TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A 23-year-old man surnamed Hsu (許) has been charged by Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office for allegedly starting the fire that burned down Carrefour Taiwan’s Yangmei Logistics Distribution Center in March.
UDN reported that when the distribution center was inaugurated in July last year, it became the retail chain’s most advanced smart logistics center. Due to the amount of dried foods and household products stored in the facility, when a fire broke out early in the morning of March 14, it quickly became uncontrollable.
The fire not only destroyed goods but also caused half of the building’s structure to collapse. Residents in the area were also affected and sought reparation from Carrefour.
Carrefour suffered an estimated NT$3.9 billion (US$125 million) from the disaster.
After months of investigation, prosecutors concluded the fire was started due to oversight. They held Hsu accountable, citing that he failed to put out cigarettes after smoking in a pallet storage area at 6:58 and 7:07 a.m. on March 14.
At around 7:16 a.m., pallets began burning next to where Hsu had been smoking.
According to UDN, Hsu admitted to smoking but claimed he did not remember whether he put out the cigarettes afterwards during interrogations.He was cited as saying he did not think the embers would cause such a fire and that he was terrified himself.
Upon reviewing surveillance camera footage, prosecutors confirmed that Hsu was the only smoker at the scene around the time the fire started. The pallets began burning within 10 minutes of Hsu leaving.
Hsu was charged with “negligently setting fire to an occupied building.”
Smoke could be seen billowing from the Carrefour logistics center fire from kilometers away. (Facebook, Reporter.Taiwan photo)
