At 5.20pm yesterday, a concrete electricity pole caught fire near a house at 228 Au Co in Lien Chieu District’s Hoa Khanh Bac Ward.

Nearby residents used portable fire extinguishers to try to control the blaze but the fire quickly took hold.  A series of small explosions were heard, accompanied by many electrical sparks, as the fire from the original blast continued to spread.

Local residents quickly turned off the electricity supplies to their homes for safety, and called for help from the firefighting agencies. 

Soon after, 2 fire engines and 12 firefighters from the Lien Chieu District Division of Fire Fighting and Prevention arrived at the scene and the blaze was completely extinguished within 10 minutes.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The scene of the fire