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Weierkang Club fire

Weierkang Club fire
Native name 衛爾康餐廳大火
DateFebruary 15, 1995 (1995-02-15)
Time7:20 PM NST
LocationWest District, Taichung
Coordinates24°08′55.1″N 120°40′21.8″E / 24.148639°N 120.672722°E / 24.148639; 120.672722
TypeFire
CauseNatural gas leak
Deaths64
Non-fatal injuries11
Weierkang Club
Traditional Chinese衛爾康西餐廳
Literal meaningWeierkang Western Restaurant
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWèi'ěrkāng Xīcāntīng

On February 15, 1995, a deadly fire broke out in the Weierkang Club[1][2][3][a] (alternatively translated as the Welcome Bar[4][5]), a Western-style restaurant and karaoke bar in West District, Taichung, Taiwan. The fire killed 64 people and injured 11, making it the second-deadliest fire in the history of Taiwan after the 1984 Meishan coal mine fire [zh] that killed 103.

Background

The Weierkang Club was composed of a restaurant at No. 54 and 56, Section 2, Taizhonggang Road (now Taiwan Blvd) and a karaoke box at the adjacent No. 56 that was also owned by the restaurant. The restaurant was a three-story building: the first two floors were dining spaces, and the third was used as an office.[6]

Fire

At roughly 7:20 PM NST, a natural gas leak led to a fire on the first floor bar near the stairs to the second floor. The flames quickly engulfed the staircase and spread along the wooden furnishing.[4][7][8]

The lack of fire safety measures in the restaurant significantly contributed to the death toll. The emergency exits located on the first and second floor were blocked off by bricks and corrugated metal, respectively. While there was another exit on the third floor that led to a parking garage, restaurant employees had left the building without notifying the customers of that exit, leading the remaining people to crowd towards the second-floor window. However, they were unable to break the tempered glass because they struck the middle of the pane instead of the corners. Emergency services responded quickly since the restaurant was near a fire station, but the illegally-constructed karaoke box beside the restaurant made it difficult for responders to reach the building and put out the fire.[1][7][8][9] The fire took roughly two hours to be extinguished.[6]

Investigation and trial

Immediately after the fire, criticism was aimed at the government's careless attitude towards enforcing building codes and other safety standards. The Weierkang Club was only registered to operate on the first floor: the second and third floor, as well as the adjacent karaoke box, were all operating without a license.[1][6] A writer for the Central Daily News also pointed to the lack of lateral communication between government agencies that allowed them to shift responsibilities among each other.[10]

The manager of the Weierkang Club was ordered to pay NT$240 million as compensation to the families of the deceased, and then served four years in prison for negligent homicide. The Taichung City Government was also ordered to pay NT$640 million as compensation.[7][11] Four government officials were impeached: Taichung City Mayor Lin Po-jung [zh] (put on probation for half a year), Taichung Department of Public Works Director Yang Ching-tang (楊慶堂), Taichung Construction Bureau Director Lai Pin-tsan (賴炳燦), and Taichung Police Department Commissioner Meng Yi-sun (孟宜蓀).[12]

On July 12, 1995, the Legislative Yuan passed the first major overhaul to the Fire Services Act, which was first introduced in 1985.[13]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Mandarin Chinese name of the establishment uses the word "restaurant".

References

  1. ^ a b c Leicester, John (February 17, 1995). "Taiwan's Deadliest Fire Provokes Recriminations, Self-Examination". Associated Press News. Taipei. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  2. ^ "67 die in Taiwan nightclub blaze". Tampa Bay Times. October 3, 2005. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  3. ^ "Scores die in blaze at Taiwan nightclub". Taipei: SFGATE. Examiner News Services. February 15, 1995. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Taiwan restaurant fire kills 67". UPI. Taipei. February 15, 1995. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  5. ^ "Tougher safety standards ordered after fatal blaze". South China Morning Post. Agence France-Presse. February 17, 1995.
  6. ^ a b c 詹文海 (February 16, 1995). "光復以來最慘重火災 中市衛爾康西餐廳大火 七十三人葬身火窟" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Taichung City. Central Daily News.
  7. ^ a b c "【惡火奇案】26年前衛爾康西餐廳大火 64人困4百度烤爐成焦屍" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). China Times. March 12, 2021. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "公共場所大火 "衛爾康"傷亡最慘重" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). CTS. March 6, 2011. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  9. ^ 陳頡 (March 12, 2021). "奇案／史上最慘火警釀64死！37人擠窗口求生 「焦屍相互堆疊」警消衝現場傻了" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Want Times. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  10. ^ 詹順裕 (February 22, 1995). "調查衛爾康大火案 三監委約談十四名官員 認係權責劃分不清缺乏橫向連繫 互推責任導致慘劇" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Taichung City. Central Daily News.
  11. ^ 陳筱惠 (October 7, 2018). "【微視蘋】散盡家財賠衛爾康64命 「倒楣狗熊」陳永津" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Apple Daily. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  12. ^ 曾韋禎 (May 5, 2011). "當年監院二度審查 才彈劾市長林柏榕" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Liberty Times. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  13. ^ 呂晏慈 (April 26, 2020). "【錢櫃大火】衛爾康後《消防法》大翻修 8次修法納災防制度、禁室內明火秀" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Taipei. Apple Daily. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
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