Mr. Deng's new house was burned beyond recognition
By Lei Hongtao, reporter of the Legal System Weekly, and intern Cheng Hao (with photos)
If everything had gone as planned, Mr. Deng, a phase two owner of the Xingfu Li housing development in Changsha, Hunan Province, would have gotten married this October and moved into his new home. However, a fire on the evening of July 25th completely destroyed Mr. Deng’s dreams, leaving only "fire lumps" scattered across the floor of his new house. His losses amounted to 260,000 yuan.
During the firefighting process, the renovation workers discovered that the fire protection facilities in the building were essentially useless: there were no water guns or fire hoses equipped in the fire windows, not even a single fire extinguisher. As a result, Mr. Deng repeatedly sought negotiations with the housing developer - Changsha Xingheyuan Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. - but to his dismay, they played "hide and seek." With no other options, Mr. Deng prepared to file a lawsuit against the developer using legal means.
A fire costing 260,000 yuan
On July 29th, reporters from the Legal System Weekly visited Mr. Deng's new house. The new house on the 18th floor was now "unbearable to look at."
"Originally, there was a carved relief of a lotus flower pattern on this wall, which cost more than ten thousand yuan," Mr. Deng pointed to a blackened wall and said, "the tiles on the ground each cost 380 yuan, and all four central air conditioning units inside the house were completely destroyed." He preliminarily estimated that this fire caused him nearly 260,000 yuan in losses.
Afterward, Master He, a renovation worker at the scene of the fire, believed that: "If there had been water on the 18th floor at the time, the loss could have been controlled within 20,000 yuan." According to the recollections of the renovation workers who were present, at around 7:40 PM on the 25th, three renovation workers were preparing to go eat dinner. After Master He closed the door, the three left the 18th floor.
At around 8:50 PM, the three returned to the 18th floor. As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Master He noticed thick smoke coming out of Mr. Deng's apartment number 1803. The three quickly opened the door to check the situation. Since the room was under renovation, it was filled with wood and wall tiles. Master He found flames on the sawdust in the living room, and the entire room was already full of thick smoke. The three began putting out the fire while contacting the homeowner and the fire department. Master Cao immediately ran to the fire equipment window on the floor and opened the window door, "I was stunned when I realized there were no water guns or fire hoses equipped in the fire window." Master He attempted to turn on the fire hydrant in hopes of using water to put out the fire, but "the fire hydrant made some gurgling sounds, and no water came out." Seeing the fire growing larger, without any fire extinguishers or other fire-fighting equipment, the three had no choice but to descend the stairs for safety. At around 10 PM that night, after the fire department arrived, the fire was finally brought under control.
When Mr. Deng arrived at the scene, his carefully renovated matrimonial home had already been burned beyond recognition. "I took delivery of the house at the end of May, and started renovating around the Dragon Boat Festival. I used only the best materials. Prior to the incident, only three bedrooms had not completed the ceiling work, with the renovation being 90% complete."
The developer plays "hide and seek"
"Living in Happiness, enduring suffering." This is how Mr. Deng lamented. "If there had been complete fire extinguishers and other fire-fighting equipment on the 18th floor at the time, the losses could have been minimized." Regarding whether the fire-fighting facilities on the floor were properly equipped during the incident, on July 29th, the reporter accompanied Mr. Deng to the property management office of the housing development - Changsha Yongjia Property Management Office.
Mr. Deng presented the previously signed "Fire Safety Responsibility Letter" with the property company, confronting Su, the responsible person of Yongjia Property Management face-to-face: Article Five clearly stipulates "strictly implementing the fire safety inspection system and hazard solutions measures, ensuring that fire equipment and devices are complete, intact, and effective. Timely eliminating fire hazards."
"Was there a fire hose, water gun, and fire extinguisher in the fire window on the 18th floor on July 25th?" Mr. Deng questioned. Su claimed he was unaware. In fact, many residents in the community reflected that only after the fire did each floor begin installing fire hoses, water guns, and fire extinguishers. It wasn't until the morning of July 29th that the fire hose and water gun were installed in Building 103 where the accident occurred.
At 9 AM on the 29th, Mr. Deng met two staff members, Liu Ping and Li Xiaowei, installing fire hoses on the 21st floor. Liu Ping stated that they were sent by the property management and required to install the fire hose and water gun that day.
When Mr. Deng questioned Su about the fire equipment issue, Su defended himself by saying: "There are various construction teams conducting renovations on each floor, we were worried they might steal the fire equipment, so we removed them."
Deng, a member of the security team, said: "Regarding fire-related work, the developer has not yet transferred these responsibilities to us, at least not in writing."
Immediately, Mr. Deng approached the sales office supervisor of the housing development requesting to meet with the developer. He claimed that after the fire, the developer had delayed appearing, making him feel "extremely disheartened."
On the afternoon of July 29th, the reporter accompanied Mr. Deng to a certain office building where he paid his house deposit, believing the developer should be working there. However, it was already the office location of another company, and Changsha Xingheyuan Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., as the developer, had vanished without a trace.
Lawyers say the developer should take responsibility
In fact, after investigation, the reporter discovered that many housing developments in Changsha, though having passed fire inspections, did not actually equip themselves with the required fire facilities.
Recently, the Legal System Weekly also received complaints from homeowners of Jingjiang Yajuan: This housing development was delivered for use in 2010 and had passed the fire inspection. But as late as July this year, there were still no visible fire extinguishers in the neighborhood. Some owners questioned how a development without fire extinguishers managed to pass the fire inspection? A relevant person in charge of the engineering department of the developer of Jingjiang Yajuan - Hunan Yukai Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., Mr. Zhou, explained to the reporter that the reason for not installing fire extinguishers was twofold: one, the fire inspection was "filing system", and the fire department only conducted spot checks; two, at the time of delivery, few residents had moved in, and the developer was concerned about theft of fire equipment. Lawyer Liu Jun from Hunan Jinzhou Law Firm commented on such phenomena, stating that according to the new Fire Control Law Articles Ten and Thirteen, it is explicitly stipulated that: for large-scale densely populated venues and other special construction projects specified by the State Council and the public security departments, apart from those needing fire design according to national construction engineering fire technology standards, the construction unit shall file relevant documents with the public security organ's fire control institution for "filing", and the public security organ's fire control institution shall conduct spot checks... After project acceptance, the construction unit shall report to the public security organ's fire control institution for "filing", and the public security organ's fire control institution shall conduct spot checks; if the spot check finds it unqualified, it shall stop use.
Discussing Mr. Deng's experience, Liu Jun pointed out that the developer did not equip the fire facilities as per relevant regulations before handing over the house, and should bear corresponding responsibilities. Mr. Deng also informed the reporter that currently, he was waiting for the identification results from the fire department. Once the cause of the fire was determined, he would sue the developer for an explanation.