The 2010 Shanghai fire was a fire on 15 November 2010 that destroyed a 28-story high-rise apartment building in the heart of Shanghai, China, killing at least 58 people and injuring more than 70 others (with at least one source reporting more than 120 others injured). Most of the residents were retired state school senior educators. It is remembered as an iconic high-rise fire in China in the 2010s.
An investigation under the PRC State Council was announced on 16 November, the day after the fire, to determine the cause of the blaze. A preliminary finding by investigators concluded that sparks from welding work being done on the building, undertaken by unlicensed welders, ignited scaffolding around the structure, which led to the apartments' destruction. The municipal government also placed the blame on illegal multi-layered subcontracting, and detained four managers from several construction companies. In all, sixteen individuals have been arrested in connection to the fire, as well as four others accused of being unlicensed welders.
The week after the fire, city officials announced a compensation plan for victims of the fire and their families. The fire also prompted the government to pass stricter regulations on the construction industry, as well as increased fire safety inspections. The New York Times reported that China suppressed several building complaints, and several journalists were detained after the fire. The Asia Times wrote that an alleged slow response by the government was criticized.
The fire began at 14:15 local time (06:15 UTC) around the tenth floor. The building, constructed in 1997, was located at the intersection of Jiaozhou Road and Yuyao Road in Jing'an District, the heart of central Shanghai and was being renovated at the time of the fire. Witnesses said that the fire started with construction materials and spread throughout the building. It took over 80 fire engines and several hours to contain the fire. Shanghai residents were able to see smoke from the fire several kilometres away. Firefighters were unable to hose water on the top of the 85 metres (279 ft)-tall building from the ground. It is remembered as an iconic high-rise fire in China in the 2010s.
China Youth Daily reported that the contractor for the construction said the cause of the fire was probably sparks caused by welding work done on the 20th floor. Qiu Jingshu, a worker on the 18th floor, said sparks from welding being done on another building flew over and caused the scaffolding to catch fire. Afterward, it was "established" that the fire "was caused by unlicensed welders improperly operating their equipment", and several welders were arrested.
Firefighters were able to save over 100 people out of the 180 families inhabiting the high-rise apartment building. According to Al Jazeera, the fire began at the scaffolding that surrounded the building, but spread to the complex's main building of around 500 apartments. Xinhua News Agency said the fire was contained at about 6:30 p.m. local time (10:30 UTC), more than four hours after it began.
Three helicopters had been called in to assist in the rescue, but were prevented by thick smoke generated by the fire. The upper portion of the building was beyond the reach of fire apparatus; the blaze was brought under control only after firefighters set up hoses atop a nearby building. In all, 25 fire stations and over 100 fire appliances were mobilised in response to the incident.
Television coverage of the event showed people holding on to scaffolding around the building, and some were able to climb down to safety. One worker on the 28th floor said that workers were adding insulation to the building when the fire broke out.
Victims not in hospitals, as well as evacuees from three surrounding city blocks, were sent to public buildings, including a school and a stadium, until their housing situation could be addressed.
The building housed around 440 people, mainly retired state school senior educators, including school principals, school party secretaries and high-ranked teachers. An early report showed that the ages of those injured in the fire range from 3 to 85, with the majority (64.5%) over the age of 50. Most of the injured appeared to be elderly residents or children, and it was confirmed that the youngest victim of the fire was 16 months old. A firefighter said that 57 of the 58 killed had died inside the building.
Earliest reports put the death toll at eight, but Xinhua later revised the count several times, and then confirmed 53 deaths by 16 November. 26 bodies were identified using DNA tests. Some media outlets reported 79 fatalities by adding the number of identified victims to the number of previously reported fatalities, although Xinhua later said that the 26 identified were included amongst the 53.
As of 24 November 58 people (22 males and 36 females) were officially reported dead while 56 people remained missing. Of the deceased, 57 were identified by DNA tests early on, while one male, from Japan, was still being identified when the official death count was released.
A doctor at Shanghai's Jing'an Hospital said that over 20 people injured in the fire had been admitted, many suffering from asphyxia caused by smoke inhalation. State media reports said the hospital was treating 55 survivors, including nine in serious condition. At least 70 people, and possibly more than 120 people were reported to have been injured. According to BBC News, people who survived the blaze were searching hospitals for missing family and friends. As of 24 November 66 wounded people, 14 of which were in critical condition, were being treated at seven area medical centers. In all, nine hospitals received victims of the fire.
The list of the dead was not released as the victims' families wanted privacy. Authorities said more than one-third of the families did not want the names of the deceased published. However, several newspapers listed some of the names of the dead. The artist Ai Weiwei compiled an unofficial list of the victims' names by contacting their relatives, along with officials and journalists. He claimed that the actual death toll was two more than the official count, but authorities did not provide access to the list of casualties.
Meng Jianzhu, the Minister of Public Security, went to Shanghai to manage rescue operations. Jing'an officials set up temporary lodging and food at area hotels, and some survivors stayed at a gymnasium overnight. After the flames were extinguished, the Shanghai Municipal Government held a press conference about the damage caused by the fire. Liu Jinguo, Vice Minister of Public Security, described the firefighting as "a successful model", leading to a dispute by Chinese netizens. Later in the week of the fire, government officials began a drive to increase fire and safety inspections at buildings and construction sites. They also said that improvements would be made to the city's firefighting capabilities.
Local residents said that fire safety requirements at the high-rise were lax, and that workers often tossed used cigarettes into the building's hallways. Week-long safety inspections were done on the two other buildings of the apartment complex, both of which were unharmed. The several hundred people living in those buildings were expected to be allowed to move back on 20 December 2010. Until then, the survivors would live in 17 nearby hotels.
According to Ming Pao, family members of the victims were dissatisfied with the official investigation and held a sit-in protest, calling for a fair judgement. Some locals blamed the official rescue work by comparing it with a large emergency response exercise on a 330-meter building several days before, and the successful firefighting for a blaze at Shanghai World Financial Center in 2007. Others blamed an ineffective firefighting system for the high death toll, and were dissatisfied that they were not given more details about the fire.
In Beijing, authorities halted renovation projects similar to the one being done on the apartment in Shanghai shortly after the blaze. The projects, intended to save energy by installing insulation, were stopped on 19 November, pending safety evaluations of the work. The insulation is still flammable, despite the use of fire retardants. Shanghai officials temporarily stopped such renovations after the fire, but later allowed them to resume.