February 13, 2019.
It's late at night, and the hour hand points to two in the morning. Zhang Xiang stretched his brows, shrugged, preparing to end the busy day of work. At this time, the phone rang, and he immediately sat upright again. A fire broke out in a parking lot in a community in Luohu, and he needed to rush to the scene immediately.
This is a scene that Zhang Xiang often encounters in his work. But he was not a firefighter rushing to the fire to put out the fire, but a fire accident investigator of Luohu Brigade of the Shenzhen Fire Brigade. He was like Sherlock Holmes in the fire, looking for clues in the ruins, restoring the cause of the fire, and letting the ashes speak.
"Solmes" in the fire scene
In a fire, people often remember the "fire-extinguishing hero" who charges. In fact, there is a little-known group behind them - fire accident investigators. Although it is not as dangerous as the front line of firefighting, the work is also full of hard work and challenges.
On October 9, 2018, the Public Security Fire Force was uniformly transferred to the Ministry of Emergency Management for management. The fire inspection responsibilities originally belonged to the Public Security Fire Supervision Brigade fell on the Fire Brigade. Zhang Xiang and Zheng Zhibin were appointed to become fire accident investigators of the Luohu Fire Brigade of the Shenzhen Fire Brigade. For 10 months, they have visited the fire scenes of all sizes in Luohu District, Luohu District, to get as close to the truth as possible, restore the facts, and become the AB corner in the fire investigation, and like Sherlock Holmes and Watson in the fire scene.
What do fire accident investigators trust most in the investigation? The answer is undoubtedly "traces". However, to find clues about the fire in the ruins of the huge fire scene, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. From the blackened walls, falling walls to burned furniture, this is a ruin in the eyes of others, and in Zhang Xiang's eyes it is a treasure house of countless clues, and clues point to the truth about the fire.
A brush, several physical evidence cards, and then bring rangefinder , measuring ruler, flashlight and other tools. This is Zhang Xiang’s treasure box. When the firefighters who were extinguishing the fire left the fire scene, Zhang Xiang was about to enter the scene. The fire scene was still very dangerous at this time. He had to wear high-tube, thick-soled water boots, a protective helmet and a mask, and carefully grasp and dig in the ashes.
Zhang Xiang told the author that when entering the fire, they will observe and record every detail, check the combustion and spread, and infer the fire location. For example, "The resistant temperature of cement concrete is generally between 600-800℃. The closer to the central fire source, the higher the temperature, the more serious the wall will fall off. In addition, 'U-shaped' burning marks will appear at the wall at the fire point. Generally, it can be judged that the fire point is below this mark."
"After each fire investigation, the fire department must issue a fire accident identification certificate, which will clarify the cause of the fire, so no small details can be careless when searching for evidence, personnel visits, and production records." Zhang Xiang said.
restores the truth and lets the accident scene talk
At around 2 a.m. on February 13, a fire broke out in an underground parking lot in a community in Luohu District. The fire caused damage to 37 vehicles. More than 200 residents in the community were urgently evacuated, with an overburden area of about 520 square meters, and the direct economic property loss reached 5 million yuan. The open flame was not extinguished until around 5 a.m. What exactly is the cause of the fire? For a moment, various speculations and rumors spread among the people.
When Zhang Xiang walked into the blocked parking lot, the darkened space was filled with vehicles burned into skeletons, and water was flowing on the ground, and the scene was in a mess. "At that time, we imagined that it might be a fire caused by circuit short circuit, artificial arson, residual fire or car spontaneous combustion." While visiting the witnesses, they searched around the parking lot where the smoke had not yet dissipated, gradually reducing the scope, and were unwilling to let go of any clues.
They found a lithium battery near the fire point. In fact, a lot of physical evidence was collected at the fire scene at that time. This lithium battery was just one of them, and the cause of the fire could not be determined immediately. It was not until the Luohu Fire Brigade sent the lithium battery for judicial appraisal that the cause of the fire was confirmed.After investigation, it was finally confirmed that the internal failure of the lithium battery stored in the debris room on the northwest side of the parking lot on the underground floor caused heat to run out of control, igniting the adjacent combustible material under the bed, and then spreading to the debris room and other areas of the parking lot, causing disaster.
"As close as much as possible to the cause of the fire, restore the truth, and let the accident scene speak. This is our job." Zhang Xiang told the author that fire investigation work must adhere to rigorous evidence collection and meticulous reasoning, and must go through verification, experiments and analysis over and over again, because the answers they found are not only related to the cause and responsibility of an accident, but also may determine the legal ruling and social stability.
Statistics show that from October 15 last year to July 31 this year, the Luohu Fire Brigade received 113 police officers, including 42 fires, a decrease of 30% year-on-year from 60 in the same period last year. "Fire accident investigators not only investigate the cause of the fire, but through these results, they discover existing technical specifications, defects in materials and equipment, defects in people's living habits, propose rectification measures, minimize the occurrence of fire accidents, and promote social progress. These are the real responsibilities of fire accident investigators." Zhang Xiang said.
[Written by] Feng Lei Deng Ziliang
[Author] Feng Lei; Deng Ziliang
[Source] Southern Media Group Southern + Client
