On the afternoon of the 16th, a fire broke out at the China Telecom Building in Changsha City, Hunan Province, China, and the momentum was tremendous. (Screenshot from YouTube video)
On the afternoon of the 16th, a fire broke out at the China Telecom Building in Changsha City, Hunan Province, China, and the momentum was tremendous. Authorities have yet to report casualties, but videos posted online show a large amount of burning objects falling, raising fears that there could be casualties. Others have also revealed bids for firefighting upgrades to the building, suggesting that “the firefighting equipment has a hidden problem.” No formal answer has been given to this.
According to the official Weibo of the Hunan Provincial Fire Department on the 16th, a fire broke out at the “China Telecom Building” on the East 2nd Ring Road in Fuyong District, Changsha City on the afternoon of the same day. It is said that black smoke rises to the sky, the momentum is tremendous, and the building is engulfed in flames. The fire department dispatched 17 fire departments, 36 fire trucks and 280 firefighters to the scene, and the fire was finally extinguished at around 5:00 pm.
According to Baidu Encyclopedia, which is known as the Chinese version of Wikipedia, China Telecom, whose full name is China Telecom, is a major state-owned telecommunications company. Completed in 2000, the China Telecom Building is 218 meters high, with 42 floors above ground and 2 floors below ground.
According to the Chinese newspaper “Mainichi Keizai Shimbun”, the electronic bidding platform of Zhongtong Clothing Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. was recruiting. According to public information, Zhongtong is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Telecom Group and is engaged in supply chain management services.
The bidding notice states, “Currently, the firefighting equipment of China Telecom Building is aging, some equipment settings are not in line with current national standards and norms, and the fire alarm system and smoke evacuation system are still unsafe. There is a big problem,” and the estimated total amount of the bid was over 4.4 million yuan (about 88 million yen). However, on the 5th, the platform announced that the above bid was unsuccessful. Regarding this, the Mainichi Keizai Shimbun reportedly tried to call the mobile phone of the person in charge of the Hunan branch of China Telecom, which was mentioned in the tender announcement, but was unable to get through.
(Translated by Kiriko Tokunaga)
Related article