A few days ago, the Bronx borough witnessed New York City’s most tragic fire accident of 17 years, which resulted in the unfortunate deaths of 10 people.

Firefighters at Manhattan Chinatown’s Fire Station #9 said that compared to other areas in the city, the likelihood of fire accident in Chinatown was not high. However, should there be a fire, the consequences could be very severe because Chinatown has highly flammable, old wooden buildings with little separation between units. Many residents also do not have a fire escape plan or the necessary preparation.

Ben Tan, who has been a firefighter in Chinatown for the past 17 years, said that his memory of the worst Chinatown fire involved a bombing accident that occurred on Canal Street 10 years ago. The incident developed into a four-level fire, but fortunately no one was killed. Seven years ago, on Catherine Street, at a protest, somebody threw a gas bomb that flew into a second-floor window of a nearby building. This led into a third-level fire.

Recently, on September 9, 2006, a family on the 37th floor of a building in Confucius Plaza forgot to turn off the stove and caused a third-level fire. A total of 28 firefighters and three residents were injured.

The firefighters pointed out that the incidence in Chinatown fires have been relatively low, especially during this winter. They believed that this was the result of relatively low number of Chinese residents using illegal drugs and/or abusing alcohol. Many of these Chinese residents are illegal immigrants who are afraid of the unnecessary inconvenience of dealing with authorities, so they are extra cautious. Some of the major Chinatown fires were caused by old, broken electrical wires, electric appliances, candles, and arson.

Tan emphasized that because Chinatown has many old wooden structures, with little space between the units, once a fire occurred, the magnitude of fire could be very serious. There is real concern that many Chinese families deactivate smoke detectors so they don’t go off when they were cooking. Such decision could be very dangerous.

Based on the experience of the firefighters, the most troubling situation is when they rescue victims and find out that their fire escapes are blocked by bookshelves or mattresses, making an escape virtually impossible. Some firefighters complained that when they yelled fire and urged people to escape, many residents, unfazed, would walk down the stairs slowly with their suitcases, blocking the escape routes for people behind them.

The NYPD’s Community Outreach Team held a workshop in Chinatown on how to prevent accidental fires. Their spokespersons, Michelle L. Martindale and Suk H. Too, emphasized that it is very important that electrical outlets not be overused over a long period of time, which was the cause of the Bronx fire.

Too also warned that it is dangerous to leave the flat iron on clothes, or to place things near radiators, particularly since many Chinese residents rent and share an apartment unit with many others, dividing the space into smaller rooms, making it easy to kick or bump into radiators at night.

Too advised the tenants to ask the landlords to turn on central heating, or otherwise make a complaint by calling 311. She added that it was also important that the rooms have smoke detectors and that the batteries be changed twice a year.