TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A fire broke out in Pingtung City early Sunday (Feb. 5) morning, which seriously damaged a historical military building.
The fire began on the second floor of a building that was previously the main office of the Army’s paratrooper training center in the township's Dawuying area. The fire alarm sounded just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning, and the fire burned for several hours before it was extinguished at 4:10 a.m., reported China Times.
The building was originally constructed in 1937 during the Japanese colonial era by the Japanese Army’s 8th Regiment. It was used by Taiwan’s military until 2019, when the paratrooper training center was relocated to an Air Force base in Pingtung City. Following the training facility’s relocation, the site was handed over to Pingtung County.
The two-story structure was one of 13 buildings that were undergoing renovation and restoration to be part of a Dawuying Cultural and Creative Park. A separate portion of the training camp’s property will be used for the construction of a new hospital.
The building that was damaged was planned to house a small military museum, and possibly a restaurant, reported UDN. It is unclear if any historical items were damaged in Sunday’s fire; however, the site is currently without utilities and most likely only held construction materials. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Aerial view of the burned out structure in Pingtung, Feb. 5. (Pingtung Fire Department photo)
