At 5:55 AM yesterday morning, a sudden fire broke out at a motorcycle repair shop in Yanziji, Nanjing, which also operated a water boiler. Tragically, the owner's wife, their 15-year-old son, and their 5-year-old daughter lost their lives in the blaze. When firefighters cleared the scene, they discovered that the owner’s wife had tried desperately to shield her 5-year-old daughter with her own body, but unfortunately, she was unable to save her child’s life. Currently, the three bodies have been taken away by the police for investigation. It is estimated that the fire might have been caused by burning wood from the tea kettle falling and igniting oil stains on the ground, but the exact cause still awaits further investigation by the police and fire departments.
At dawn, a loud explosion was heard, followed by flames shooting out from the door cracks.
Around 7 AM yesterday, I arrived at the scene and found that the fire had already been extinguished. The walls of the motorcycle repair shop were charred black, its roof gone, and the interior completely devastated. A nearby furniture store's sign was also damaged.
Mr. Zhang, who collects scrap, usually gets up around 5:30 AM to run and exercise. Yesterday at 5:50 AM, as he left his house, he saw Mr. Xu, the owner of the motorcycle repair shop, getting up as well. After exchanging greetings, Mr. Zhang went running. However, shortly after leaving, he heard a loud "bang," coming from the direction of the repair shop. Mr. Zhang quickly ran over and saw thick black smoke billowing from the roof of the repair shop. Realizing the situation was dire, Mr. Zhang rushed over to check, but the roller shutter door was tightly closed, with flames spurting out from the cracks. Seeing this, Mr. Zhang hurriedly grabbed two fire extinguishers and sprayed them fiercely at the burning building, but it had little effect.
Subsequently, another "bang" came from the motorcycle repair shop, waking up Ms. Zhang, the neighbor who owns the furniture store. She heard cries for help coming from next door. Only then did she realize there was a fire, so she hastily gathered her family—her young son in her arms, her daughter and husband—and fled outside. As soon as they stepped outside, the small warehouse behind the furniture store also caught fire. Fortunately, her family escaped unharmed. Once they reached a safe distance, they noticed the neighboring repair shop engulfed in roaring flames, breaking through the roof.
"Help! Fire!" Mr. Zhang continued spraying the burning building with the fire extinguisher. Neighbors, hearing the commotion, rushed outside with basins of water to assist in putting out the fire, but the flames were too intense to control. At this moment, Mr. Xu arrived at the scene and, seeing his home ablaze, became frantic. "My wife, son, and daughter are still sleeping inside! Everyone, lend a hand and open the door to save them!" Mr. Xu attempted to rush towards the roller shutter door to open it, but the door was scorching hot, impossible to touch.
Just then, the fire department arrived. The firefighters immediately set up water guns and began dousing the motorcycle repair shop with powerful streams of water. Ten minutes later, the visible flames were completely extinguished. Subsequently, the firefighters pried open the roller shutter door and found that the 15-square-meter repair shop had been entirely gutted, its contents scattered everywhere.
The police then cordoned off the area with caution tape while the firefighters entered the premises to investigate. Near the entrance stood a water boiler, now burnt black. Inside the house were some repair tools, all turned black. In the corner was a tricycle, reduced to an empty frame due to the fire. Upon preliminary investigation, the firefighters discovered three bodies inside. The police promptly sent personnel to transport the bodies away and took Mr. Xu to a nearby police station for further questioning.
Heartbreaking! The store owner locked the door while going to the bathroom.
"It's terrible! A whole family of three perished in the fire; the youngest was only five years old and was supposed to start kindergarten in the fall!" Nearby residents said that when the firefighters fully pried open the roller shutter door, they found a woman curled up near the door, her hands stretched forward. As they prepared to lift the woman out, they discovered a little girl beneath her. Not far away, they found a man's body. Witnessing this scene, many residents were deeply moved. "The mother was truly great. Just before dying, she still shielded her daughter, obviously trying to escape with her, but unfortunately, the roller shutter door was closed, leaving no chance."
Ms. Zhang from the furniture store said that during the firefighting process, a man sat on the ground sobbing uncontrollably. He was Mr. Xu, the owner of the repair shop. After the fire was extinguished, seeing his wife, son, and daughter burned to death, he stared blankly at them for a long time before bursting into tears again. Later, when questioned by the police, he said that after getting up in the morning, he started boiling water. After lighting the fire, he suddenly felt stomach pain and went to the bathroom. To prevent outsiders from entering, he locked the roller shutter door before leaving. Who knew that such tragedy would occur in just a short while. It is understood that Mr. Xu is from Fuyang, Anhui, and has been running the repair shop here for more than ten years. A few years ago, he added a wood-burning water boiler to the repair shop. The three deceased were his wife, 5-year-old daughter, and 15-year-old son. According to a sanitation worker working nearby, Mr. Xu's son is over 160 cm tall and had already dropped out of school, yet met with such an unexpected disaster.
After the fire occurred, investigators from the fire department remained at the scene investigating the cause of the fire. Residents said that Mr. Xu had always been running a motorcycle repair shop, and later added the operation of a water boiler. This water boiler used wood as fuel, and Mr. Xu had gone to the bathroom after lighting the fire in the morning. The motorcycle repair shop definitely contained some gasoline, and there were oil stains on the ground. There were also some flammable items like motor oil within the shop. Some residents speculated that sparks from the burning wood ignited the oil stains on the ground, leading to the large fire. As for the loud sound, it might have been caused by the combustion of objects like the motorcycle's fuel tank.
Moreover, Mr. Xu's family lived on a loft partitioned inside the house. Sleeping upstairs made it difficult for them to escape quickly during the fire. The fire department meticulously recorded the residents' estimated causes of the fire. In the afternoon, I contacted the fire department again regarding the cause of the fire. The fire department stated that due to the significant impact of the fire, involving compensation issues, a thorough investigation would be conducted, and the cause would be promptly announced once determined.
Rescue
At 8:19 AM yesterday, while the fire department was conducting further investigations at the fire scene, many netizens had already learned about the progress of the rescue efforts via Weibo. According to the Nanjing Fire Department's Weibo account, at 5:55 AM on May 13, a fire broke out at a motorcycle repair shop located at No. 45 Xuejiacun, Taixin Road, Qixia District. The fire department mobilized two detachments, six fire trucks, and 33 soldiers to rush to the scene and fight the fire, which was extinguished at 6:05 AM. The fire spread over an area of approximately 15 square meters. Three bodies were found while clearing the fire site. Currently, the cause of the fire and the deaths are under investigation.
Fifteen minutes later, Nanjing Announce (the official Weibo account of the Publicity Department of the Nanjing Municipal Committee) forwarded the Nanjing Public Security Fire Bureau's Weibo post, updating the progress of the rescue efforts again.