Prosecutors charge 8 with corruption following deadly fire in Jan.
2015/05/29 19:25:44
CNA file photo
Taipei, May 29 (CNA) The Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office on Friday charged 8 suspects including Wu Shang-chen (吳尚城), former head of the Xinwu branch of the Taoyuan Fire Department, for violation of the Anti-Corruption Act for tampering with safety inspections leading to the death of 6 firefighters in January.
Six firefighters perished in the line of duty on Jan. 20 while responding to a fire at a bowling center in the coastal Xinwu District of Taoyuan City.
The defendants include Wu, 5 other firefighters and 2 local government officials.
Investigators discovered that fire safety inspectors had recorded several inadequacies during routine inspections at the bowling center in March and May of 2011. However, at the request of Wu and a number of other firefighters, these shortcomings were expunged from the record.
Investigators also found that while the bowling center had passed the government's fire safety inspections with flying colors, an assessment by private sector inspectors found numerous violations.
The discrepancies show that inspectors were compelled to forge fire safety assessments, said investigators.
Meanwhile, investigators pointed to the loss of water pressure in the water hose as the main factor leading to the death of the six firefighters in January.
Investigators explained that fire trucks are equipped with a power take-off (PTO) device, which redirects engine power to run the water pump.
Firefighters often rely on the water hose as they move through hazardous environments in low visibility, however, as the water hose had lost pressure and flattened, the six firefighters were unable to escape in time without the guidance of the hose, said investigators.
During the fatal fire, 13 fire engines and vehicles were ordered to relocate further away from the bowling center as the raging fire began to trigger explosions at the site.
Investigators believe that water pressure in the hose was cut off when the fire truck redirected engine power to move the vehicle, instead of the water pump.
(By Chiu Chun-chin and Ted Chen)
