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A building wrapped in a construction shed after a fire, 2020

The Guangzhou Jianye Building fire was a major fire that occurred on December 15, 2013 in the Jianye Building in Yuexiu, Guangzhou Guangzhou City Guangdong province the People's Republic of China . The fire was caused by a short circuit in the main power line on the first floor, which ignited the combustibles in the corridor .  The fire area was 12,500 square meters, but there were no casualties . The Guangzhou Fire Department dispatched a total of 28 squadrons, 58 fire trucks and 380 officers and soldiers to the scene to extinguish the fire .  The official preliminary estimate of the economic losses caused by this accident was about RMB 40 million.  The final determination of the economic losses was RMB 40.66 million .  However, the Guangzhou Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce pointed out that the total losses of 32 Wenzhou merchants who rented warehouses in Jianye Building were nearly RMB 80 million .

Building Overview

Main article: Central China Building 。

Jianye Building is an unfinished building in Guangzhou, located in Yuexiu District.The original plan was to use the three underground floors as garages and equipment rooms, floors 1 to 5 as shopping malls, and floors 6 to 25 as office buildings, with a total construction area of ​​26,044 square meters. The building was invested and built in 1993, and construction and sales began in 1995. It was originally scheduled to be delivered in 1998, but due to the Asian financial crisis , the developer ran out of funds and construction was suspended after the main project was completed in 1998.

After 2000, the building was used as a parking lot and warehouse for rent. The first floor was used as a parking lot, and the second to 25th floors became warehouses for shoe stores on nearby Jiefang Road .  The entire facade of Jianye Building has been installed with glass walls, but there is no wall or gate. There is only a pillar with the words "Jianye Building" and the house number handwritten in white paint. The interior of the building is not decorated, and many pipelines are exposed.

Accident process

15th

At around 18:37 on December 15, 2013, a short circuit occurred in the main power line on the first floor of Jianye Building, igniting the combustibles in the corridor . According to the survivors’ recollections, at around 19:00, the security guards notified them that the building was on fire, and that flames were already burning on floors 3-5. Another survivor said that floors 1-5 were on fire due to a short circuit. One survivor said that the fire occurred on Sunday, when there were fewer people .

At 20:20, a fireball suddenly appeared on the 18th floor of the building, and the 10th floor and above were engulfed in flames. Multiple explosions were heard .  Parts of the outer wall iron sheets were blown into the air by the fire, and the debris fell to the ground . The glass of the multi-story building was splashed to the ground due to excessive heat.

16th

edit At around 00:00 the next day, flames shot up from Jianye Building, and the 30-story building was completely engulfed in flames. Thick smoke poured out of the building, a pungent smell of burning filled the air, and sparks from burning objects fell from high above. At around 2:00, the fire was still raging.

At 5:55 a.m., the fire on the upper floors of the building had been basically extinguished. Only the interior of the building on the third floor in the middle was still burning, but the flames had gradually weakened. A large amount of white smoke was coming out from the east side of the building, and the sky was surrounded by thick black smoke.

At around 7:00, the fire in Jianye Building was no longer on the main structure, but there were still several small open flames from the bottom to the top. A large amount of thick smoke was wafting out from the burning area, covering the sky and surrounding buildings. At around 10:00, there were still a few flames in the building, and several high-pressure fire trucks were still spraying water on the floors. A large amount of white smoke was wafting out of the building. There were crackling sounds of glass and building materials falling from the building, and various debris from the burning building were found in the surrounding areas. At around 14:25, the three high-pressure fire trucks withdrew, and only a thin layer of smoke was floating around Jianye Building. The open flames were gone, and the building itself was basically no longer smoking.  After the fire was extinguished, the building's dark exterior and exposed steel bars were exposed .

Rescue

To put out the fire, the Guangzhou Fire Department mobilized 28 squadrons, 58 fire trucks, and 380 officers and soldiers. The Guangdong Provincial Fire Brigade dispatched a total of 8 ladder trucks and 7 high-pressure water trucks from the Special Service Brigade, Dongguan Branch, Foshan Branch, and Shenzhen Branch to provide reinforcements .  As the building was not completed, the internal firefighting system could not be activated, and the fire brigade could only try to lay water hoses to "attack" the internal fire scene. Later, as the fire intensified, the firefighters in the building evacuated, and the main force of firefighting was changed to fire trucks and fire cannons installed on the roofs of surrounding buildings .

At 18:50 on the 15th, the 119 Command Center received an alarm, and the Yuexiu Squadron, Jiefang North Squadron and Yuexiu District Brigade rushed to the fire scene; 5 minutes later, the Yuexiu Squadron saw thick smoke on Da Nan Road and requested reinforcements  . At 19:55, three trapped people on the 22nd and 25th floors were rescued by firefighters . The fire on the 1st to 5th floors gradually shrank under the control of fire trucks . At 20:20, due to the intensification of the fire, the number of fire trucks arriving at the scene increased to 15, and Qiyi Road was also blocked . At 21:10, the blockade area continued to expand  .

At 2:30 a.m. on the 16th, the fire department dispatched two high-pressure fire trucks for reinforcement, but the water jets could only reach more than 10 floors of the building at most, and could not put out the fire on the top few floors; because the temperature of the fire in the building was high, the water jets sprayed on the fire scene were often evaporated by the fire before they reached the fire .  At around 14:25, the three high-pressure fire trucks withdrew  ; at 16:00, one fire truck was still spraying water on the building . The fire brigade on the scene did not officially leave until 12:00 on the 18th .

