TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A fire at a Vietnamese snack shop in Miaoli County on Tuesday (Nov. 28) has resulted in five deaths and one injury.
At 2:12 a.m., the Miaoli County Fire Department received a report of a fire at a residence on Zhonghua Road in Miaoli County's Toufen and dispatched 14 fire trucks, seven ambulances, and 44 firefighters, reported SET News. Five people were killed by the fire, while a Vietnamese woman sustained injuries after jumping from the building to escape the flames.
When firefighters arrived, the three-story building was engulfed in flames. Because the main door on the first floor was locked, firefighters had to use cutting tools to get in.
Search and rescue personnel found four people on the second floor, including a 35-year-old man surnamed Hsu (許), his Vietnamese wife surnamed Vu (武), and their two daughters aged five and six. On the third floor, they found a badly burned individual believed to be a 56-year-old female Vietnamese national surnamed Hoang (黃).
All five had suffered Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) when they were found and were rushed to Wei Gong Memorial Hospital for emergency medical treatment, but doctors were unable to resuscitate them and they were pronounced dead.
(Miaoli County Fire Department photo)
In addition, a 30-year-old Vietnamese female migrant worker living on the third floor jumped out of the third-floor window to escape the fire. She sprained her ankle and was sent to the hospital for treatment, but her injuries are not considered serious.
People nearby said that the female owner of the home usually runs a Vietnamese snack shop in the building. In addition to the family of four living there, additional foreign migrant workers living on the third floor complicated access in and out of the building.
Neighbors told CNA they often heard singing coming from the store until midnight. However, on Monday night, no singing was heard, but there were noises sounding like things were being moved.
About 10 to 20 minutes later, smoke then fire were seen coming out of the building. The fire was extinguished at 3:48 a.m., and the cause is currently under investigation.
Hoang being tended to by firefighter after spraining her ankle. (Miaoli county Fire Department photo) 
(Miaoli County Fire Department photo)
(Miaoli County Fire Department photo)
(Miaoli County Fire Department photo)
