The fire started at around 9 p.m. on Tuesday at a private nursing home in Chengde, a city in northern Hebei province, according to China's official news agency Xinhua. Despite the prompt response of emergency personnel to the fire, 20 confirmed deaths had occurred by 3 a.m. on Wednesday. The number of individuals present at the facility at the time of the incident has not been made public by the authorities. The survivors of the fire, however, were taken to neighbouring hospitals for monitoring and care.
Investigations are still ongoing to determine what caused the fire. In a social media message Tuesday evening, China's emergency management ministry called on all assisted living facilities nationwide to strictly adhere to the government's July 2023 fire safety regulations. According to Hebei provincial police, the facility's manager has been taken into custody to be questioned. Teams from the province are working with local authorities to support the families of the injured and dead.
Elder care institutions are only permitted to operate in buildings with sufficient firefighting equipment, according to China's new fire safety laws. These consist of operational sprinkler systems, emergency exits, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers. A trained fire warden must be employed by every nursing home, and at least one must be on duty at all times. Following a string of minor but concerning fire accidents in senior living homes, these regulations were strengthened last year.
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The disaster management ministry highlighted the increased susceptibility of nursing facilities in its the piece by stating, "Fires at nursing homes often cause more casualties because most elderly people are less mobile." In China, a nation whose ageing population is expanding quickly, the Chengde fire is one of the deadliest to have affected senior care facilities in recent years. It has rekindled public anxiety about care facility safety regulations and the need for quick fire safety measures.