More than 200 people flee Hong Kong government building as fire breaks out in store room
No injuries reported in first-alarm blaze at Harbour Building on Pier Road in Central
More than 200 employees fled from a government office block in Hong Kong’s busy financial district when a store room in the building caught fire on Tuesday.
Police were notified by a security guard soon after 11am, and emergency crews were called in when smoke emerged from the ground-floor room of Harbour Building on Pier Road in Central.
About 210 people had fled to the ground floor before emergency personnel arrived, according to a government spokesman.
He said firefighters used a water jet to battle the blaze and it was extinguished by 11.22am. No casualties were reported.
Eight fire engines and one ambulance were deployed for the first-alarm fire. Fires in Hong Kong are rated on a scale of one to five with five being the most severe.
A police spokeswoman said a short circuit was the suspected cause.