5 killed in Hanoi house fire

The blaze started around 5 a.m. in the 30-square-meter house located deep in an alley off Kim Hoa Street in Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam Ward, where a couple aged 69 and 73, their son and his wife aged 37 and 43, and their 6-year-old grandson, were sleeping.

Flames spread quickly through the house, which was secured with iron grilles from top to bottom, preventing anyone inside from escaping.

A four-story house is burned in an alley in Hanoi, leaving five people inside dead, Oct. 11, 2025. Photo courtesy of Hanoi police

Thanh, who lives about 20 meters from the burning house, heard screams at around 5:15 a.m. and rushed outside. He saw his neighbors' home engulfed in flames, with thick smoke pouring out. Urgent cries for help came from inside, but the iron and glass doors on the first floor were locked.

Thanh said he and other residents in the neighborhood spent 30 minutes using crowbars to break down the doors. They tried to control the fire with around 30 mini fire extinguishers, and residents from the adjacent apartment building brought a hose to spray water, but the flames could not be contained.

An electric car and two gasoline motorbikes on the first floor intensified the smoke and fire, forcing everyone to retreat.

"We heard the cries for help but couldn't do anything. If the house had an emergency exit, we could have placed a mattress below so the people inside could have jumped and escaped," Thanh said.

The first floor of a house that caught fire in Hanoi on Oct. 11, 2025. Photo courtesy of Hanoi police

Four fire trucks and 30 firefighters arrived at the scene at around 5:30 a.m., by which time the house was fully engulfed in flames and emitting thick, toxic smoke. The fire trucks were parked on Kim Hoa Street, with water hoses extended over 300 meters and maneuvered through multiple turns to reach the burning house.

Firefighters, wearing specialized breathing apparatus, sprayed water on the first floor while searching for victims. By 6:00 a.m., the fire was under control, and by 7:00 a.m., all five victims had been recovered and wrapped in blankets.

At the scene, three motorbikes and all furniture on the first floor were destroyed. The plaster on walls and ceilings had peeled off, and the stairs leading to the upper floors had their railings burned down.

Hanoi has experienced numerous house fires in narrow alleys, often causing heavy damage. On April 28, 2025, a fire broke out at house deep in an alley off Dinh Cong Ha Street, in the former Hoang Mai District, killing three family members.

On July 8, 2023, two brothers and their cousin died when a five-story house with an attic in an alley in former Dong Da District caught fire.