Dongdamen Night Market in E. Taiwan has yet another fire

東大門夜市再起大火

Hualien's Dongdamen Night Market suffers second fire this year


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A blaze broke out in eastern Taiwan's biggest night market just four months after the market had been struck by another fire.

A fire started on Aborigine Street in the Dongdamen Night Market in Hualien City at about 7 p.m. Sunday evening (Oct. 7). The Hualien County Fire Department said that they believe the cause of the fire was grease igniting inside a smoke extractor after the device overheated, reported UDN.

At 7:16 p.m., the Hualien County Fire Department received a report of a fire in the night market. Fortunately, firefighters were quickly able to extinguish the fire after they arrived on the scene.


(CNA photo)

During an inspection after the fire, inspectors found that the source of the fire was a kitchen hood at a barbeque rib vendor. Investigators believe that the smoke extractor inside the kitchen hood had overheated and ignited grease that had accumulated from the cooked meat.

The fire caused about 15 stalls to lose power, forcing them to close for the night, according to the report. Vendors such as the No. 1 Barbecue Stand had no choice but to apologize to their customers and offer them a refund.

The department said further investigation will be needed to determine the exact cause of Sunday's fire. The night market suffered an even larger blaze in June of this year when 50 booths were burned to the ground.


(CNA photo)