Fire rages at Beijing's new CCTV headquarters after fireworks

[Bellamy]

Fire rages at Beijing luxury hotel after fireworks

 

2 hours ago

 

BEIJING (AP) — An unfinished luxury hotel, next door to China Central Television's landmark headquarters in downtown Beijing, went up in flames Monday just after being showered with sparks from fireworks set off during a holiday celebration.

 

There were no reports of deaths or injuries resulting from the fire.

 

The Mandarin Oriental hotel caught fire sometime before 9 p.m. (1300 GMT) as the skies above the Chinese capital were filled with exploding fireworks — part of celebrations of the lantern festival that follows the Lunar New Year.

 

The entire hotel building was engulfed in flames, sending off huge plumes of black smoke and showering the ground below with embers. At least seven fire crews were on the scene and police held back crowds of onlookers and closed a nearby elevated highway to ensure safety.

 

Li Jian said he saw smoke arising from the 44-story hotel's roof shortly after a huge burst of fireworks showered it with sparks, though it was not clear if they started the fire.

 

"Smoke came out for a little while but then it just started burning," Li said.

 

Calls to the Beijing fire service were answered by people who confirmed the fire but said they were unable to release any details.

 

The hotel, due to open this year, lies on the northern edge of a complex that also includes CCTV's imposing Z-shaped headquarters, a major prestige project for the city. The Mandarin Oriental was due to be one of Beijing's most luxurious hotels, with 241 guest rooms.

 

Both buildings were designed by Rotterdam, Netherlands, architects Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren for the firm OMA. Both were nearing the end of construction. Along with Mandarin Oriental, the hotel building was to have housed a visitors center, a theater and exhibition spaces.

 

Beijing usually tightly restricts the use of fireworks in the downtown area, but waives the rules each year during the Lunar New Year holiday. Monday, the final day of the exemption period, marked the first full moon since the Lunar New Year, and massive fireworks barrages exploded between buildings and in open spaces throughout the city.

 

Erik Amir a senior architect at building designers OMA said the fire had destroyed years of hard work.

 

"It really has been a rough six-seven years for architects who worked on this project," said Amir, who rushed to the site after hearing of the fire.

 

"I think it's really sad that this building is destroyed before it can be opened to the public," he said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl...or5NwAD9684U2G1

 

http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/mandarinorientalblaze.jpg

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00483/china_fire__483719a.jpg

 

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/02/09/world/09beijing-600.jpg

[LuisMa]

Wow, that looks terrible!

 

Thank God there were no casualties.

[Bellamy]

BTW, it was quite far from my home. But a friend called me about the fire before it's on news.

[Bellamy]

I heard the building worth about $700 million USD. It was burned by a firework.

[LuisMa]

I heard the building worth about $700 million USD. It was burned by a firework.

 

How weird that something used for a celebration caused such a horrible situation.

[Bellamy]

This is the burned building.

http://photocdn.sohu.com/20071210/Img253902967.jpg

 

The one on the left for the second photo.

http://images.zhaopin.com/logos/sdfsdfgif.gif

[Bralo20]

I heard the building worth about $700 million USD. It was burned by a firework.

 

Don't want to be rude but maybe it's a blessing that it went up in flames before it was open to the public?

Don't know about building regulations but if such a building can go up in flames just because it was hit by some firework then I have serious doubts about the fire safety of such a building... I know it wasn't yet finished but if you look at the pictures it seems there was a lot of combustible materials which went up in flames... These days most of the materials used for construction have to be either fireresistant for an amount of time (mostly 30 minutes to 1 hour) or have to be able to slow down a fire. Or fireresistant compartments? But this will be probably different from country to country...

 

 

Think about what would have happened if the hotel was actually open and several hundreds of people would have been injured?

[Bellamy]

I heard the building worth about $700 million USD. It was burned by a firework.

 

Don't want to be rude but maybe it's a blessing that it went up in flames before it was open to the public?

