Hongfu Garden Hearing | Cleaner: Safety class did not teach how to handle fires

The hearing also summoned two exterior wall cleaners, namely Yao Shunyou, who was hired by Haide Construction on a monthly salary, and Huang Zulian, a daily wage casual worker introduced by him. Both were working on scaffolding outside the 27th floor of Hongchang Pavilion when the incident occurred. They later climbed onto the rooftop intending to escape via the stairs, but due to thick smoke, they were unable to do so. They were eventually rescued the following day after being trapped overnight.

Huang Zulian stated that before starting work on the Hongfu Garden project in mid-November, she had to attend a safety training session, which reminded workers to wear safety belts and helmets while working on scaffolding. However, she was not told about using “life mouths” (fire hoses) or how to handle a fire. She only mentioned that smoking was not allowed on the site. She also mentioned that her work required using “stone washing water,” which contains hydrochloric acid and must be diluted with water, making it a corrosive liquid. Therefore, during their work, no other workers would be nearby. She added that whenever they performed “stone washing,” it indicated that the overall project was nearing completion. At that time, the windows of units 1 and 2 of the building had already been removed and sealed with foam.

Yao Shunyou said he knew that Haide’s boss, known by the nickname “Bald Head Ji,” whose real name is Yan Chuki, and “Lai Zong,” but he had never heard of the “Sanpan” Guangjian Scaffold Business responsible person “Four-Eyed Kun.” He also stated that the safety training did not mention not smoking, how to extinguish a fire, or issues related to “life mouths.” He pointed out that during his work, there were rarely people near the water tap, and even if he saw someone from a distance, he would not approach. On that day, he heard someone downstairs calling about a fire. Even though he did not see flames, he climbed onto the rooftop to escape.