Official Investigation Report on Liaoyang Restaurant Fire Made Public

Liaoning (China), December 30. The emergency management authorities of China’s Liaoning Province publicly released the official investigation report on a restaurant fire in Liaoyang city on Monday. The fire, which occurred on April 29, resulted in 22 deaths and left 3 others injured.

The report recommends that eight individuals, including the restaurant’s operators, be referred to judicial authorities for criminal investigation. Furthermore, up to 40 public officials deemed responsible for the tragedy will face disciplinary and legal scrutiny.

The report states that the fire was a serious workplace safety accident caused by failures on multiple fronts. Key contributing factors include the restaurant’s evasion of its primary safety responsibilities, unauthorized renovation work, and the expansion of its exterior facade using flammable aluminum-plastic panels.

Improper storage of combustible waste, a customer discarding an unextinguished cigarette butt, the use of substandard exterior insulation materials, malfunctioning firefighting equipment, an ineffective initial response, and insufficient oversight by local authorities are also held accountable for the incident.

According to the investigation, the fire originated when a customer surnamed Wang discarded an unextinguished cigarette butt. Fanned by the wind, the butt rolled into an opening, igniting stacked cardboard and other waste inside. The fire then spread rapidly via the combustible aluminum-plastic facade panels and the polystyrene insulation on the building’s exterior.