Huiteng Shoe Factory Fire Kills 28 in Fujian as 213 Escape Jinjiang Blaze
Updated
Updated · St. Paul Pioneer Press · Jul 9
Huiteng Shoe Factory Fire Kills 28 in Fujian as 213 Escape Jinjiang Blaze
3 articles · Updated · St. Paul Pioneer Press · Jul 9
Summary
28 people died after a fire tore through Huiteng shoe company’s five-floor factory in Jinjiang, Fujian, where 237 workers and two visitors were inside; rescuers pulled out 213 survivors.
First-floor workshop and warehouse materials — including highly flammable shoe components — helped the blaze spread quickly, while sole material stacked in stairwells hindered firefighters.
183 firefighters and 35 vehicles extinguished open flames after about four hours, and more than 500 people joined the rescue and search operation.
Xi Jinping ordered an all-out rescue effort and a swift investigation; Xinhua said the factory owner and other managers were taken into custody and company accounts frozen.
The disaster adds to China’s persistent workplace-safety toll after a 37-death fireworks plant explosion in May; official data show 18,261 deaths in nearly 20,000 workplace accidents in 2025.