Poor supervision led to fatal fire

A high-level investigation into a Beijing apartment building fire that killed 19 people in November has concluded that the tragedy was caused by a combination of illegal practices and poor supervision.

Flames tore through the five-story Jufuyuan complex in Xihongmen township, part of the capital's Daxing district, on Nov 18 after an electrical fault occurred during testing of a new basement cold-storage unit.

More than 400 residents lived in the structure, which also housed workshops, storage units and other businesses - most of them unlicensed.

Most of the victims died from inhaling toxic carbon monoxide fumes. Another eight people were injured but survived.

On Monday, a central government inspection team sent by the State Council published its findings after conducting 300 interviews and examining 2,000 documents and other materials over the past seven months.

The team concluded that the building had illegal interior construction, with many residences converted into small, overcrowded rented dormitories that created a serious fire hazard.

Safety problems had existed for a long time, and the township government, as well as police and fire departments, had failed in their duty to provide sufficient oversight, the report said.

The local commerce department was also accused of indirectly causing the blaze by not regulating the businesses that were based in the illegal structures.

Police detained 15 people in connection with the fire, including Fan Zhaotian, the building's owner, who is accused of illegal construction, the investigative report said. It did not provide details on the other suspects.

Du Zhiyong, deputy head of Daxing, along with 20 other government officials, received punishment within the Communist Party of China, it added without elaborating.

Beijing Kangte Wood Co, which rented out rooms in the Jufuyuan complex, was among the three companies fined a total of 9.6 million yuan ($1.47 million) by the Beijing Administration of Work Safety, the report said.

The investigators called for Daxing district and related departments to stop illegal construction and businesses in the area, eliminate potential safety risks and strengthen the management of rentals.

The fire started in a basement area of 5,000 square meters that housed six cold-storage units. The first floor was rented out to restaurants, shops and small manufacturing businesses. The second and third floors had living spaces with a total area of 8,300 square meters. Its 305 rooms were rife with safety hazards, investigators found.

After the fire, the Beijing city government launched a 40-day citywide campaign aimed at eliminating fire hazards and other safety problems in crowded apartments and warehouses that function as storage areas, workshops or residences for workers.

According to a local resident who asked not to be named, many warehouses in Xihongmen failed to pass fire and safety assessments and had to be closed after the fire.