About 5 minutes after the electrical short circuit, the exhaust fan and strong wind caused the fire to spread quickly in the pig farm of Mr. Hoang Van Tiep’s family (Lang village, Ia Chia commune, Ia Grai district, Gia Lai province).
The fire killed 1,600 pigs and damaged many other valuable assets of Mr. Tiep’s family. The sudden disaster made him choke up.
Mr. Tiep recounted in a daze: At about 4:05 p.m. on January 12, the power line in the farm suddenly caught fire. Initially, the fire was only the size of a tray, but about 5 minutes later, the fire spread quickly, engulfing the entire farm, killing 1,600 pigs and destroying many valuable assets such as exhaust fans, odor filtering systems, cooling systems, food containers, etc. The total estimated damage was more than 6.4 billion VND. Because there were flammable materials in the farm, plus 7 exhaust fans and strong winds, it was too late to put out the fire.
Fire at a pig farm in Ia Chia commune killed 1,600 pigs. Photo: H.S.
“At that time, the workers had stopped working, and I was the only one left in the barn area. When I saw the fire, I lost my composure and didn’t remember to turn off the power in the farm. I only had time to call everyone. The exhaust fan and strong wind, combined with the many insulation panels, caused the fire to spread very quickly and burn everything down.
Even the rubber trees planted next to the camp were burned to the ground. As soon as I regained my composure, I called my family to run out, thinking that I should save whatever I could. Luckily, the remaining camps were 20-30 meters away, so the fire did not spread,” Tiep was still in shock.
According to Tiep, his family started raising pigs in 2014. This year alone, the farm raised more pigs than ever. “The dead pigs weighed about 55 kg each, and the family was preparing to transfer them to another farm or sell them. Who would have thought that such a heartbreaking incident would happen? For the past few days, no one in the family could eat. The estimated damage to the dead pigs alone was about 5.7 billion VND. Not to mention the investment in building the farm house of more than 2 billion VND, after the fire, only a cement floor with an iron frame and a corrugated iron roof remained.
We are now working with the insurance company to see how they will compensate and support the money. To bury the pigs that died in the fire, according to the instructions of the authorities, the family used an excavator to dig 16 holes, spreading rice husks and lime,” Mr. Tiep shared.
Many valuable assets in Mr. Hoang Van Tiep’s pig farm were burned. Photo: DPCC
Mr. Rah Lan Gau, Chairman of the Ia Chia Commune People’s Committee, said: After receiving information about the fire at Mr. Hoang Van Tiep’s pig farm, the Commune People’s Committee sent forces to help overcome the consequences.
Mr. Thai Anh Tuan, Deputy Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ia Grai District, said: “Following the direction of the District People’s Committee, we went to the scene and instructed them to bury the dead pigs according to regulations. Currently, Mr. Tiep’s family is doing this. On January 15, the Department sent officials to inspect the pig burial.”
Talking to us, Mr. Do Van Dong, Vice Chairman of the Ia Grai District People’s Committee, informed: According to the report of the District Police, the cause of the fire at Mr. Hoang Van Tiep’s pig farm was due to an electrical short circuit. The estimated property damage in this fire is more than 6.4 billion VND.
After the incident, the leaders of the District People’s Committee, along with the district’s functional departments and the Ia Chia Commune People’s Committee, visited Mr. Tiep’s house to encourage and support his family to overcome the consequences. At the same time, the District People’s Committee directed the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to guide Mr. Tiep’s family to bury the dead pigs in accordance with regulations to avoid environmental pollution.
“The District People’s Committee has issued a document directing functional departments and the District Police to strengthen inspections of fire prevention and fighting at businesses and livestock farms in the area, especially during the period approaching the Lunar New Year. Inspection work to prevent fires is being carried out by the district’s functional forces.
At the same time, the District People’s Committee has stepped up propaganda to raise awareness of fire prevention among all classes of people. However, the risk of fire and explosion is always latent, so people are requested to proactively take measures to prevent and avoid fires like the one just happened,” Mr. Dong emphasized.
Hoanh Son
Source: Gia Lai Newspaper