Karamay City, Xinjiang is just a small oil city in Xinjiang. It has not been well known to most people for many years, especially people in the central and eastern regions. There are only a handful of people who know Karamay .
Xinjiang oil town-Karamay city
However, all this changed on the night of December 8, 1994. Let the people of the whole country remember this small border town at once.
On the afternoon of December 8, 1994, the Education and Training Center of the Ke Municipal Education Commission and the Xinjiang Petroleum Administration Bureau held an art performance at the Ke Municipal Friendship Hall to welcome the "Two Basics" evaluation and acceptance team. Teachers and students from 8 primary schools and 7 middle schools in the city, plus relevant leaders present, a total of 796 people participated in the performance report meeting.
Karamay Friendship Hall
At 6:20 pm, the performance was in full swing, and no one noticed that the 12 light column lights 's seventh lights behind the stage quietly burned the veil curtain closest to it, and the fire started to burn instantly. In an instant, the wires were short-circuited, the lights went out, the theater fell into darkness, and thick smoke rolled. Due to too many flammable materials, the fire spread rapidly.
Amid everyone's panic, a voice suddenly rang in the center of the stage: "Students, don't move, let the leader go first."
Nearly 800 people were watching the performance attentively
After that, the sentence "let the leader go first" spread rapidly, becoming a lasting topic, and also becoming a material for people to discuss, discuss and reflect after dinner.
This fire made people all over the country remember that there was a city in Xinjiang called Karamay, and also remembered the sentence "Let the leader go first."
Fire emergency rescue and firefighting
This fire caused a total of 325 deaths and 132 injuries. Among the victims were 288 primary and secondary school students, and 37 cadres, teachers and staff.
288 lives are all students who are about to bloom. From the age of seven or eight to the age of teenagers, they are all innocent and lovely children. Their life path has just begun, and they unfortunately died in the fire.
Photo of the dead children
Afterwards, it was found that 8 of the 10 security doors in the friendship hall were closed and could not be opened in time. The remaining two exits were able to enter and exit normally at first, but later the old rolling shutter door was burned out by a fire and fell down, forming a fault, blocking the way out.
At the chaotic scene, the leaders were divided into two factions, one quickly evacuated the scene, they were safe and sound, and some of the leaders left behind were only slightly injured. The students were also divided into two factions. The disobedient students ran out in time to survive, while the obedient students stayed at the fire scene and almost all died.
After the fire broke out of control, the scene was in a mess. In the darkness, it was accompanied by noisy crying, dazzling firelight, pungent smoke, and crackling things all stirred together. After the first fire truck arrived, it was unable to break the windows because the first floor window of the Friendship Hall was equipped with steel guardrails for rescue. Because it was not equipped with professional fire breaking tools, it was impossible to break the doors and windows. It could only watch the children fall down one by one and listen to their heart-wrenching and weak crying.
Friendship Hall with steel guardrail windows
Whether the sentence "Let the leader go first" was shouted out, and who shouted it, is still debated today. Recently, an article on the Internet refuted the rumors, saying that this sentence was moved, and no one shouted it at that time. But according to the surviving students, after the fire broke out from the backstage and entered the stage, some people did shout in the chaos with a microphone: "Don't move, students, please let the leaders go first." Most children were obedient and did not run out of instinctive reactions when danger came, causing such a large number of casualties. The leaders stood up and evacuated quickly, but none of the teachers left. They could not leave their children or their students and run away from their own lives.
Firefighters are extinguishing the fire
Although today, it is impossible to be sure who shouted this sentence. It is said that they are a person in charge of the Education Commission. But according to China's human nature and officialdom rules for thousands of years, this is very likely.In a vocational society, leaders are always superior to others, and their lives are precious and worth more than their children.
Afterwards, the parents who lost their children cried bitterly, saying: "The disobedient children ran out, but the obedient children missed the opportunity to escape."
Parents who lost their children were in pain
In addition to the 288 children who died, most of the remaining 37 victims were teachers. Instead of running away, they firmly guarded the children around them with their flesh and blood, persevered until the last moment, and persevered until the arrival of the rescuers. Teacher Meng Cuiping, her head and upper body, was burned by the fire, but the child she protected under her had vital signs and was eventually rescued.
investigation team found out later that this was purely a man-made disaster, not a natural disaster.
Smoke rolled on the spot and the fires soared into the sky. Because the stage lights are too close to the curtain, the curtain smokes under the long-term high temperature roasting. The first person to discover this situation was teacher Li Ping. She quickly told the theater staff, but the staff did not immediately stop the performance and evacuate the crowd, but instead notified other personnel to come to put out the fire, and did not inform the audience and performers who did not know the truth in front of the stage.
Afterwards, they explained that they were hiding the fire because they were afraid of disturbing the leaders who were watching the performance. What's even more hateful is that out of luck and concealment of the accident, the staff did not call the fire alarm immediately, but instead pulled up a curtain to cover the background. This is the real self-immolation of playing with fire. Afterwards, he argued that he was afraid of a fire that scared the children in front of the stage.
