On the afternoon of March 18, leaders of Binh Thanh District People's Committee had a meeting to encourage 7 traders who suffered heavy damage in the fire at Thanh Da market on the evening of March 17.
At the meeting, Binh Thanh District Party Secretary, Mr. Vu Ngoc Tuat, expressed his deep sympathy for the losses that traders have to endure. He emphasized that the local government will urgently investigate the cause of the fire, while seeking practical support solutions to soon stabilize people's lives and restore business operations.
"We understand that this fire has caused great losses to the people. However, the most important thing right now is to stay mentally strong and overcome difficulties together. The district government will always accompany and support people during this period," Mr. Tuat affirmed.
Ms. Mong Cam, one of the affected traders, could not hide her emotions when sharing about her difficult circumstances. She said that the fire burned all her assets, causing her to lose her main source of income to raise her 3 young children. "I have been attached to Thanh Da market for decades. Now, everything has melted into ashes, I don't know what to do to take care of my children," Mrs. Cam said chokingly.
Similar to Ms. Cam, many other traders also expressed their hope that the government would quickly have a support plan so that they could soon return to trading and stabilize their lives. In the immediate future, Binh Thanh District has decided to support each trader with 5 million VND to partly share the immediate difficulties.
At about 10:15 p.m. on March 17, a fire broke out from a newspaper and textbook stall on Thanh Da Street. Because the inside contained many flammable materials such as paper, plastic, and fabric, the fire quickly spread, covering the entire area. Within just 15 minutes, the surrounding stalls, mainly selling clothes, children's toys, and household items, were also burned and burned down.
The Fire Police mobilized many fire trucks and dozens of soldiers to the scene. However, because the fire was too big and spread quickly, extinguishing the fire encountered many difficulties. By 11pm on March 17, the fire was basically under control, but nearly a dozen stalls had completely collapsed.
