Sanitation workers are cleaning up the "red carpet" for welcoming the God of Wealth. Photos taken at the scene by Liu Xiang.
Report by Yang Tianhong
The Morning Post reports that in the early hours of last night, the awning outside the balcony of a resident on the third floor of a building in Nantangbang Road 93 in the Luwan District suddenly caught fire. The flames quickly spread, affecting several households in the building. Four elderly people over 80 years old were trapped but were helped to safety by their families, neighbors, and security personnel, and were then sent to the hospital by 120 emergency services. They are out of danger for now. The cause of the fire was determined to be fireworks launched nearby to welcome the God of Wealth.
Just before midnight last night, someone set off fireworks near a six-story residential building. One of the scattered fireworks hit the plastic awning outside the balcony of Mr. Zhu's home on the third floor, instantly igniting it.
Mr. Zhu told reporters that the room that caught fire belonged to his parents, both over 80 years old. When they noticed the fire, they initially tried to put it out themselves, but couldn't turn on the lights. Mr. Zhu attempted to douse the flames with water, but due to the intensity of the fire and the smoke, he had to retreat with his wife and help his elderly parents escape from the scene. At this point, their upstairs neighbors, seeing the flames and thick smoke rising, hastily evacuated without even having time to dress.
On the fourth floor, two households were occupied by an 86-year-old Mr. Zhang and an elderly woman in her 80s, both bedridden due to illness and trapped inside by the smoke. A Mr. Wang from the ground floor and a neighborhood security guard risked their lives to rush upstairs and carry these two elderly individuals to safety. Soon after, the elderly were sent to the hospital for treatment, where they were found to be out of immediate danger.
After receiving the report, the fire department dispatched several fire trucks to the scene. After an hour and a half of firefighting efforts, the blaze was finally extinguished, though several households suffered varying degrees of damage. Relevant leaders from the Luwan District visited the scene, assessed the situation, and properly arranged temporary accommodations for the affected residents.