It is often difficult to draw a clear line between politics and public policy.
A fire in Luchou, Taipei County, early Sunday morning left 13 people dead and 71 injured. Instead of seeking a good understanding of the cause of the fire or investigating the firefighters' work, the opposition camp labelled the blaze another "Pachang Creek incident" -- in other words, administrative incompetence. The opposition also demanded that Taipei County Commissioner Su Tseng-chang (
Every conflagration is a tragedy and a lesson -- each of them exposes a host of problems. No matter how the authorities and the opposition place responsibility, visit victims, issue compensation or conduct reviews, they cannot bring back the 13 people who died in the fire. The most important task, apart from handling the aftermath and providing relief, is to look at what we can learn from this tragedy.
The Luchou blaze was apparently caused by a woman who set herself on fire after a quarrel with her husband. Could the firefighters have done more to minimize the casualties? Not likely.
The fire started in the building's atrium, the ceiling of which is made of flammable material. Two to three dozen motorcycles were parked there and caught fire. Aided by these factors, the fire quickly consumed the second and third floors and spread all the way up to the seventh and eighth floors.
One cannot say that the firefighters responded too slowly, but the narrow, labyrinthine alleyways of the area made their work extremely difficult. Long hoses had to be laid to bring in water, resulting in insufficient pressure. The water was unable to reach the fire because of the pressure being reduced by the length of the hoses. The ladder trucks were unable to enter the narrow alleyways. Meanwhile, the fire continued to spread and many people died from smoke inhalation.
Escape for the residents was no less difficult. The main escape route was completely blocked when the motorcycles parked at the bottom of the stairway caught fire. Every apartment had iron bars installed outside windows to prevent theft. On top of that, electricity went out soon after the fire. People had to grope about in the dark. Many did not know how to use the emergency descent-control devices. Some were suspended in the air and then fell. Others simply lost their grip and fell to their death.
The building where the fire broke out was constructed less than 10 years ago. It is equipped with descent-control devices, but fire escape was hardly a consideration in the building's design. The narrow lanes, illegal structures and motorcycles made the rescue work more difficult. The fire department should consider buying smaller fire engines to negotiate the small alleyways of Taiwan's communities.
Most tragedies over the years have triggered calls for reviews, yet such tragedies continue to occur. The fire in Luchou has proven that there are serious problems with fire safety checks and emergency rescue work. Only by looking for the cause of the problems can we resolve them. Political vitriol cannot extinguish fires.
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