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Illegal factories on farmland left unaddressed lead to a major fire, two firefighters perish, civic groups urge government action

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Illegal factories on farmland left neglected and unaddressed, a major fire leaves two firefighters dead, civic groups call on the government to face the issue

Illegal factories on farmland have not been dealt with and repeatedly become public safety time bombs! The "Factory Management and Guidance Act" (hereinafter referred to as the Factory Guidance Act) was amended in June this year, but to date no substantive action has been taken against illegal factories. Fires at farmland factories have been reported in Changhua, Taoyuan and other areas. Today (the 3rd) at 1:45 a.m., two illegal factories in Daya, Taichung, caught fire. Fire crews went to fight the blaze, but tragically two firefighters lost their lives.

The two factories are the warehouse of Qunyu Co., Ltd. and the Taiwan Bermuda Paper Container Factory. An investigation found that the factory is unregistered and belongs to the category of illegal factories on farmland. In response to this incident, civic groups jointly held a press conference and put forward five demands concerning the "Fire Services Act," the "Factory Guidance Act," and firefighters' labor rights. The Firefighters' Labor Rights Promotion Association went further, demanding that the Legislative Yuan pass within five days the "Fire Services Act" provision that "line-of-duty death investigations must be written into law," otherwise further protests would not be ruled out!

Illegal factories on farmland repeatedly pose public safety crises

With no way to know the contents or layout of illegal factories, firefighting is like gambling with death

Chu Chih-yu, secretary-general of the Firefighters' Labor Rights Promotion Association, said that illegal factories are usually close to farmland, making it harder for firefighters to lay water lines. Because the factories are illegal, they also do not provide layout diagrams, so rescue personnel do not know what types of contents are inside the factory. If these are chemicals or items that may produce dust, the personnel sent to fight the fire are instead placed in an extremely high-risk environment.

Sheng Shih-chieh, a representative of the Firefighters' Labor Rights Promotion Association, explained that in this incident, the two illegal factories were unoccupied sheet-metal buildings, but sheet-metal buildings collapse at high temperatures of 400 degrees, creating danger for rescue personnel. During the 2015 Taoyuan Xinwu fire, the question was already raised whether sheet-metal buildings could be handled with a defensive tactic of not entering the structure, with the aim of containing the disaster and avoiding line-of-duty deaths, but to date there has still been no result.

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