Chapter 2938 Fire at the Sports Center

"Mayor, we just received a report that a fire broke out at the construction site of the sports center," Chen Guohua whispered to Qin Feng.

Qin Feng frowned upon hearing this.

After Chen Guohua finished speaking, he stood next to Qin Feng, waiting for Qin Feng's response.

After listening, Qin Feng thought for almost a minute before saying, "Everyone, I have something to attend to. Please continue your discussion."

After Qin Feng finished speaking, he stood up and walked outside with Chen Guohua. Zhang Xinming, who was sitting in the corner, also got up and ran over to take Qin Feng's water cup and workbook and followed behind.

After leaving the conference room, Qin Feng asked Chen Guohua, "How big is the fire? Are there any casualties? What's the situation now? Have the firefighters arrived yet?"

"The fire is huge. It was said to have started suddenly. The casualties are still unclear. When I received the report, the fire department had already arrived. I have also called the relevant departments. Now all units are acting according to the emergency plan. Mayor Yuanwei has also set off for the scene," Chen Guohua said.

"Tell Mayor Yuanwei not to go to the scene; he's too old. Prepare the car; I'll go there immediately. You continue to coordinate all aspects. Make sure there are no casualties, control the fire as soon as possible, evacuate the crowd, and prepare contingency plans for the worst-case scenario..." Qin Feng gave instructions as he walked.

As Qin Feng walked, he suddenly said, "Notify the Public Security Bureau to intervene."

"Directly involve the Municipal Public Security Bureau?" Chen Guohua was a little confused. This was a fire, why would the Public Security Bureau be involved at this time? If it was about maintaining order at the scene, the local police station or branch bureau would have already made arrangements, why would the Municipal Public Security Bureau be involved?

“This matter is not so simple. The timing of the incident is abnormal. Regardless of whether it is a production accident or not, let the Municipal Bureau intervene first. Tell Jiang Yunpeng that the first priority is to maintain order at the scene and ensure that the rescue work can proceed smoothly. At the same time, tell him to keep a close eye on things. I suspect that this was done by someone.” Qin Feng’s eyes were sharp.

Chen Guohua immediately understood what was going on.

Qin Feng and Zhang Xinming walked ahead, while Chen Guohua followed behind, making a phone call. He had too many things to deal with in this kind of emergency. Whenever this happened, the busiest person was not Mayor Qin Feng, but Chen Guohua, the secretary-general.

Qin Feng sped towards the scene in his car. Chen Guohua was already making and receiving phone calls in the car. At that moment, Qin Feng's cell phone, which was in Zhang Xinming's hand, rang.

“Mayor, it’s Mr. Xiao from Huayang Group,” Zhang Xinming said.

"Just give it to me." Qin Feng took the phone and answered, "This is Qin Feng."

Qin Feng's tone was very unpleasant.

"Mayor, I want to apologize to you," Xiao Jian'an said directly.

"Now is not the time for self-criticism, and it would be pointless anyway. Right now, you must have your men evacuate the workers, take a headcount, check the casualties, and make sure the logistical arrangements are in place. Xiao Jian'an, we all need to pray that there are no casualties, at least not a large number of them, otherwise you will be completely wiped out on the sandbar, and so will I." Qin Feng's tone was exceptionally cold and calm.

While downstairs, Qin Feng had roughly pieced together the details of the incident. He was now increasingly convinced that this was no accident. Fires at construction sites are not easy to occur, especially at this time of year in the Northwest. Xiao Jian'an's company had been in the construction industry for many years and had never had such a safety accident, which showed that they were very careful. A sudden fire, and such a large one at that, was very unusual.

Moreover, it all happened at a time when the governor was facing a change and the provincial structure was shifting, plus Yang Guoqiang had just invited Jiang Longjun to dinner a few days earlier—it was all too coincidental.

On the surface, the fire appears to be just a workplace safety accident, but the reality is more complex.

If there are a large number of casualties, the responsibility will naturally lie with Huayang Group, and the municipal government will also bear responsibility, but this responsibility will not have a direct impact on Mayor Qin Feng.

The direct impact on Qin Feng is that Huayang Group was the company he initially forced to bring in after dismissing the original construction company. Now that such a major problem has occurred at Huayang Group's construction site, Qin Feng cannot escape the responsibility.

Secondly, the procedures by which Huayang Group took over these projects were problematic. Last time, Yang Guoqiang tried to stir up trouble by using Shao Hongli's will, but Qin Feng and Jiang Longjun reached an agreement, and with Zhao Hongjian in the province, the matter was ultimately handled discreetly.

But if this fire causes a major accident, these things will definitely be brought up again, and someone will have to take responsibility. It will be either Sun Yuanwei or Qin Feng who will take responsibility.

Qin Feng is now almost certain that Yang Guoqiang was behind this. The ruthlessness and directness of this method far surpasses what Shao Hongli and Yang Zhijie did before, and it was something Qin Feng never expected, leaving him with no way to prepare in advance.

“I’ve already called Meng Dan, and she’s gone to the scene. Mayor, I’m flying to Shazhou right away,” Xiao Jian’an said hurriedly.

"What are you doing here? By the time you get here, everything will be burned to the ground. What good will you be? Besides, we still don't know what caused the fire. Coming here now is just making things worse. Are you planning to let someone take down your Huayang Group?" Qin Feng scolded.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jian'an realized something was amiss and hesitantly asked, "What do you mean?"

"I don't mean anything by it. The most important thing right now is to put out the fire. Nothing else matters. You stay in Zhongjiang and don't go anywhere. We'll talk about it after the fire is out." Qin Feng hung up on Xiao Jian'an after saying that.

"What's the situation at the scene now? Is the fire under control? Have there been any reports of casualties?" Qin Feng urged Chen Guohua again. After asking, Qin Feng impatiently told the driver, "Drive faster."

"No, Mayor, everyone is just starting to react. There's been too little time to get a complete count. However, the fire department is already on site and working, but they say the fire is quite large, and they're sending more fire trucks over..."

"Call the emergency management department and immediately mobilize all available resources from the surrounding area. Don't be afraid of wasting resources; spare no effort to put out the fire as soon as possible. Call the Health Commission and send more ambulances to the scene. Have the major hospitals set aside their rescue equipment and best doctors to be on standby. If there are any injured people, they must be saved; no one is allowed to die..." Qin Feng was practically issuing a death order.

As Qin Feng was giving orders to Chen Guohua beside him, Zhang Xinming, sitting in the passenger seat, whispered to the driver, "Drive slowly, safety first."

The driver sped up because of Qin Feng's urging, while Zhang Xinming whispered to the driver not to go so fast.

As a secretary, Zhang Xinming was very competent and intelligent.