Deadly Taiwan building fire traced to incense burner

A Taiwanese woman who failed to extinguish incense before leaving her apartment has been pinpointed as the source of a recent apartment block fire that killed 46 people, authorities said on Friday (29 October).

The massive fire gutted the building in the southern city of Kaohsiung on 15 October in Taiwan’s deadliest blaze in decades.

The inferno broke out in a dilapidated 13-storey mixed-use building, raging through multiple floors before firefighters finally got it under control hours later.

A resident of the building, identified only by her family name Huang, had been previously detained on suspicion of negligent, homicide and jeopardising public safety.

‘Huang is apparently at fault,’ a report released by the Kaohsiung city government said on Friday. ‘She failed to make sure that the incense was completely extinguished before leaving the building to let the incense keep on burning, which then led to the fire.’

Authorities were still deciding whether to formally charge Huang, the report added.

For more information, go to www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/taiwan-kaohsiung-fire-traced-incense-burner-2277911