I am writing in response your report on the deadly blaze in Yau Ma Tei on Sunday, “ At least seven dead as fire rips through tenement flat in Hong Kong ” (November 15). This is very sad news for everyone in Hong Kong. The accident raises questions over the apparent lack of fire suppression systems like sprinklers inside the nearly 70-year-old tenement building. As you reported, the Fire Services Department said the block had not been inspected yet as required under the law, but they had not received any complaints about it regarding fire safety over the past five years. The Buildings Department said notices about outstanding issues relating to the building and windows were sent in September 2018, but the owners had yet to comply. Everybody knows how dilapidated these aged tenement buildings can be, housing small and crowded units. Many people may be crammed into the same subdivided unit along with a lot of flammable belongings. There is no space for people to disperse quickly in case of an accident. As a social worker put it, “Of course they are fire hazards … there’s no monitoring.” Hong Kong has at least 13,500 buildings built before March 1987, and the Fire Safety Ordinance introduced in 2007 requires them to improve fire safety measures. However, despite nearly 7,800 orders being issued, compliance is only at about 7 per cent. The Hong Kong government and the departments concerned need to reflect on their inspection policy and step up enforcement, so that such tragedies can be prevented. May Chan, Shek Lei Fund fire safety equipment for old buildings Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in nearly a decade took so many lives, including that of an eight-year-old child. The blaze occurred at an old building where fire protection facilities were poor, with no sprinklers or fire extinguishers. Many of such decades-old buildings have only one exit, which makes it even more difficult to escape in case of a fire. As the Fire Services Department said, people caught in this fire were trapped in the back of a kitchen. It is understandable that buildings from so many decades ago lack adequate planning for fire safety, and probably have poor building management as well. Such flats have also been turned into crowded subdivided units, increasing the fire hazard and cutting off escape routes. Hong Kong officials under pressure to act after flat fire kills seven The fire department should step up its inspection of old buildings in Hong Kong. Also, some people living in these building might be elderly or not have a lot of knowledge about the safety measures required because of a language barrier. They might also lack the money for such equipment. I suggest that the government allocate some funds to help such buildings install fire protection equipment and to educate their occupants on fire safety. Kwan Wing Yan, Kwai Chung