About 200 residents were forced to flee from their 18-storey public housing block in Wong Tai Sin when a junk-filled flat burst into flames on Thursday morning.
About 40 firemen using two water jets took less than an hour to put out the blaze, but spent another hour removing piles of burned junk that was crammed into the flat’s living room, bedroom and kitchen.
The junk, which included waste paper, discarded cartons, vases and furniture, was piled 1.2 metres high inside, with only a narrow pathway through it, according to Kowloon Tong fire station commander, Tse Lai-yiu.
He said the fact that the junk had been burning for some time before firefighters arrived hampered their efforts to put out the blaze.
“Our officers had to spend a lot of time to clear the junk and ensure no one was buried under it” he said.