Three people were killed and another injured in a fire at a furniture factory in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯) yesterday morning.
The factory owner, a 70-year-old man surnamed Kuo (郭), survived with second-degree burns covering about 30 percent of his body, and is being treated at Taichung Veterans General Hospital.
His 68-year-old wife, surnamed Feng (馮), their 31-year-old son, and Kuo’s 51-year-old nephew, surnamed Cheng (鄭), did not survive.
Photo: Tsai Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
The couple had moved into the factory after Feng had a stroke, so that her son could better take care of her, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) told reporters.
The two-story tall factory, which manufactured sofa frames, had a significant amount of flammable material, which worsened the fire and made rescue efforts challenging, Taichung Fire Bureau Director-General Sun Fu-You (孫福佑) said.
The fire spread to two warehouses, covering an area of about 2,000m2 and causing losses of more than NT$2 million (US$62,819).
The fire broke out at about 5am and was not controlled until 7:14am, before being extinguished at 9:01am, Sun said.
Family members and neighbors who rushed to the scene told reporters that Kuo, a former adviser to a neighborhood watch group, and Feng had raised five children.
The night of the fire, Kuo was sleeping in the front reception area, which enabled him to escape more easily, while his son was in the back room caring for his ailing mother.
Lu expressed his condolences to the family, while directing government agencies to provide support.
In the immediate aftermath of the blaze, downwind areas reported elevated levels of PM2.5 (particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometers or smaller in diameter). The Department of Environmental Protection lifted the air pollution alert at about noon yesterday.
The 500m2 factory opened in 2016, but from March 2022 to August this year was under a supervised improvement plan, the Taichung Economic Development Bureau said.
It was originally unlicensed, but was later certified under a program to register unlicensed businesses.
At the time of the fire, it was not in operation and was being used as a storage warehouse.
Kuo was modernizing the factory’s fire prevention systems, such as installing fire extinguishers and emergency exit lights, and environmental protection capabilities, before the blaze occurred.
The fire bureau said it passed an inspection in November last year.
Additional reporting by CNA
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over