Don't know about building regulations but if such a building can go up in flames just because it was hit by some firework then I have serious doubts about the fire safety of such a building... I know it wasn't yet finished but if you look at the pictures it seems there was a lot of combustible materials which went up in flames... These days most of the materials used for construction have to be either fireresistant for an amount of time (mostly 30 minutes to 1 hour) or have to be able to slow down a fire. Or fireresistant compartments? But this will be probably different from country to country...

 

 

Think about what would have happened if the hotel was actually open and several hundreds of people would have been injured?

I know. It's scary. Good there was no people inside. But it was fired before it's finished, so the fire system didn't work. And the water hose from fireman trucks can't reach that high. So the building was on fire for over 2 hours I think.

[Bralo20]

CNN coverage: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/...fire/index.html

[Bellamy]

More photos:

http://image1.chinanews.com.cn/09p/PhotoN/090209/090209368a_3.jpg

 

http://image1.chinanews.com.cn/09p/PhotoN/090209/090209367a_3.jpg

 

http://image1.chinanews.com.cn/09p/PhotoN/090209/090209372ta_3.jpg

 

http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2009/02-09/U102P4T8D1555918F107DT20090209221238.jpg

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/society/2009-02/10/xinsrc_562020610001276524374.jpg

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/society/2009-02/10/xinsrc_572020610001275083657.jpg

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/society/2009-02/10/xinsrc_5720206100012453117976.jpg

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/society/2009-02/10/xinsrc_05202061000214062810012.jpg

[Bralo20]

I know. It's scary. Good there was no people inside. But it was fired before it's finished, so the fire system didn't work. And the water hose from fireman trucks can't reach that high. So the building was on fire for over 2 hours I think.

 

Indeed fortunate there weren't any people inside...

The water hoses will indeed not reach the top, such a fire have to be attacked from inside the building. However looking the amount of fire I think it was very difficult to establish an internal fire attack without risking lives of firemen. So probalby the fire consumed most of the combustibles before it would slow down...

Such buildings have actually a large watertank on the top floors with some millions litres of water and have some dry and some wet lines from ground to topfloor. The wet lines would have been provided with the normal public watersupply or the topfloor tanks, most likely with additional pumps to gain pressure throughout every floor. (top floor tanks are used since they can feed the hoses and the sprinklersystem with natural gravity and small help of pumps throughout every single floor) The dry lines can be feeded through heavy pumpers on the ground floor which pumps water to every single floor (connected to the hydrants or feeded by tankers). Normally on every floor there will be multiple connections to connect the attack hose to fight the fire.

 

The fact that the building went up in flames can maybe be explained if the doors weren't yet present inside. This way the fire could spread very fast if there are plenty of unprotected materials available. If the elevatorshafts weren't finished yet this can also explain the wide spreading of the fire, in that case the shafts will be used as a chimney for a fire and will be feeding the fire with the necesarry oxygen...

 

Would love to see the final report of this fire... How it got up in flames, which actions the fire department took to fight the flames, what caused the fire, how did it spread so fast, how it was extinguished (by fighting the fire or by a lack of combustibles...) It seems a very interresting fire... However something tells me the final report will not be made public

Edited February 9, 2009 at 07:10 PM by Bralo20

[Bellamy]

This is the only photo of fire department fight the flames I see now.

http://image1.chinanews.com.cn/09p/PhotoN/090209/090209372ta_3.jpg

 

They said the fire was under control before 0:00, firemen were in the building now. They are actually unsure if there really was no men in side. The main construction of the building is not damaged(they will still use it later? I won't try to live in that hotel anyway.) The reason of the fire is still under investigation.

