Editorial | 2 Hong Kong fires in 2 days underline the need for more safety checks
- Recurrence of deadly blazes at old buildings calls for more proactive measures to prevent fires and find ways to make structures safe
A deep sense of shock and grief is weighing after two serious fires were reported in under 24 hours, with one killing at least five people. Unrelated as they are, the mishaps say something about the same underlying problems that have regrettably become all too familiar in a city where fire hazards are often taken for granted.
It was not just bad luck when a No 3 alarm fire ripped through New Lucky House in Jordan on Wednesday morning. The decades-old corner block comprises hundreds of residential flats and subdivided units, dozens of budget guest houses, medical facilities and other commercial tenants.
Initial investigations showed the fire broke out at the lobby of the first floor outside a gym and spread to upper floors. Firefighters rescued some 250 people from the premises, including 35 suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.
Five were later pronounced dead.
The exact cause of the deadly blaze is now under investigation by the Fire Services Department. But in what looks like an accident waiting to happen, the episode comes with the usual circumstances – old buildings with outdated safety standards, mixed residential and commercial use, subdivided flats of poor quality – that have been blamed in similar tragedies before.
The latest case is another sad reminder that the countless number of these ageing blocks are potential death traps when something goes wrong.