China province demolishes prefab houses after deadly fire

ZHENGZHOU - Authorities in Central China's Henan province have demolished and closed 2,012 prefabricated houses discovering they were a major risk behind a fire that claimed 38 lives at a rest home in the province on May 25.

The provincial fire department said on Thursday that it carried out a comprehensive fire check after the tragedy and found modular houses have been used as makeshift buildings in hospitals, schools, kindergartens and community centers.

The Fire department found the steel panels of the modular structures have heat insulating materials inside, making them flammable. The easily-built houses have been widely used as indoor markets and activity rooms.

Privately-owned Kangleyuan nursing home in Lushan county, Henan, which caught fire, consisted of a row of bungalows all made of the light steel structure.

The blaze, which broke out at 7:30 am and swept through the entire complex within an hour, left 38 of the 51 occupants dead and six injured.

Local people said the dorms were of "bad quality", which were "built with iron sheets and without foundations".

During the safety check, the fire department oversaw the teardown of 1,254 such houses and the shutdown of 758 sites.