消息，起火部位位于地下中部冷库间南墙中部的墙面上，起火原因系埋在聚氨酯保温材料内的电气线路故障所致。 Cold storage [in the basement] entrance wall barrier on the wall clearly visible, and some lines have been burnt, blown. According to the official announcement on the evening of 27 November, the fire was on the wall in the middle of the south wall of the underground central cold storage room. The cause of the fire was due to a breakdown of the electrical circuit buried in the polyurethane insulation.

公寓一层到二层只有一个楼梯，在楼梯回转平台上有一排衣架，上边挂满烧焦了的衣物。 There is only one staircase on the first to second floor of the apartment, a row of hangers on the rotary platform of the staircase, covered with charred clothing.

一位参与火灾现场救援的消防员回忆当时的情景：“赶到现场时，公寓门窗都在向外冒黑色浓烟，进入公寓后两三米就什么都看不到了，视线几乎为零，搜救只能靠手一间一间摸索，楼梯堆放的杂物大大增加了救援难度。” A firefighter involved in the rescue of the scene of the fire memories of the scene: “arrived at the scene, the apartment doors and windows are running out of black smoke, into the apartment after two or three meters can not see anything, the line of sight is almost zero, search and rescue Can only rely on a groping one by one, the stairs stacked debris greatly increased the difficulty of rescue.

聚福缘公寓地下一层为冷库仓储区、地上一层为生产小作坊、二层为租住公寓，这种集仓储、生产、居住为一体的“三合一”场所，一旦发生火灾，极易造成人员群死群伤。“这种房子即便配备了足够的消防设备，也还是存在很大的安全隐患，根本的解决办法就是不住这种三合一的房子。”北京市消防局防火部部长李云浩说。 Jufu Yuan apartment basement for the cold storage area, the ground floor for the production of small workshops, the second floor to rent apartments, such warehousing, production, living as one of the “three in one” place, in the event of a fire, pole Easily lead to mass deaths. “Even if this kind of house is equipped with enough fire fighting equipment, there is still a big security risk. The fundamental solution is that it can not live in such a three-in-one house,” said Li Yunhao, minister of fire protection at Beijing Fire Department.

二层楼顶材料是聚苯彩钢板，发生火灾后会燃烧得非常快，并且产生大量有毒烟气。“由于房间内的隔墙都没有封到顶，火灾发生时，烟气通过上方的闷顶（记者注：闷顶是指坡屋面与顶棚之间所构成的空间。）迅速扩散至每个房间。”魏毅宇说。 Two-story roof material is polystyrene color steel plate, the fire will burn very fast, and produce a lot of toxic fumes. “As the walls in the room are not sealed to the top, the smoke passes through the top of the ceiling at the time of the fire. (Reporter’s Note: Boring refers to the space between the roof and the ceiling.) The rapid spread to each room. Wei Yiyu said.

公寓二层总面积约8300平方米，共305间房，租住400余人。经通报，大兴“11·18”火灾19名遇难者死因均系一氧化碳中毒。 Apartment on the second floor of a total area of about 8300 square meters, a total of 305 rooms, rent more than 400 people. After notification, the cause of death of 19 victims of the “11.18” fire in Daxing was carbon monoxide poisoning.

这不是偶然现象，是一处处、一例例、一个个的隐患长期累积下来的灾难。 This is not an accidental phenomenon, it is a disaster all over the place that has been accumulated over a long period of time.

探求事实真相，为的是铭记而不是责难。 Seek the truth, in order to remember rather than blame.

请告知亲人与朋友，拒绝居住“三合一”危险房屋，掌握火灾逃生技能，养成安全用电、防火、排查隐患的生活习惯，别让类似灾难再次发生。 Please tell loved ones and friends, refuse to live in “triple play” dangerous houses, fire escape skills to develop safe use of electricity, fire, hidden dangers of living habits, do not let a similar disaster happen again. source

据调查，冷库照明电路铺设、动力线路铺设、设备安装调试、保温工程施工的人员均无相关专业资质， According to an investigation, the cold storage lighting circuit layout, power line layout, equipment installation and commissioning, and insulation construction workers have no relevant professional qualifications…source

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. The hallway.

Here are some images of the Jufuyuan hotel from before the fire, in 2016 January.

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. Hotel fire location in orange. Baidu

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. Sat map showing the North Gate and the hotel, close to Farm Dining Room. Google

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. Sat map showing the hotel, close to Farm Dining Room. Google

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. Just as you turn the corner down this laneway. Baidu

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. Baidu

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. The hotel sign says it has separate washrooms, hot water machines, kitchen, heat, beds, dresser, internet access and more. Baidu

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. The hotel is very long at ~90 m. Baidu

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. Electrical splitter right across from the hotel looks very modern, with a concrete pole and proper electrical insulators. Right across the street from the hotel. Note that this modern electrical splitter was not directly connected to the hotel, which means that the hotel received power from secondary sources. Baidu

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. Hotel and electrical splitter right across from the hotel looks very modern, with a concrete pole and proper electrical insulators. Baidu

Jufuyuan Gongyu hotel, Xinjian Cun, Daxing Qu, Beijing, China fire, killed 17 people. 2017 Nov 19. Prompted Beijing to expel migrant workers. Hotel front door. Baidu

I have been thinking, overnight, on how we in Canada would prevent the considerable loss of life from this fire. There are constructive steps that we have coded into law that would reduce the risk but not eliminate it. That being said, the polystyrene roof metal cladding used, which burned quickly and hot, reminds me of the London, UK Grenfell Tower apartment building fire, where at least 80 people were killed, many never to be found. The Tower had used a new metal cladding on the side of the building.

Preventative Steps, Canada:

Separation of commercial and residential: We have zonong bylaws that separate commercial and residential buildings. You very rarely can live in the same place as a factory. If there is a commercial fire, there is less likelihood of huge loss of life
Building Code: Each step of a building construction requires building permits, which need to be inspected by a government inspector prior to work continuing. If the proper permits and inspections are not completed sequentially, the building is torn down. Commercial electrical, refrigeration, heating and cooling, overall building quality, all need permits
Fire Code: This building was a hotel, or multi-person dwelling. This would require extra building requirements such as steel doors that automatically shut, sealed rooms, where an outside fire and smoke could not easily penetrate into the room. These apartments were for living. Here in Ontario for any bedroom you need an external window and multiple ways to exit the room. We also require both fire and carbon monoxide detectors on each floor, and possibly within each room. These detectors would go off and sound very loudly, alerting residents to the risk. These detectors can be wired so that if one goes off they all go off, alerting the whole building of the risk. Early detection of risk would have allowed people time to safely exit, before overcome by smoke.
Fire Marshall Inspections: With any multi-family residence, such as a hotel, the fire marshall is able to legally do surprise fire inspections. They are authorized to fine buildings that are not compliant, and to shut down repeat offender landlords.
Building Materials: Polystyrene roofing material would not be an approved material for roofing. The polystyrene burns too hot and too quickly to be safe. Fire and heat travels upward. The building’s roof was not air sealed off from the rooms below, which is mandatory here in Ontario.

These are government regulations that, if not followed exactly, would result in the slowdown or actual complete destruction of the building before completion. While these measures seem on the surface onerous and time consuming, they are put in place to save lives.

Any building can be abused and fire can start. Overloading circuits, even in properly designed buildings, is possible. If the breaker or fuse is tripped you should not put in a replacement with a higher load because the wiring will heat up and spark, thus causing a fire. There is a user component and education that is required. A properly designed electrical plan that has sufficient circuits and outlets, would minimize this risk.

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