TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A fire destroyed a historic pastry shop dating back to the Japanese colonial era and damaged six nearby businesses in central Taiwan on Thursday morning (Dec. 3).
At 10:54 a.m., the Taichung City Fire Department received a report that a fire had broken out at a store on Zhongshan Road in the city's Central District. In response, the fire department dispatched 10 fire trucks, one ambulance, and 46 firefighters to the scene, reported CNA.
Because the old shop was constructed of wood, the fire spread rapidly, and by the time firefighters arrived on the scene, the blaze had spread to a number of nearby shops. To cope with the spreading inferno, the fire department dispatched an additional 17 vehicles and over 50 additional firefighters.
(CNA photo)
At 1 p.m., firefighters were finally able to bring the fire under control and set about extinguishing its remnants.
According to a preliminary investigation, the bakery that caught fire was Ichihuku (一福堂), which dates back to 1928, It was the originator of Taichung lemon cakes and is also well known for its suncakes and pineapple cakes, among other pastries. The owner of the business, surnamed Chen (陳), arrived after the fire had broken out.
When faced with media inquiries, Chen said that he had not been in the store at the time and did not know how the fire broke out. He declined to make any further comments.
(CNA photo)
The owner of a nearby store said that when the fire broke out, the staff from the pastry shop asked if there was a fire extinguisher. However, by the time they managed to obtain a fire extinguisher, the blaze had become too large for them to contain.
Witnesses said they heard a large explosion before the building erupted in flames. There have been no deaths or injuries reported from the blaze thus far, according to the fire department.
(CNA photo)
(CNA photo)
(CNA photo)
