The families of the firefighters who died in the Qiao You case tried to erect a monument and were smashed? County promises meeting to discuss

Text / Gongku reporter Hong Yuzeng

On May 3, the Firefighters' Work Rights Promotion Association and the family of Chen Zhifan, a firefighter who died in the Qiao You case, jointly held a press conference in Changhua County Government. Representatives of public opinion participating in the meeting included Wu Weida, a representative of Times Power Changhua County, Zheng Yuyan, a candidate for the Changhua County Council of Times Power, Chen Yunzhi, a representative candidate for Xiushui Township, and Yang Zixian, a candidate for the Changhua County Council of the Democratic Progressive Party.

The Consumer Promotion Association pointed out that a few days ago (5/2), the Fire Department of the Ministry of the Interior had issued a report on the investigation results of the disaster accident (relevant report) in response to the Qiao You case, which pointed out the relevant administrative negligence of the Changhua County Government. The Consumer Promotion Association emphasized that the Changhua County Government should take the relevant responsibility for this case, and responded positively to the "tombstone" appeal raised by Chen Zhifan's family since the incident, rather than repeatedly evading it.

The results of the disaster investigation were released, and the people demanded an apology from the Changhua County Government

The Changhua Qiaoyou fire occurred on the evening of June 30, 2021. The fire lasted for nearly 9 hours and spread to the "Passion Fruit Hotel" located in the same building as an epidemic prevention hotel, causing a total of 4 deaths and 21 injuries. Among the dead were three residents of the epidemic prevention hotel and Chen Zhifan, a member of the Eastern Division of the Changhua County Fire Department.

Chen Zhifan's sister, Chen Yizhu, mentioned that since the incident, as the family members of the deceased firefighters, they often have to actively seek to participate in relevant meetings, such as taking the initiative to participate in the briefing session of the Changhua County Government and the Changxian Fire Department, so as to have the opportunity to learn more about them. The situation at the time of the incident.

Li Zongwu, vice chairman of the Consumer Promotion Association, is also one of the members of the Disaster Investigation Committee. He said that the content of the disaster investigation report pointed out that the drawings of the Passion Fruit Hotel are in different conditions, resulting in the design drawings and as-built drawings (the real drawings after the building is completed). not the same. The hotel operator changed the number of rooms on his own and did not notify the county government or conduct other reviews. Even the "room" where Chen Zhifan was hiding was actually shown as a "storage room" space on the original map.

Li Zongwu emphasized that the original county government's investigation of the Qiaoyou Building used "pre-examination and then investigation", which resulted in the failure to discover the building's fire safety inspection concerns as early as possible. If the county government does investigate, or if the industry does carry out procedures such as map changes, perhaps Chen Zhifan will not hide in such a space, and it will also allow the fire department to better understand the overall space configuration, and more clearly understand where to search and rescue. Chen Zhifan. In addition, the fire doors in the whole building are in different conditions. Either there is a lack of fire doors or the fire doors are opened. Together with the different materials of the ceiling caulking, the fire is full of smoke and makes rescue difficult.

"The information obtained by the firefighters at the scene is very limited!" Li Zongwu pointed out that the mistakes and deficiencies of the firefighting unit's tactics at the time of the fire should not be completely blamed on the commander's responsibility, and the reasons behind the insufficient tactics should also be understood. The building information available is quite limited.

With the continuous spread of the fire on the scene and the inability to effectively transmit information between firefighters, even the RIT team (Rapid Intervention Team, also known as the Rapid Rescue Team), which was supposed to enter the room to rescue the trapped firefighters, also pointed out after the event. I don't know what my mission was at the time. Li Zongwu believes that there is a gap between the above-mentioned on-site establishment and practical cognition, which is indeed something that the Zhang County Fire Department must review.

Chen Yizhu mentioned that regarding the disaster accident investigation meeting established by the Fire Department of the Ministry of the Interior, he only attended the presentation in August last year, and he had no way of knowing the progress of the disaster investigation until the report was released a few days ago. Finally got a result.

