"There were no construction personnel that night", the cause of the fire was preliminarily determined! The latest on-site exposure →

On the evening of May 2,

Located in Kaifeng City, Henan Province

Henan University Minglun Campus occurred

A fire incident.

On May 3, Henan University issued a briefing,

Said during the repair construction

A fire was found in the auditorium of the Minglun campus,

There were no casualties.

On the night of the 3rd,

Office of Henan Provincial Fire Safety Committee

Publication Notice,

The relevant responsible persons have been controlled by the public security organs.

A joint investigation team has been set up on the ground

Conduct escalation investigations.

What was the situation like at the time of the fire?

What was the cause of the fire?

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The auditorium is used for important events

"It was a precious memory for us"

The full name of this auditorium is "the former site of Henan University Henan Preparatory School for Studying in Europe and the United States", which broke ground in November 1931 and was completed at the end of 1934, with a length of 73.75 meters from north to south, a width of 53.32 meters from east to west, a height of 24.4 meters, and a total construction area of 4,687 square meters.

The auditorium is exquisitely designed, with the combination of traditional Chinese architectural features of the large eaves and concave and convex Roman columns to highlight the combination of Chinese and Western architectural styles. The whole building is tall and grand.

In 2006, the former site of Henan Preparatory School for Studying in Europe and America was listed as the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units, and the auditorium was part of it.

△ Great Hall (picture from the school's official website)

According to the latest pictures,

The roof of the auditorium basically collapsed,

The fire-burned exterior walls are charred black,

Only green safety fences remain.

At about 23 o'clock on the 2nd, student Li (pseudonym) passed by the auditorium. She recalled that when I entered through the south gate of Henan University and had to pass through the auditorium, I didn't notice anything unusual at all, "The lights in our campus were relatively dim, but when there was a fire outside, I couldn't see it at all, and I couldn't smell it." ”

Li said that at 23:30, a friend received a notice that he needed to leave the dormitory near the auditorium.

Li said, "My classmate happened to live in the Xue5 apartment behind the auditorium, and my aunt said that she should not take it, so she hurried out to the playground to gather, when the fire in the auditorium had spread. ”

Student Li introduced,

The auditorium is usually closed,

Only the opening ceremony, graduation ceremony,

It will only be used on important occasions such as speeches.

The auditorium is located right in the middle of the Minglun campus. "It is a century-old building, and it is on the central axis of Henan University. In front of the steps of the auditorium is a large square, where everyone basically plays every night, which is really a spiritual sustenance. Whether it is the school song contest or various school celebration parties, all the activities are held in the auditorium, and it is so gorgeous inside, which is a very precious memory for us. ”

△ Inside the Great Chapel

Ms. Cai, a graduate of Henan University, also told reporters that the auditorium is a symbol of the school: "When I saw this news, my first feeling was that I was very shocked and very sad. The auditorium is of great significance to our students at Henan University, and all important moments are held in the auditorium. ”

△The auditorium is located in the middle of the Minglun Campus (picture from the school's official website)

The company involved said that there were no construction workers in the auditorium that night

The reporter inquired about the bidding information and found that in August 2023, the Henan Government Procurement Network issued the "Auditorium Renovation Project of the Old Site of Henan University Henan Preparatory School for Studying in Europe and the United States - Competitive Consultation Announcement".

September 2023

Beijing Tongxing Ancient Construction Engineering Co., Ltd

Won the bid for the repair project with 4,356,000 yuan

Xu Changlin, the company's legal representative, said in an exclusive interview with the Voice of China reporter that their company was founded in 1999 and had won the bid for the renovation of some buildings of the Palace Museum, Tsinghua University and Peking University.

△ Tongxing Ancient Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. has won the bid for the repair project of the national key cultural protection project for many times

According to media reports, the auditorium has been under construction for nearly four months, and the cause of the fire is suspected to be that a construction team member was resting inside the auditorium.

In response, Xu Changlin said: "From the beginning of construction to the present, people have been strictly not allowed to live. The construction team is near Henan, and they left at 5 o'clock after work, and pulled the electric gate at 6 o'clock. There was a night shift at the construction site, in a container-like office, forty or fifty meters away from the auditorium. ”

Xu Changlin told reporters that they completed the repair of the ceiling, doors and windows, and walls of the auditorium in mid-to-late April. We hung a ceiling, painted the walls, and painted the doors and windows. Basically, the interior work was completed by April 20. ”

△ The auditorium is under renovation

Xu Changlin told reporters that they were not the only construction unit of the auditorium, and other companies also entered the construction site.

At present, the company is cooperating with the Kaifeng fire and public security organs to investigate the cause of the fire.

It is preliminarily speculated that the cause of the fire may be related to the aging of the circuit

Henan University said that when the fire broke out,

There are no construction workers in the auditorium,

The cause of the fire is preliminarily speculated

It may be related to the aging of the circuit during the repair process.