The police said the fire was due mainly to a woman trying to kill herself after quarreling fiercely with her husband. The woman’s actions came as a response to her husband’s gathering of some friends to beat her. The couple, living on the 16th floor of the public housing complex, were later brought to the Xindian Police Precinct for interrogation.

After learning of the fire at 5:17 a.m. yesterday, the Fire Department of the Taipei County Department soon mobilized 36 fire engines and over 100 firemen and rushed to the Tapeng Housing Complex located on the Chungcheng Road, trying to extinguish the fire as soon as possible. The firemen successfully evacuated as many as 250 residents by using the 72-meter-high Phoenix extension ladder, now the highest ladder of its kind available in Taiwan, to help get people to safety.

A total of 10 residents on the 16th floor were also rescued and rushed to a nearby hospital, although they just suffered slightly from smoke inhalation.

Subscribe to The China Post and save.  Click hereSharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 800 characters max

Receive China Post promos

Respond to this email