RESIDENTS living in a residential building in Longgang have complained about the temporary closure of the building, which will last for a month, after a fire broke out in the building Saturday, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported. The residents, without being offered alternative accommodation solutions, said the relevant departments lacked consideration when deciding to close the building for a safety inspection. However, according to staffers with Dalang Subdistrict Office, the closure won’t necessarily last a month depending on the inspection, and residents can move back into their apartments as soon as the safety hazards are eliminated. As of Saturday afternoon, cordons were set up at the building’s entrances and exits, and a strip of sealing paper was pasted on the building’s gate, according to the Daily. Many residents were seen moving out of the building with luggage and registering their information with the subdistrict office’s staffers. A resident surnamed Zhang questioned whether it is necessary to close the building for such a long time, and said relevant departments failed to provide any resettlement measures. She added that the entire building houses over 50 families. Zhang noted that since her family moved into the building in 2017, there had never been a fire. The building, which is quite new, has a total of 15 floors with four apartments on each floor. Both homeowners and tenants live in the building. Yan De, leader of the Dalang community management team under the subdistrict, said the fire, which broke out in an apartment on the 15th floor and covered two square meters, was caused by faulty wiring. The fire department rushed to the scene and quickly put out the fire. Yan added that after a preliminary inspection, the building was found to have certain fire hazards. Thus, the management team needed to close the entire building to conduct a more thorough examination and rectify potential safety hazards. Residents can move back as soon as the building is safe. (Liu Wenjin) |