Hanoi karaoke parlor manager arrested after deadly fire rescue

Pham Duy Hung, manager of the 231 Quan Hoa karaoke parlor in Cau Giay District, is being detained facing charges of “violations of fire safety regulations causing serious consequences,” Hanoi police said at a press conference Friday.

The fire broke out on the sixth floor of the parlor at 1 p.m. on August 1.

Hundreds of police officers were dispatched to the site, along with dozens of firefighters and ladder trucks and water trucks.

Due to the building’s closed structure and many soundproof devices that easily catch fire, the blaze grew stronger and smoke billowed up from the parlor’s broken glass doors and gap in the roof.

At 3:28 p.m., authorities announced the deaths of three firefighters, Dang Anh Quan, 45, Do Duc Viet, 24, and Nguyen Dinh Phuc, 19.

They had reached the fourth floor of the six-floor building when the ceiling collapsed on them. Their bodies were retrieved an hour later.

The fire was completely extinguished by 6:45 p.m.

Smoke billows out from the 231 Quan Hoa karaoke parlor in Cau Giay District of Hanoi on August 1, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Chieu

Investigation found the fire was started by a welding machine being used to repair the parlor.

Although the parlor has been temporarily closed for repairs, employees report to work every day.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Thursday ordered cities and provinces to tighten control on karaoke parlors nationwide following the fire that killed 32 people in the southern province of Binh Duong.

In November 2016, a fire at a karaoke parlor on Tran Thai Tong street in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District killed 13 people.