Shandong University Fire Requires Students to “Scan Faces” to Escape, Causing Public Outrage

The image shows a representation of Yingshang Experimental School.(Screenshot from the internet)

[People News] Is facial recognition required even in a fire evacuation? On Sunday (10th), a fire broke out in the girls’ dormitory at Qilu University of Technology’s Changqing campus in Jinan, Shandong. As students scrambled to escape, they discovered that the dormitory turnstiles had not been opened, and they still had to “scan their faces” to exit.

According to Radio Free Asia, multiple internet users posted videos on social media showing the dormitory fire, with claims that the dorm manager was the first to flee, leaving students blocked at the turnstiles. Each student had to scan their face to exit, and windows on the first floor were locked, preventing them from being opened. Some students reportedly suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Online footage showed the fire starting in a room on the first floor of the dormitory, with flames raging. Many students could be seen running outside, and firefighters were present at the scene. A student reported that there were no alarms when the fire broke out, and by the time students on higher floors realized what was happening, the smoke was so dense that they couldn’t descend and had to retreat to balconies to wait for rescue. Those who tried to run outside were blocked by the turnstile, with thick, dark smoke making facial recognition nearly impossible. “No one came to open the door, it was truly terrifying,” she said. She and her roommate were choked by the smoke, and many students were later seen at the campus hospital for check-ups, with some needing to be transferred due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

“Major Failure, Yet the School Stubbornly Defends Itself”

Dafeng News quoted staff from the university’s security office, who responded, “Face recognition is part of our school’s security system. Because there were so many people, we had to use facial recognition to ensure student safety.” The staff member added that it was a “minor” fire caused by a charging device.

When asked if anyone had opened the turnstiles or helped students evacuate quickly, the staff member claimed that “all dormitory security personnel rushed to the scene to handle the situation.”

However, many netizens believe that the facial recognition requirement delayed evacuation and criticized the response as a “major failure with stubborn denial.” Comments included, “Using face recognition to evacuate is a clear delay, and this time we were lucky, but there’s no guarantee for the future,” and “This makes management easier but endangers safety.” Others remarked, “Excessive collection of students’ biometric data and obstructing escape routes are falsely labeled as safety measures. Is this really for student safety, or for the safety and interests of certain people?”