An 18-month-old girl, her parents and domestic helper huddled together on a metal clothing rack outside their 26th-floor flat in Ma On Shan to escape a blaze early yesterday.
They became trapped after an electric fan burst into flames in their living room and blocked their escape from the apartment in Monta Vista, Sha On Street, at about 12.45am. Scores of residents fled downstairs as thick smoke poured out from the unit.
The family and their maid climbed out of the burning unit through the kitchen window before firemen arrived, said Ma On Shan fire station commander Lo Chun-wan. 'They stood on the clothing rack outside the unit and clung to drainpipes waiting for help. They were brought back into the unit when our officers arrived, broke in and extinguished the blaze,' he said.
The toddler, her parents aged 31 and 32 and the helper, 24, suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to Prince of Wales Hospital, where they were discharged after treatment.
The living room was blackened and furniture slightly damaged. Mr Lo said initial investigations showed the fire was caused by an electrical fault in the fan.