Thuan An, Vietnam: A fire at a karaoke bar in Vietnam has killed at least 33 people, becoming the deadliest fire in the Southeast Asian country in over 20 years and prompting nationwide debate over fire safety standards and code enforcement.
People were seen jumping from the balcony of the three-storey building on Tuesday night as plumes of smoke rose into the sky, giving off the smell of burned plastic. At least 13 people died from suffocation, officials said.
Fire department trucks line outside a karaoke club following a fire in Thuan An city, southern Vietnam.Credit:AP
Bich Ngoc, 30, worked as a receptionist at the karaoke bar. She was on the ground floor when she heard shouts of a fire and scrambled up to try to put it out but was forced back by the smoke, she said. She suffered a mild burn on her arms.
“I feel lucky,” she said wearily from An Phu hospital where the majority of the injured were brought after the fire. “I survived.”
She added that the soundproofing of the karaoke rooms and the loud singing also prevented some customers from hearing the warnings from employees. When they did hear the screaming, some people thought it was a joke.
“We did try to save as many people as possible,” she said. “We didn’t abandon them.”
Victims of the karaoke parlor fire being treated in a hospital in Thuan An.Credit:AP
The incident was the latest in a series of fires to erupt at bars in Vietnam over the last few years and has prompted Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to order safety inspections for all venues considered “high risk,” including bars, pubs and nightclubs. Police originally said 23 people had died but raised the toll to 33 on Wednesday.
It was an electrical short circuit that set off the fire at An Phu Karaoke, officials said. The bar was located in a working-class, industrial district in Thuan An, a city about an hour outside the commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh. According to locals, factory workers, food vendors and labourers lived in crowded low-rise buildings in the surrounding neighbourhood, and often visited An Phu. Many of the employees there were migrants from more rural districts.
The blaze started on the second floor before spreading rapidly to the third floor, catching on the foam mattresses that were used to soundproof the karaoke rooms, police said. Dense smoke and flames blocked exit routes for some 60 customers and employees. At least eight people were found dead in the bathroom, police said.
By Thursday afternoon, police had cordoned off the block where the bar was located. Debris littered the street, which was empty of people.
Trinh Ngoc Quyen, police director for Binh Duong, where the bar is located, said officials suspect some guests were slow to respond to initial warnings about the fire because they were inebriated. “Some guests were not sober . . . so they locked the door to continue singing,” he said.
Because of the damage to the building, it took firefighters a whole day to fully inspect the venue and identify victims, local officials said. As of Wednesday, police had verified the identities of 17 people who died, the youngest of whom was 20.
The toll from the fire is the highest in Vietnam since 2002 and has raised questions about fire safety standards and inspection protocol.
Karaoke is a popular form of entertainment in Asia, and fires at these crowded locations can quickly turn deadly. Just last month, three firefighters died on the job while responding to a fire at a karaoke bar in the capital Hanoi. After 13 people died in another karaoke bar fire in 2016, the government ordered a fire safety review of entertainment venues.
Washington Post
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