"It's not just Chen Zhifan who is involved, there are other travelers who stayed at the epidemic prevention hotel and the families of the victims. The county government has not really apologized for this incident so far!" He mentioned that the disaster investigation report mentioned that the Changhua County government and the The fire department has serious administrative process negligence, negligence in dispatching firefighting manpower, etc., and calls on the county government to face up to the case, take responsibility for the wrong part, and apologize to the family.

Chen Zhifan's death in the line of duty is about to be "opposite the year". The monument is still being studied?

Especially about half a month after the incident, Chen Yizhu and the Consumer Promotion Association also held a press conference and put forward three demands of "truth, erecting a monument, and forming a labor union" (relevant reports) . However, some counties who "established a monument" have not responded positively , for more than ten months, the reply "already under development" has only been replied with an official document. In addition, Chen Zhifan's death is about to enter the "opposite year", which is commonly known as the first anniversary of the folks. What is the plan for erecting the monument so far? He criticized the attitude of the county government as playing a ball.

In the face of the family's demands, Cai Fubin, secretary of the Zhang County Fire Department, came forward to accept the petition, and said that in December last year, he had suggested to the Fire Department of the Ministry of the Interior that a monument is expected to be erected at the fire department training center in Zhushan, Nantou in the future, and the fire department has also agreed to the proposal. In this regard, Chen Yizhu was deeply dissatisfied. He said that the purpose of erecting a monument in the fire department's unit was for the firefighters serving in the training center and the firefighters who participated in the training in the future to understand the matter. However, the Qiao You case happened in Changhua, and the county government should also erect a monument in Changhua to state the case, so that the public can also understand the impact of the Qiao You fire.

Zhu Zhiyu, secretary-general of the Consumer Promotion Association, added that in the past, there were industrial disasters such as snow tunnels and Taipei 101 building, and relevant units also erected monuments there to commemorate the laborers who worked hard for related projects and unfortunately died. On the other hand, firefighters died for the sake of the country and unfortunately died, and relevant units should also erect monuments to commemorate them, so that future ruling and administrative teams can understand the ins and outs of the incident, and avoid repeated regrets.

Zhu Zhiyu emphasized that the "Xinwu Bowling Alley Fire" in Taoyuan in 2015 caused the deaths of 6 firefighters. With the efforts of their families and the Fire Promotion Association, the Taoyuan City Government set up a monument in the Bade Fire Training Center and Disaster Prevention Education Center in 2018, and detailed the details. Record the contents of the Correction Report of the Control Yuan. Zhu called on the Changhua County Government to refer to the Taoyuan City Government's practice and respond to the family's demands rather than keep delaying the matter.

When asked whether a monument could be erected within a week, Cai Fubin said that he would bring the content of the petition back to the discussion, which aroused dissatisfaction among the people at the scene, and asked Cai to give a time limit to avoid letting family members wait. Cai Fubin then proposed to reply to the family within one month, but this move was not approved. Cai proposed to reply within two weeks, which was also not accepted by the people at the scene.

"If you are really planning to erect a monument, have you been working on it for more than half a year and still have nothing?" Chen Yizhu pointed out that the family has spent a lot of time constantly asking to erect a monument in Changhua to commemorate the Qiao You fire incident. However, the county government has always Instead of inviting the family members to discuss the matter in person, he asked: "You (the county government) haven't been here since the festival. If we hadn't persisted until now, would the other victims have a chance to know about it?"

The protesters at the scene demanded that if Cai Fubin failed to make a decision, he should go to an official responsible for the appeal within 10 minutes to accept the complaint. A few minutes later, Cai returned to the protest site, promising to write a letter to the family members before Friday (5/6), and set up a coordination meeting with the family members to discuss the erection of the monument. A few days ago, Chen Yizhu also said that he has arranged to discuss the erection of the monument with the Changhua County Fire Bureau next Monday (5/9), and hopes to have follow-up progress.

You can also read about the fire of Qiaoyou here...

"The Reception Room of Splendid Time" Episode 326: Why Vulcan Tears (Part 1): Families of the firefighters who died want the truth

Episode 327 of "The Reception Room of Splendid Time": Why does Vulcan cry (Part 2): Can the lives of dozens of firefighters be exchanged for peace?

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