Govt Under Fire For Worst High-Rise Blaze
By Lawrence Chung
STRAITS TIMES TAIWAN BUREAU
14 May 2001
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Fire-fighters were last night still struggling to battle a huge fire which has engulfed a 26-storey building outside Taipei, destroying dozens of high-tech company offices that are worth tens of millions of dollars.
At press time, the fire, which started at around 4 am on Saturday, was still smouldering at the four-building complex at Hsichih town, a suburb of Taipei.
It is Taiwan's worst high-rise fire to date.
The complex houses more than 200 high-tech companies, including leading computer maker Acer.
Acer Group Chief Executive Officer Stan Shih, who visited the site, said that the fire may cost the group NT$670 million (S$36.8 million), but after insurance compensation, actual losses should stand at around NT$130 million.
More than 60 fire brigades and 500 firemen were dispatched to the scene but efforts to control the fire were hampered by strong winds brought on by a small typhoon as well as by inadequate equipment.
The fire is believed to have started on the third floor of Block A. The flames then spread to Block B and C of the complex.
Critics have condemned the government's firefighting capacity. According to firemen, the longest scaling ladder in Taiwan can only reach up to the 17th to 20th floors.
Firemen also said that the automatic sprinkling system installed at the complex failed to work effectively because of low water pumping pressure.
'Because of the low water pumping pressure within the building, the little water drawn by the sprinkling system just vaporised into steam almost immediately,' a fireman told The Straits Times.
Mr Yen Cheng-chia, director of the Taipei County Fire Department, said that the structure of the buildings - enclosed by an air-tight glass exterior - created a chimney effect, making their jobs even more difficult.
'The strong winds brought by tropical storm Cimaron also helped fan the fire,' he said.
The initial damage from the fire is estimated at more than NT$3 billion (S$166 million).
Legislators, who rushed down to the scene, questioned the government's response to the fire and vowed to hold it responsible for failing to install adequate facilities to tackle high-rise fires.
'We have been troubled by an increasing jobless rate and the fire will cost a further unemployment of at least 7,000 people,' said legislator Lo Ming-tsai.
'If the government had upgraded firefighting facilities, losses would have been minimised,' he said.
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung, who went to the scene, argued that the government was quick to respond and would do all it could to help the companies affected by the blaze.
Vice-President Annette Lu, who was also at scene, asked if helicopters would be of any help to put it out.
But Mr Yen said that the effect would be small because of the air-tight glass exteriors. Source: The Straitstimes Interactive, Singapore
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