2 roommates recall deadly campus fire

By Tom Qian  |   2008-11-17  |     ONLINE EDITION

TWO students who escaped a deadly blaze that killed their four roommates in a dormitory on Friday in Shanghai appeared on TV yesterday and recalled the accident, Shanghai Morning Post reported today.

Shen Hongyan and Zhang Yi, both female, said the bottom bunk packed with sundries caught fire about 6am in their dorm at Shanghai Business School in Xuhui District.

They thought they could put out the fire quickly since it was not big, the report said. However, when they had returned from the washroom with water, they found the door would not open.

Shen and Zhang soon heard cries for help coming from the room and in a few minutes they saw a lot of smoke coming from the 20-quare meter room as quilts, mosquito nets and clothes burnt quickly, the report said.

They said an electric heating stick may have caused the fire. The fire started shortly after power was turned back on at 6am that morning in the seven-floor dorm at the school’s downtown campus on Zhongshan Road West. Though banned from dorms, the cheap sticks are a popular way for students to boil water.

Parents of two of the students who died believe the college was responsible for their daughters’ deaths as the fire extinguishers in the dorm had long past their use-by date.

The relatives of the dead students watched the news program but did not comment, according to the report.

Fire officials believe when Shen and Zhang opened the door, it allowed more oxygen into the room, which made the fire burn bigger and faster.

The school has arranged for the victims’ parents to stay in a nearby hotel as the investigation continues, the report said.