The village experienced nearly 20 fires in three months, leaving residents in a state of panic.

(Baonghean.vn) -For the past few months, nNumerous fires have been occurring continuously inLuân Phượng hamlet, Đồng Văn commune (Thanh Chương district, Nghệ An province)The cause has not yet been found.This caused great confusion among the people.

Within a three-month period (June 19th – September 22nd), Luân Phượng hamlet experienced 18 fires affecting 11 households, including fires in houses, hay sheds, haystacks, and cattle sheds. Among these, one house and two cattle sheds were destroyed, while the rest involved haystacks and hay sheds.

From June to September, fires occur every month. The fires break out day and night, but are concentrated between 11 AM and 1 PM and 7 PM and 10 PM daily, regardless of whether the weather is hot or cold.

The first fire involved two haystacks at the home of Mrs. Tran Thi Thuy (71 years old) on June 19th. That day, after the first haystack caught fire, people sprayed water on the remaining one, but just a few dozen minutes later, this haystack also completely caught fire.

After the fire, only a few walls remained of Mrs. Tran Thi Cong's cow shed.

The day with the most fires, affecting four houses, was July 24th: Mrs. Le Thi Ba's house (two thatched rooms) burned down; Mr. Le The Hung's thatched house burned down; Mr. Le The Quan's three-room cowshed was completely destroyed; and Mrs. Tran Thi Cong's cowshed burned down.

Of the 11 houses that caught fire, 7 were burned once, 2 twice, 1 three times, and 1 four times. The most severe damage was to the three-room house of Ms. Le Thi An (80 years old), who now has to live in the kitchen, and to the three-room cow shed of Mr. Le Vinh Quan, which was completely destroyed, forcing his family to build a completely new shed.

Mrs. Le Thi An's three-room house is now just a charred pile of wood.

The most recent fires occurred in four households. Mr. Le Van Luong's house, where a haystack caught fire on September 16th, has been extinguished. Mr. Nguyen Duy Tho's house, where a haystack caught fire on the evening of September 18th while the family was watching television, completely destroyed 6 acres of hay and shattered the corrugated iron roofing. Mr. Le The Hung and Ms. Tran Thi Thuy's houses continued to experience fires, both on the day and night of September 22nd. Remarkably, it rained almost all day that day, and Ms. Thuy's haystack, located in the garden, remained ablaze despite being soaked. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished in time.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Tho's thatched house was completely burned down on the night of September 18th.

The first fires were attributed by locals to someone's carelessness or children's mischief, but then a series of fires occurred without a clear cause, causing widespread concern.

Mr. Le The Hung's thatched house caught fire on the night of September 22nd, but the fire was detected and extinguished in time.

Faced with this situation, authorities from the commune to the district level, specifically the militia, the police of Dong Van commune, and the police of Thanh Chuong district, went to the hamlet to investigate and control the situation, but the fires continued to occur.

Strangely, many fires occur inexplicably. Ms. Le Thi An recounted that on that day, she had about 5 bundles of straw drying in the yard, but in the afternoon, a fire suddenly broke out, spreading to the house, and she couldn't put it out in time. The straw sheds here are sturdily built, with only one very small entrance, carefully covered, yet they still catch fire, either from the outside in or from the middle outwards…

The series of fires, with no clear cause, has left families in the neighborhood feeling very confused and worried.

Mr. Tran Duc Thuan, head of Luan Phuong hamlet, affirmed: "The hamlet has 135 households, and there are no drug addicts. The families whose homes were burned down are all hardworking, harmonious families with no conflicts with anyone. Both the officials and the residents of my hamlet are having a headache because of the fire."

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Chuong, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Van commune, said: "Recently, there have been many fires in Luan Phuong hamlet. The commune has directed forces to inspect and assess the situation, prepare documents to support affected families, report to higher authorities, and request an investigation to determine the cause of the incidents. The Thanh Chuong district police have come to inspect and examine the situation, but the commune has not yet received a specific conclusion."

Fire hoses at Mr. Nguyen Duy Tho's house

Currently, many households in the neighborhood have purchased additional water pumps, car wash machines, water tanks, and prepared everything from buckets and basins to hoses… so that if anyone in the neighborhood reports a fire, they are ready to rush to help. At night, all houses keep their lights on all night to make it easier to detect and extinguish fires promptly.

Ms. Tran Thi Thuy, a resident whose house has been damaged by fire three times, said: "Since the fires occurred, the people here have been extremely worried and anxious wherever they go. We hope that the relevant authorities at all levels will get involved, investigate the cause, and take timely action so that people can live and work in peace."

Huy Thu