Fatal fire rings alarm for factory safety(2)

INDIFFERENCE TO HAZARDS

The managers of the poultry plant, as well as local supervisory authorities, seem to have paid little attention to preventing and handling risks.

The Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Company had over 50 tonnes of ammonia stored in the workshop where the fire occurred.

Ammonia, which both caustic and hazardous, must be stored under high pressure or at a low temperature. However, few people in the factory were aware of the dangers of the substance and the workers were never informed.

"I knew ammonia can be used as a refrigerant, but I had no idea that the tanks might explode," said Chai Jinfeng, an employee who barely escaped the fire.

Employee "Qin Dalong" (alias) said he was on duty inside a warehouse refrigerator when he saw dark smoke pouring out of the workshop. He and dozens of his colleagues ran out of the warehouse, hearing loud explosions just minutes later.

Like Chai, nearly all survivors interviewed by Xinhua said they had never received any training on fire prevention. The company has 1,200 employees, but none of them have participated in evacuation drills since the company became operational in 2009, according to some survivors.

"It was a mess and I was totally stunned. All the lights went off and I fumbled along the wall and barely escaped using my instincts," said an employee surnamed Yu.

"I had no survival skills and no one trained us," she said.