During the firefighting process, although the water company increased the water pressure of the fire hydrants , it was still unable to cope with the long-term firefighting operation. The fire brigade considered using a helicopter to put out the fire , but the glass curtain wall at the top of the building and the floor slabs on each floor would block the water flow, so it was ultimately not implemented.

Resettlement and evacuation

The fire resulted in the evacuation of 1,600 nearby residents .

At 21:10 on the 15th, with the assistance of firefighters, the Guangdong Overseas Chinese Middle School, located near the building , was dismissed early; at the same time, the blockade area continued to expand. From 22:15, the residential area near the building began to be evacuated, and the residents' committee placed the residents in resettlement points, such as Guangzhou Huimin Primary School. Some residents who did not see the residents' committee went to other places for refuge.

At around 1:00 am on the 16th, in order to avoid the danger of the building collapsing, the nearby police station began to evacuate residents within a 100-meter radius of the fire scene one by one. Since the Huimin Primary School was already full, the remaining residents were accommodated in Chaotian Road Primary School and the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government Office in Guangzhou. At the Huimin Primary School, staff registered the identities of the influx of residents and arranged them one by one to stay in a nearby hotel.

Although the fire was under control on the afternoon of the 16th, the building was still in danger of collapse; therefore, at 19:00 on the same day, the residents of Huimin Primary School were moved to Chaotian Road Primary School. As of 20:00, staff were still collecting information on residents at the evacuation point.

Investigation and accountability by authorities

Start an investigation

At 3:00 p.m. on the 20th, the accident investigation team, led by the Guangzhou Public Security Fire Department and composed of members from the Supervision Bureau and the Work Safety Supervision Bureau, held its first meeting at the fire scene .

Survey Conclusions

Direct cause

The Yuexiu District Procuratorate filed a public prosecution on January 28, 2014, stating that the direct cause of the accident was that Jin, an electrician who was responsible for installing, inspecting and maintaining the electrical circuits of Jianye Building, violated technical operating procedures and rectified the main power line of the warehouse on fire, causing the main power line to short-circuit and ignite the combustibles.

In the “Investigation Report on the Guangzhou “12.15” Major Fire Accident” published by Guangzhou Fire Department on May 31, 2014, the direct cause of the accident was a short circuit in the main power line on the first floor of Jianye Building, which ignited combustibles. Due to the fact that the firefighting facilities and other overall projects of the building were not completed and the fire load was large, the fire spread quickly and the firefighting took a long time.

Indirect causes

The Guangzhou Fire Department published the “Investigation Report on the Guangzhou “12·15” Major Fire Accident” on May 31, 2014, stating that the indirect cause of the fire was  :

• The main responsibility for fire safety in Jianye Building was not fulfilled, and there were illegal business operations;
• The building's daily fire safety management is not in place, electrical equipment and wiring are installed in violation of regulations, and fire hazards exist for a long time.
• Relevant personnel from the Municipal Investigation Office and other departments committed serious dereliction of duty in the organization and coordination of the reconstruction and revitalization of Jianye Building;
• The Yuexiu District Public Security Bureau failed to perform its fire supervision and management duties;
• The Yuexiu District Government , Yuexiu District Guangta Sub-district Office, and Yuexiu District Industrial and Commercial BureauGuangta Industrial and Commercial Office failed to perform their local supervision duties properly;

Officials handling

On December 18, 2013, Guangzhou Yuexiu police issued a notice stating that Li and five other responsible persons for the Jianye Building had been detained by the Yuexiu District Public Security Bureau in accordance with the law on suspicion of fire-related negligence.

On May 31, 2014, the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government reviewed and approved the "Investigation Report on the Guangzhou "12·15" Major Fire Accident" and concluded that this was a major fire safety accident. The investigation report pointed out that 41 people were responsible for the accident, 30 of whom were staff members of the regulatory department. In the end , six people were arrested and convicted for " negligence in duty". They are:

• Lin Jianshu, deputy director of the Mediation Management Division of the Municipal Bureau of Justice;
• Yao Zhixiang, deputy director of the Real Estate Construction and Development Division of the Municipal Urban and Rural Construction Committee;
• Chen Yurong, chief clerk of the Fire Prevention Section of the Yuexiu District Public Security Bureau;
• Huang Lichuan, Director of Guangta Street Police Station;
• Chen Yunqiao, deputy chief of Beijing Street Police Station;
• Huang Juefeng, a police officer from Kuangquan Street Police Station;

After the court hearing, it only ruled to sentence Chen Yunqiao to bribery. In the case of Chen Yunqiao, the Liwan District People's Court held that Chen had performed his inspection work, imposed a series of penalties, reported the situation of the building in a timely manner, and had resigned when the fire broke out, so he was not guilty of dereliction of duty .

compensation

Since Jianye Building was an unfinished building, the owner of the warehouse in the building had not received the property certificate, and the developer was nowhere to be found, so how to seek compensation became a problem. Wu Yanjun, secretary of the Yuexiu District Party Committee, also said that the leasing relationship between the merchants and the owners was illegal, and the government would not accept the claim application and could only provide legal aid. A legal advisor from the Guangzhou Municipal Land and Housing Administration Bureau said that the owner could sue the developer for breach of contract and the building management company to recover the losses caused by poor management.

Recent News

After the fire, Jianye Building has been surrounded by green construction sheds for more than 10 years. On April 19, 2024, workers began to dismantle the construction sheds one after another, and the traces of the fire that year are still clearly visible.

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On May 6, 2025, the Guangzhou Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau announced that the reconstruction plan for Jianye Building had been approved by the Guangzhou Municipal Environmental Protection Committee, and the original building had begun to be demolished and was about to enter the implementation stage .