[Bralo20]

This is the only photo of fire department fight the flames I see now.

http://image1.chinanews.com.cn/09p/PhotoN/090209/090209372ta_3.jpg

 

LOL I just saw the picture also. That's what we call at our department the "wetting the walls" attack... It's an attack which has no sense at all... It's been used "for the eye of the people", just to let see to everyone that they were fighting the fire so nobody would complain... And I'll have to admit, we do it sometimes also... In some cases you just can't risk sending people inside. For such a fire the most likely standard operating procedure is to find out if anyone is trapped inside. If not then nobody will go in and the fire will be fought from the outside (= let the fire consume all the combustible materials untill it extinguish itself or it extuinghes just enough to send crews inside to finish the job). If people are trapped inside then the risk will be evaluated before sending people inside... In this case it was probably the no risks procedure and in this case the only good procedure

 

 

They said the fire was under control before 0:00, firemen were in the building now. They are actually unsure if there really was no men in side. The main construction of the building is not damaged(they will still use it later? I won't try to live in that hotel anyway.) The reason of the fire is still under investigation.

 

It's rather strange that the structure of the building wouldn't be armed by the fire. Looking to the pictures is is very clear the fire reached severe temperatures high enough to weaken metals and concrete... Although we only can see the outside. It can be possible that the inside is rather undamaged by the fire and in that case it can probably be restored... It all depends also which kind of materials were used: steel reinforced concrete or a whole steel structure... Steel reinforced concrete can probably be repaired (will be cracked as result of the heat) if the heat wasn't intense enough to warm the steel reinforcements. If it was a steel structure than it would be definately for demolishing... Heated steel doesn't have the strenght anymore that it had before it was heated...

 

 

Hope that there will be plenty of pictures later, love to see more it, it's certainly an interesting fire.

 

But one thing for sure... If I think about visiting Bejing and the hotel is repaired no hair on my head will be thinking about staying in that particular hotel

[Bellamy]

But one thing for sure... If I think about visiting Bejing and the hotel is repaired no hair on my head will be thinking about staying in that particular hotel

You know we Chinese believe Feng Shui. So I'm sure most Chinese won't even consider that hotel in the future.

[Jacqui]

Woah that looks scary

[CelineRules!]

I just read on the local new site that, according to the fire department, Chinese state television CCTV were themselves responsible for the fire.

 

They fired of some fireworks illegally from the top of the 159m tall building, wihich started the fire..

 

What a stupid accident to cause one death and six injured..

Edited February 10, 2009 at 11:28 AM by CelineRules!

[Bellamy]

I just read on the local new site that, according to the fire department, Chinese state television CCTV were themselves responsible for the fire.

 

They fired of some fireworks illegally from the top of the 159m tall building, wihich started the fire..

 

What a stupid accident to cause one death and six injured..

Yes, it's true.

Investigators blame China's state TV station for fire tragedy

 

6 hours ago

 

BEIJING (AFP) — Investigators Tuesday blamed China's state TV station for a huge blaze at its new headquarters that engulfed a hotel, saying fireworks it illegally set off to celebrate the Lunar New Year caused the fire.

 

One firefighter died after inhaling toxic fumes while battling the fire at the Mandarin Oriental's nearly finished flagship hotel inside the CCTV complex that began on Monday night and raged for more than five hours, officials said.

 

Seven other people were injured, but the Mandarin Oriental said no one was in the hotel when the fire started, indicating the death toll was unlikely to climb sharply.

 

The 159-metre (524-foot) tall hotel was just 200 hundred metres from the futuristic CCTV tower that has quickly won fame as one of Beijing's most stunning buildings and a striking symbol of China's new-found global power.

 

Both buildings were designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas' Office of Metropolitan Architecture and due to open this year.

 

City government officials said the exterior of the hotel had been severely damaged, while the external walls of the 234-metre (770-foot) CCTV tower were burnt but its structure was not harmed.

 

In a public relations disaster for CCTV, which is one of the ruling Communist Party's chief propaganda arms, authorities said the station defied police warnings and set off powerful fireworks in the complex.

 

"The owner caused the fire because it violated regulations and set off fireworks at the construction site," Zhu Xu, a spokesman with the Beijing government, told AFP.

 

CCTV staff recorded the fireworks show, which involved pyrotechnics far stronger than the public is allowed to use, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Beijing Fire Control Bureau Luo Yuan as saying.

