2 Dead After Taiwanese Textile Factory Fire
Two people have died after a fire broke out at a textile factory in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei, local fire authorities said Monday.
The two contractors, surnamed Chiu and Hung, had been conducting repair and maintenance work at Chung Shing Textile Co. when flames that ignited on the fourth floor quickly spread to the sixth, officials with the Taoyuan City Fire Department said. The men, both 64, were discovered at the entrance of the sixth floor in “critical condition” and rushed to the hospital. While both suffered minor burns, the cause of death was determined to be cardiac arrest.
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A third contractor, surnamed Wu, escaped the blaze after seeing thick smoke on the fifth floor, officials said, while a fourth person, a 30-year-old factory employee named Chen, was discovered conscious and with only slight injuries on the sixth floor. As firefighters were putting out the flames, an explosion occurred, generating more black plumes, though they were ultimately able to bring them under control.
Chung Shing Textile Co., which makes polyester and polyester-cotton yarns, did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did British retailer New Look, which lists the mill on its supplier list, nor Sumitomo Corp. Group, which import data indicates was a recent buyer.
While the cause of the fire is still being investigated, a preliminary search found raw materials such as ethylene glycol, terephthalic acid and thermal kerosene at the site of origin. The Taoyuan Labor Inspection Office has ordered all work at the factory, which had temporarily stopped to accommodate the repair work, to remain on hold until it can make further assessments.
Chung Shing Textile Co. has been previously cited for multiple occupational health and safety violations by the Taoyuan City Office of Labor Inspection. The Ministry of Labor’s website lists three instances of failing to provide workers with sufficient protective equipment, such as glasses, masks and machine guards.
The accident proves “once again how widespread and ongoing the lack of fire and building safety still is, the need for enforcement by government authorities, for the accelerated expansion of the Accord, and for all buyers to sign up to the program,” said Ineke Zeldenrust, international coordinator of the Clean Clothes Campaign, referring to the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, which succeeded the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh in 2021 with the goal of global expansion.
Fires are frequent occurrences in the garment industry because of the flammable nature of textiles, which serve as ready kindling for boiler malfunctions, ignited gas leaks and electrical short circuits. In May, 16 workers were badly burned in a garment factory explosion in the central Bangladeshi city of Gazipur. A month before that, four firefighters died battling a building blaze in the Pakistani city of Karachi that injured 13 workers. And December saw the loss of 38 lives after a clothing wholesaler in central China was torched by non-regulation welding operations.
It was a devastating fire at a Karachi textile complex called Ali Enterprises in 2012 that provided some of the impetus for the Accord’s extension into Pakistan earlier this year. More than 250 workers died in that inferno. To date, 63 of the International Accord’s 195 signatories, including Fast Retailing, H&M Group, Calvin Klein owner PVH Corp. and Zara parent Inditex, have signed the agreement.