The dereliction of duty official who was sentenced appeared in court for trial
There are too many flammable materials in the friendship hall, and the fire burned rapidly and violently. 8 of the 10 exits in the lobby on the first floor were blocked by security guards and could not be used. The remaining two outlets could still be in and out normally at first, but the fire quickly burned the roller shutter door, which fell down and blocked the outlet. The Friendship Hall has become a closed hell.
Afterwards, 19 dereliction of duty were punished by party discipline and national laws. Deputy Mayor of Ke City, Deputy Director of the Petroleum Administration Bureau, Deputy Director of the Municipal Education Commission, Deputy Director of the Education Training Center, Chief of the Education Section and Deputy Director of the Municipal Education Commission, etc., were all sentenced. The court found that they failed to evacuate the students in time and only took care of themselves to escape, and were directly responsible for the serious casualties. They sentenced them to three to five years in prison for dereliction of duty.
Use wreaths to commemorate the victims
However, no matter how severely punish the responsible person afterwards, the death of 325 lives can no longer be saved. Among them, 288 innocent children, who should they ask for reason? For parents who have lost their children, who will pay for their pain?
This fire should have been avoided. If you take a step back, even if it is unavoidable, as long as one person can take responsibility, it will not cause such a large casualty. In fact, when the fire brigade arrived, it took less than 20 minutes to put out the fire. The main reason for the heavy casualties is that the safety door cannot pass quickly and the facilities are old. Nearly 800 people escaped from both exits, and the students were arranged at the end, causing the fire to burn out the roller shutter door, seal the exit, and the escape passage was cut off. If all 10 gates can be opened, and if the organizers can effectively organize everyone to evacuate in an orderly manner instead of shouting "Let the leader go first", then this tragedy can be avoided.
News report pictures of that year
" Let the leader go first ". This sentence has made the people of the whole country angry for many years and still linger in their ears. No wonder so many people are rushing to take civil servant exams, no wonder everyone wants to become an official and dreams of entering the system. It turns out that this can still save lives at critical moments.
In a vocational society, leaders are always superior to others, and their lives are precious and worth more than their children.Afterwards, the parents who lost their children cried bitterly, saying: "The disobedient children ran out, but the obedient children missed the opportunity to escape."
Parents who lost their children were in pain
In addition to the 288 children who died, most of the remaining 37 victims were teachers. Instead of running away, they firmly guarded the children around them with their flesh and blood, persevered until the last moment, and persevered until the arrival of the rescuers. Teacher Meng Cuiping, her head and upper body, was burned by the fire, but the child she protected under her had vital signs and was eventually rescued.
investigation team found out later that this was purely a man-made disaster, not a natural disaster.
Smoke rolled on the spot and the fires soared into the sky. Because the stage lights are too close to the curtain, the curtain smokes under the long-term high temperature roasting. The first person to discover this situation was teacher Li Ping. She quickly told the theater staff, but the staff did not immediately stop the performance and evacuate the crowd, but instead notified other personnel to come to put out the fire, and did not inform the audience and performers who did not know the truth in front of the stage.
Afterwards, they explained that they were hiding the fire because they were afraid of disturbing the leaders who were watching the performance. What's even more hateful is that out of luck and concealment of the accident, the staff did not call the fire alarm immediately, but instead pulled up a curtain to cover the background. This is the real self-immolation of playing with fire. Afterwards, he argued that he was afraid of a fire that scared the children in front of the stage.
The dereliction of duty official who was sentenced appeared in court for trial
There are too many flammable materials in the friendship hall, and the fire burned rapidly and violently. 8 of the 10 exits in the lobby on the first floor were blocked by security guards and could not be used. The remaining two outlets could still be in and out normally at first, but the fire quickly burned the roller shutter door, which fell down and blocked the outlet. The Friendship Hall has become a closed hell.
Afterwards, 19 dereliction of duty were punished by party discipline and national laws. Deputy Mayor of Ke City, Deputy Director of the Petroleum Administration Bureau, Deputy Director of the Municipal Education Commission, Deputy Director of the Education Training Center, Chief of the Education Section and Deputy Director of the Municipal Education Commission, etc., were all sentenced. The court found that they failed to evacuate the students in time and only took care of themselves to escape, and were directly responsible for the serious casualties. They sentenced them to three to five years in prison for dereliction of duty.
Use wreaths to commemorate the victims
However, no matter how severely punish the responsible person afterwards, the death of 325 lives can no longer be saved. Among them, 288 innocent children, who should they ask for reason? For parents who have lost their children, who will pay for their pain?
This fire should have been avoided. If you take a step back, even if it is unavoidable, as long as one person can take responsibility, it will not cause such a large casualty. In fact, when the fire brigade arrived, it took less than 20 minutes to put out the fire. The main reason for the heavy casualties is that the safety door cannot pass quickly and the facilities are old. Nearly 800 people escaped from both exits, and the students were arranged at the end, causing the fire to burn out the roller shutter door, seal the exit, and the escape passage was cut off. If all 10 gates can be opened, and if the organizers can effectively organize everyone to evacuate in an orderly manner instead of shouting "Let the leader go first", then this tragedy can be avoided.
News report pictures of that year
" Let the leader go first ". This sentence has made the people of the whole country angry for many years and still linger in their ears. No wonder so many people are rushing to take civil servant exams, no wonder everyone wants to become an official and dreams of entering the system. It turns out that this can still save lives at critical moments.