 

"Owners of the property ignored policemen's warnings that such fireworks were not allowed," Luo said, according to Xinhua. He said the people who set off the fireworks were being detained for questioning.

 

Fireworks had erupted right across Beijing on Monday night to celebrate the Lantern Festival that marks the official end of the Lunar New Year celebrations.

 

Letting off fireworks on Lunar New Year's Eve, which fell on January 25 this year, and throughout the festive period is a long-held Chinese tradition based on the belief that the noise will ward off evil spirits and ghosts.

 

But it is also a notoriously dangerous practice, and was as such banned in Beijing between 1994 and 2005.

 

The ban in Beijing was lifted due to popular demand, following similar moves in 200 Chinese cities a year earlier, and the past two weeks had seen one of the most intense fireworks frenzies yet across the city.

 

The Mandarin Oriental's website said the 241-room hotel was to be the group's flagship property in China and one of Beijing's most luxurious hotels.

 

However its statement about the fire said it did not own the building, and was only contracted to run the hotel.

 

The CCTV complex, built at a cost of five billion yuan (710 million dollars), was among many amazing developments to rise ahead of last year's Beijing Olympics.

 

Some had described the CCTV tower as one of the most daring pieces of architecture ever attempted.

 

Two cantilevered arms edge towards each other from twin towers that lean over at a sharp angle, with 10,000 steel beams locking the structure together.

 

Other landmarks include Swiss architects Herzog and De Meuron's Bird's Nest main Olympic stadium, and the bubble-wrapped "Water Cube."

 

French architect Paul Andreu designed the National Grand Theatre, renowned for a massive titanium-tinted dome.

 

And an enormous new airport terminal designed by British architect Norman Foster opened last year.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/artic...bQ41mCUtN-mpqIw

[Bellamy]

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/world/0902/gallery.beijing.fire.irpt/images/friedworks.irpt.jpg

 

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/world/0902/gallery.beijing.fire.irpt/images/jean.irpt.jpg

 

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/world/0902/gallery.beijing.fire.irpt/images/outofstock2.irpt.jpg

 

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/world/0902/gallery.beijing.fire.irpt/images/lee.irpt.jpg

 

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/world/0902/gallery.beijing.fire.irpt/images/koch.irpt.jpg

 

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/world/0902/gallery.beijing.fire.irpt/images/jean.irpt.jpg

 

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/world/0902/gallery.beijing.fire.irpt/images/friedrice2.irpt.jpg

[Krys]

oy vey unfortunate mishap that happened to a nearly finished hotel...aih

[Bellamy]

The building now.

http://i2.sinaimg.cn/dy/c/2009-02-11/8dd68cd83c36e9ec8c44b79b6b808373.jpg

 

http://i0.sinaimg.cn/dy/c/2009-02-10/U868P1T1D17185579F21DT20090210151236.jpg

 

Before fire:

http://i1.sinaimg.cn/dy/c/2009-02-10/5e8a8fa775757f02899c0e2086cc2794.jpg

 

http://video.sina.com.cn/news/c/v/2009-02-11/084630683.shtml

 

How sad.

[Koolan]

I cant' believe CCTV defied orders on not to use the fireworks.

[Bellamy]

I cant' believe CCTV defied orders on not to use the fireworks.

Fire department said they used the same kind of huge fireworks like those used on the opening ceremony of Olympics. But they didn't have permission to do it.

[Krys]

they're in reaaaaal deep trouble now. i wonder how are they gonna pay up 700mil USD

[Bellamy]

they're in reaaaaal deep trouble now. i wonder how are they gonna pay up 700mil USD

Actually CCTV is owned by the government. So this is a government loss. They will use people's tax pay for it in the end, which is totally suck. Someone should be put in jail for a long long time.

[RLAAMJR.]

I also heard this one during the training. there was even an earthquake in..... i forgot. Gosh, there are so many bad things happening this month.