factory fire

A fire at a poultry plant in Dehui, China last week killed at least 120 people and injured many others. Some state media reports attribute the fire to an ammonia leak, and medical workers reported that many victims had swollen respiratory tracts consistent with ammonia poisoning. Workers who escaped and victims' relatives cited narrow hallways and locked exits as factors in the alarmingly high death toll. One report from the BBC describes the factory: Family members were quoted as saying the factory doors were always kept locked during working hours. The plant is owned by Jilin Baoyuanfeng…

A fire last month at the Tazreen Fashions Ltd. factory in Ashulia, Bangladesh killed 112 workers and injured many more.  Now it's being reported that the fire department had refused to renew the factory's certification, and that only five of factory's eight floors were built illegally. The New York Times reports: The Capital Development Authority could have fined Tazreen Fashions Ltd. or even pushed for the demolition of illegally built portions of the building, an agency official said, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. But it chose to do…