Hong Kong firefighters help tenant pull 7 pet cats from burning flat, though 2 die after failed resuscitation efforts
- Video circulating online captures firefighters’ efforts to save two unconscious cats via chest compressions and application of oxygen masks
- Their elderly owner was treated for smoke inhalation and 200 residents of Tseung Kwan O’s Hong Sing Gardens were evacuated after blaze started in kitchen
An elderly Hong Kong man was being treated for smoke inhalation on Monday after helping firefighters pull seven pet cats, two of which would later die, from his burning flat.
About 200 residents were evacuated after the blaze erupted at Tseung Kwan O’s Hong Sing Gardens housing estate just before 2am.
Video of the incident circulating online shows a firefighter giving chest compressions to one of the unconscious animals, which has an oxygen mask placed over its face.
Police and inspectors from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) confirmed that attempts to resuscitate the two pets failed.
An SPCA spokeswoman said they were now caring for the five domestic short-haired cats who survived the blaze. “[The five cats] will be examined and treated by our vet,” she said.
A police source said the 67-year-old male tenant had been awakened by choking smoke when the fire broke out in the flat’s kitchen, then woke his 65-year-old wife before the two ran to seek help from their neighbours.
The male tenant complained of feeling unwell after returning to the flat to help firefighters rescue his cats, the source said. His wife did not need any treatment.
Firefighters had extinguished the flames by about 2.15am.
The man was taken conscious to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei for treatment.
According to another source, the fire was the result of a stove being left on.
“The investigation suggested the female tenant failed to turn off the stove after cooking at about 1am and then went to bed,” the source said.
