URUMQI, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A blaze was put off Thursday evening after raging through a 12-floor market and office building for 22 hours in the northwestern city of Urumqi, leaving three firemen dead and another injured.
Dense smoke was still hovering around part of the Dehui International Plaza and an adjacent hotel, but no flames were seen in the two constructions as of 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the downtown area of the capital city of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Rescuers were still not able to get into the plaza, which was completely burnt down, due to the extreme heat.
There have been no reports of civilian injuries or deaths.
Preventive measures have been taken in case the steel and iron framework of the plaza would collapse in a chilly night when the temperature fell to a low of minus 20 degrees Celsius, fire fighters said.
The blaze erupted in a mop stall on the first floor of the market building at 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, a security guard told Xinhua. He reported the fire and firemen arrived in 15 minutes.
The fire then spread to the 20-storey hotel, forcing the evacuation of all guests.
The hotel was not badly damaged as fire fighters had put off the blaze before it spread to higher rooms from the seventh floor.
Some 100 firemen were checking inside the hotel to confirm all minor blazes were extinguished.
The market had already been closed to customers at 8:00 p.m., so few people were in the building when the fire broke out, said another security guard.
Dehui Plaza housed more than 2,000 vendors selling clothes, cosmetics, toys and other items from the basement up to the fourth floor. The fifth to 12th floors were used as offices.
As many as 435 fire fighters and 84 fire engines managed to put the rare blaze under control Thursday afternoon, however, it claimed the lives of Zhu Xiaolei, Zhang Yu and Gao Feng, who were searching for anyone who might have been trapped in the fire.
The injured fireman was hospitalized in stable condition, according to a spokesman for the Urumqi city government.
A vendor surnamed Tan said she rushed with her husband to the building in hopes of rescuing their goods after hearing about the fire. But they had to stand 100 meters away and helplessly watch as the blaze engulfed the market.
She said she had lost merchandise worth more than 200,000 yuan (about 27,400 U.S. dollars).
Investigation into the cause of the accident is underway and the economic loss is yet to be calculated.
An office block fire in Ürümqi, northwest China has claimed the lives of three firefighters and injured a fourth. The 12-storey dual-purpose office and market building was completely destroyed in the blaze, which also spread to and severely damaged an adjacent hotel.

According to a spokesman for Xinjiang fire brigade, an eyewitness reported that the fire, which started at around 8:20 p.m. local time on Wednesday night, originated in a stall selling mops on the first floor of the Dehui International Plaza. According to a security guard, the building had been emptied of customers 20 minutes before and consequently few people remained in the building at the time of the fire. Fire crews arrived within 15 minutes of the fire starting.

The plaza's basement up to its fourth floor contained a total of approximately 2,000 stalls selling items such as clothes, cosmetics and toys. Floors five to 12 housed offices.

All 12 floors were engulfed by fire, and fire crews eventually abandoned efforts to tackle the conflagration amid fears of a collapse. The fire continued into Thursday afternoon, but has since been controlled. It burned for a total of nearly 22 hours. A neighbouring 20-storey hotel also caught fire; only the seventh floor was affected before the second building was put out. All guests were evacuated.

As of 6:30 p.m. there was still much smoke in the area, but no visible flames. Rescue workers remained unable to access the building due to continued intense heat. A total of 435 fire fighters and 84 fire engines were involved in the emergency response. 100 firefighters continue to check the hotel for any small fires, which may remain to be extinguished. Structural measures have been undertaken to prevent the steel framed plaza from collapsing when the metal comes into contact with cool night air, which typically falls to temperatures of minus 20 degrees centigrade.

The injured fireman has been hospitalised and is in a stable condition. The deceased were identified as Zhu Xiaolei, Zhang Yu and Gao Feng. They had been conducting a search of the building to check for anyone who may have been trapped. Feng was initially considered missing, but was subsequently confirmed to have died. It is presently believed no civilians were injured in the blaze.

A quantification for the value of damages caused is not yet available. Authorities have launched an investigation into the disaster.