A large fire broke out in a restaurant-dense area in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, a large-scale fire broke out at around 3 p.m. on the day at “Torimachi Shokudogai,” a food alley about 300 meters from JR Kokura Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka. No casualties have been reported so far.
Fire authorities were dispatched at around 3:11 on the day after receiving a report that the building was burning. About 20 fire engines were mobilized, but it took about 4 hours and 30 minutes to extinguish the fire as the embers moved to the adjacent building.
According to the video of the situation at the time, the fire, which had been rising only in some buildings, quickly spread to the entire food alley. Firefighters continued to try to put out the fire, but the fire was not easily contained. The fire, which had been burning with frightening momentum, only began to go out after dark. Even after the extinguishment, black smoke filled the area.
The fire is believed to have occurred at a restaurant in the food alley. According to the police, a restaurant official believed to be the site of the fire stated, “The pot caught fire.”
To prevent possible casualties, nearby hotels and Pachinko shops were ordered to evacuate. A couple in their 60s who were traveling said, “The police ordered us to go outside. Smoke came into the hotel hallway and my eyes and neck hurt.” A customer at the Pachinko store said, “Attention was made around 4 p.m. to evacuate because a fire is happening.” The store, which runs until 11 p.m., had to close at around 6 p.m. in the aftermath of the fire.
Some restaurant owners have complained about the damage caused by the fire. “At first, only two restaurants were burning, so I thought it would be extinguished quickly, but the fire spread throughout the restaurant,” said Ichiro Kono, chairman of the merchant group. “Fortunately, no injuries have been confirmed, but it is difficult because we cannot operate during the year-end and New Year holidays when sales are high.” “I am upset that a similar fire broke out again after the fire at the Danka Market,” he said. Earlier, two years ago, many stores suffered damage due to a series of fires occurring every four months at the Danka Market, about 400 meters from Shokudogai, Torimachi.
Meanwhile, large-scale incidents and accidents have continued in Japan since the new year. On New Year’s Day, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, killing at least 73 people, and the next day, a Japanese Air (JAL) plane landing with 379 people on board crashed on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on the 2nd. All passengers on the JAL plane escaped in the airport crash, but five of the six passengers on the JAL plane died.
SALLY
ASIA JOURNAL
