All exit doors but one were locked at the poultry slaughterhouse in Dehui, northeastern China, in which 119 people died in a massive fire last week, reports the BBC.
Three-hundred-and-fifty workers were inside the Baoyuanfeng meat processing plant when it caught fire at six in the morning. Panic ensued after a huge explosion caused flames and smoke from which people tried desperately to escape through the single open door. Fire crews were unable to get into the four-year-old building. Corridors were cramped, exits narrow, and a front gate was said to have been locked.
Common occurrence
South Africa’s IOL News reported that locked doors were a common occurrence at the plant, which stores ammonia for produce refrigeration and which had experienced another fire three years ago, said to have been caused by a lighted cigarette.
Initial investigations
China’s government has said initial investigations into the cause of the most recent blaze indicate:
Neglect of worker safety
China has a poor record on workplace safety, where factory fire exits are often locked or blocked during working hours to stop workers taking time off or stealing. One worker said:
Of course they’d restrict our movement. I don’t know why, but it’s not unreasonable. Which company allows workers to wander in and out during work hours?
Mary Gallagher, an expert on labour relations in China, told IOL News:
There’s a tendency [in China] to over-manage employees, to lock them in, to make sure they don’t steal. But they tend not to take into account the possibility of this kind of occasional accident that then turns into a disaster.
The fire is China’s deadliest since 2000, when 309 people died in a blaze in a dance hall in Luoyang, Henan province.
Hopefully this tragedy will spur China into humanizing its fire and workplace safety standards so that all fire exits are always kept open during working hours.
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This news is appalling. My heart goes out to those who were affected and to the families of those who perished in the fire.
Incidents like this emphasize the need for the proper implementation of fire safety measures. Locked exits are one of the factors; I’m fairly certain the number of casualties would have gone down had these exits been unlocked. If companies just made an effort to comply with recommended standards, so many lives would be spared. This is just sad.
It is easier said than done if you have businesses in the third world countries because it is very difficult to fully implement safety and fire exits rules when the police are inefficient and corrupt with limited resources to patrol every corner of the country to prevent and deter thieves using individuals fire and safety routes to steal.