Filipino worker hospitalized, over 300 evacuated in Tainan dorm fire

Tainan, Oct. 10 (CNA) A fire broke out at a migrant worker dormitory in Tainan on Saturday morning, leaving four people injured, including a Filipino man who was hospitalized, while more than 300 workers were evacuated, according to the city's Fire Department.

The department said it received a report on the fire at 7:23 a.m. at a four-story migrant worker dormitory in Annan District and dispatched 32 fire trucks, ambulances and other related vehicles and 68 firefighters and rescue personnel to the scene.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control at 7:55 a.m. and extinguished it at 7:57 a.m., the department said.

More than 300 migrant workers were evacuated, and four people were injured. Three declined hospital treatment, while the Filipino man was hospitalized but remained conscious, the department said.

Local media reported that the worker, who was in his 30s, was taken to Chi Mei Hospital after inhaling smoke, with carbon particles found in his nostrils. His life is not in danger, according to the reports.

The dormitory housed more than 400 residents, but some were away during the National Day holiday, the reports said.

The fire broke out on the building's first floor, where debris caught fire, and smoke spread to the second, third and fourth floors

During the evacuation, firefighters rescued two workers with masks, while eight others were evacuated using an aerial platform.

The cause of the fire and the extent of the property damage remain under investigation, the department added.