Tragedies are not normally inevitable. They come out of nowhere. But when it comes to that of the deadly fire in Nanjing of late, a growing body of evidence is pointing to it being a case of something like this was going to happen eventually.
悲剧通常并非不可避免。他们不知从何而来。但当谈到最近发生在南京的致命火灾时，越来越多的证据表明类似的事情最终将会发生。
15 people died and as many as 44 were hospitalised after the fire in Building 6 of Mingshang Xiyuan Community of Yuhuatai District in Nanjing erupted during the night of 23 February. The incident hit the headlines worldwide, being reported by the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and many more.
2月23日夜间，南京市雨花台区名商西苑社区6号楼发生火灾，造成15人死亡、44人住院。该事件成为世界各地的头条新闻，英国广播公司 (BBC)、美国有线电视新闻网 (CNN)、半岛电视台等多家媒体都进行了报道。
The deadly fire was the result of e-bikes charging on an upper floor designated as approved, violating regulations. Residents have said they have been concerned about the possibility of fire for some time.
这场致命火灾是由于电动自行车在指定的上层充电违反规定造成的。居民们表示，一段时间以来他们一直担心可能发生火灾。
Many buildings within Mingshang Xiyuan have floors without complete external walls, which were originally used for residents’ fitness and leisure. However, after e-bikes were banned from parking in corridors in 2019, these floors became their parking and charging point. Prior to the February fire, as many as 180 e-bikes were found to have been parked in the building’s such space.
名商西苑内很多建筑的楼层都没有完整的外墙，原本用于居民健身休闲。然而，2019年禁止电动自行车停放在走廊后，这些楼层就成了电动自行车的停车和充电点。在 2 月份的火灾之前，人们发现多达 180 辆电动自行车停放在大楼的此类空间内。
But fire, as it turns out, was not just a possibility. A writer for this very publication yesterday revealed that he used to live in the same apartment complex, in the building opposite where last month’s deadly blaze took place. He reported that circa. 2017, a fire broke out in his building whereby the entire lobby was literally destroyed.
但事实证明，火灾不仅仅是一种可能性。该出版物的一位作家昨天透露，他曾经住在同一个公寓大楼里，位于上个月发生致命火灾的对面大楼里。他大约报告了这一点。 2017 年，他的大楼发生火灾，整个大厅被毁。
Meanwhile, a resident in Building 2 of the Community spoke with local media, saying that a fire accident occurred there in 2019. That interviewee commented, “The safety risks are too great”.
与此同时，小区2号楼的一名居民接受当地媒体采访时表示，2019年该小区曾发生过火灾事故。该受访者表示，“安全风险太大”。
Today, Nanjing is feeling the brunt of measures taken by authorities in the wake of the fire intended to reduce the possibility of another deadly incident.
如今，南京正首当其冲地感受到当局在火灾后采取的措施，旨在减少再次发生致命事件的可能性。
Many major residential communities across the city have placed megaphones at their entrances which play a 10 second announcement, thereafter at 5-second intervals, urging residents not to take their e-bikes home to charge. The announcements play all day, every day, and well in to the evening hours.
目前，全市多个主要小区门口均设置了扩音器，播放10秒、每隔5秒的广播，提醒居民不要将电动自行车带回家充电。这些公告每天全天播放，一直播放到晚上。
Meanwhile, “no e-bike” stickers have also been placed in lifts far and wide, while security guards were yesterday seen taking away e-bikes which were partially blocking apartment building doorways before continuing their patrol.
与此同时，电梯里到处都贴着“禁止电动自行车”的贴纸，昨天还看到保安拿走了部分堵塞公寓楼门口的电动自行车，然后继续巡逻。
Nanjing’s Fire Safety Committee has also weighed in, releasing a letter to the general public on 29 February, as The Paper reported. Therein, among the 10-point measures for fire-safety management is that granting any interested party the right to dissuade anyone who brings an e-bike or its battery into a lift.
据澎湃新闻报道，南京市消防安全委员会也介入其中，并于 2 月 29 日向公众发布了一封信。其中，消防安全管理的十项措施之一是，赋予任何相关方劝阻将电动自行车或其电池带入电梯的权利。
Some such measures have also been extending beyond Nanjing’s City limits.
一些此类措施还延伸到了南京市范围之外。
Up north in Lianyungang, on 6 March, that City’s fire-protection department took to destroying unqualified fire extinguishers, fire-proof doors and evacuation signs to remove their access to the market.
3月6日，在连云港北部，该市消防部门销毁了不合格的灭火器、防火门和疏散标志，切断了它们进入市场的通道。
Elsewhere, law enforcement officers in Suzhou have been doing the rounds checking on e-bike sales outlets for non compliance with the “Technical Safety Specifications for Electric Bicycle Safety”, especially with regard to the tampering of electric motors and batteries.
在其他地方，苏州执法人员正在对电动自行车销售网点进行巡查，检查是否存在违反《电动自行车安全技术规范》的情况，特别是对电机和电池进行篡改的情况。
In Nantong, just as in Nanjing, those automated announcements are also being heard, a local foreign resident confirmed for The Nanjinger. There too, posters have been plastered in conspicuous locations advising of best practices for e-bike charging.
一位当地外籍居民向《南京人》证实，在南通，就像在南京一样，也能听到这些自动广播。那里的显眼位置也张贴了海报，建议电动自行车充电的最佳做法。
How long the announcements will continue is anyone’s guess. That it is not forever will only serve to underline that cure, rather than prevention, won’t change the fact that February’s fire is a tragedy that did not have to happen.
所有人都在猜测这些公告会持续多久。这不是永远的只会强调治疗而不是预防，这不会改变二月的火灾是一场不必发生的悲剧的事实。
