At 7:53 a.m. on April 10, a fire broke out at a fitness centre in Wah Fung Building, 13-15 Jordan Road, Hong Kong, and was upgraded to Level 3 fire alarm at 8:04 a.m. As of press time, the fire has killed at least five people, injured 36 others, and affected hundreds of residents.
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He was once issued a letter by the Buildings Department for illegal construction, and the fire in Wah Fung Building in Hong Kong was not just an accident
"The fire was an accident, but the result was more than just an accident. Mr. Chen, a Hong Kong citizen, said that he once went to Wah Fung Building to rent a subdivided unit, and found that the interior was cramped and dim, the corridor was full of debris, and there was almost nowhere to stay. He believes that the fire has once again exposed the hidden fire safety hazards in Hong Kong's tenement subdivided units, and the SAR government must learn the lessons of blood and take real measures to solve the problem and prevent it from happening.
36 people were injured and 5 died, 250 people were rescued
Many people were still asleep when the fire broke out. "I was woken up by the fire and found that I couldn't get out. "Some residents living in Huafeng Building said that after the fire, thick smoke billowed from the room, and they couldn't see the exit sign at all, and they couldn't even see the ground clearly, resulting in falling and burning. Some residents were trapped by the smoke and had to stand outside on the air-conditioner and wave towels for help.
According to Lam Kin-kwan, District Commander of the Hong Kong Fire Services Division (Kowloon South), the smoke and the rapidly spreading fire may have come from a large number of burned plastic products on the first floor, and it is speculated that it may be a light box. The Fire Services Department (FSD) received a fire at Wah Fung Building on Jordan Road at 7:53 a.m. and firefighters arrived at the scene three minutes later. The fire at the scene was fierce, and the accident was upgraded to a level 3 fire alarm at 8:04. Thanks to the efforts of firefighters, the fire at the scene was surrounded at 8:54, controlled at 10:00, and largely extinguished at 10:30. "The fire started in the lobby on the first and second floors and then spread to different floors. The first and second floors are also the main fire grounds, with an area of 20 meters by 20 meters. The Hong Kong Fire Services Department later said that it would set up a task force to investigate the cause of the fire and the causes of many casualties.
The Acting Senior Assistant Chief of Ambulance (Kowloon & Lantau Island) of the Hong Kong Fire Services Department, Mr Tang Sze-ho, revealed that firefighters rescued a total of 250 people during the operation, and another 50 people evacuated on their own. As of press time, the fire had killed five people and injured 36 others.
He was warned many times before the incident, and the tragedy of the subdivided unit in the tenement building was repeated
The fire also brought the old building into the spotlight. It is understood that Wah Fung Building was built in 1964 and is located at the junction of Nathan Road and Jordan Road, with a height of 14 floors and a total of 230 units. There are many hotels in the building, subdivided units are dense, and commercial places such as gyms and practice rooms are also gathered.
In an interview with the media, Hong Kong's Yau Tsim Mong District Councillor Yip Aodong said that Wah Fung Building has about 100 subdivided units and more than 30 hotel units, and the ownership is scattered and the building management problems are complicated. Ye Aodong said that some residents have reported that some people will dispose of cigarette butts everywhere in the building and pile up debris in public spaces, but they have not been properly disposed of.
"These old buildings usually have serious fire hazards. Mr. Xu, a neighbor, told reporters that when he first arrived in Hong Kong, he also rented a subdivided unit in Wah Fung Building, and he described the building as "dark", itself very dim and closed, and the neighbors next door often piled up sundries in the corridor, making it difficult to pass in the public area, but the related problems have not been solved.
Mr. Hui said that there are many old buildings built in the last century in Hong Kong's old town, with no elevators, no security guards, and relatively dilapidated and dark corridors and rooms, known as "tenement buildings". There are usually a large number of subdivided units in tenement buildings, resulting in old buildings but high living density, and fire management is full of loopholes, which is unimaginable in the event of an accident. "The 2020 Yau Ma Tei tenement building fire is very similar to the Wah Fung Building fire, but why does the tragedy keep repeating itself?"
It is understood that after the fire in the tenement house in Yau Ma Tei in 2020, the Hong Kong Joint Concern for Grassroots Housing conducted a questionnaire survey and found that 80% of the households reported that the fire prevention facilities of the subdivided unit buildings in Sham Shui Po District and Yau Tsim Mong District were insufficient. At the end of 2021, the Wah Fung Building, where the fire broke out, was issued a letter by the Buildings Department (BD) for the illegal construction of a number of subdivided units on the rooftop, which caused the inability to install water tanks on the rooftop, which is a common fire hazard in this type of building. Residents of Wah Fung Building have also publicly pointed out that tenants living on the rooftop litter blocked the fire escape.
The old law needs to be revised, and the civil society cannot solve the problem of fire protection
The District Commissioner and District Council Chairman of Yau Tsim Mong in Hong Kong, Mr Yu Kin-keung, has publicly pointed out that there are many old buildings in Yau Tsim Mong District, and most of them do not meet the current fire safety standards, and the Fire Services Department will issue fire safety instructions to be followed for buildings that fail to meet the standards. Since April 2020, the Hong Kong District Department has implemented the Fire Safety Directions Support Scheme, and so far 246 old buildings have been included in the target scope of the Scheme, with a total of 35 buildings having their building drawings approved and 32 OCs having been formed as at the end of February 2024.
A member of the OC revealed that after receiving the "fire safety instructions", the OC had invited bids for repairs, but at the stage of quotation, the OC members who managed the hotel objected on the grounds of high prices, and finally delayed until now. The other party was of the view that the Fire Safety Directions Support Service Scheme did not bring about a direct change in the fire safety situation of the building. With this question in mind, this reporter called the Yau Tsim Mong District Fire Safety Committee of the Home Affairs Department, the Buildings Department and other relevant agencies, but did not receive a clear answer as of press time.
Leung Man-kwong, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council and a member of the Housing Authority's Subsidised Housing Committee, believes that the Hong Kong corporation that handled the relevant opinions could not solve the problem, and also exposed the management problems and difficulties. Hong Kong's current legislation may not be able to deal with this situation, "Hong Kong's relevant management legislation is too old to keep up with the current fire safety needs." Leung suggested that the government should revise the Building Ordinance as soon as possible, and at the same time strictly implement the installation and maintenance of fire protection facilities. He hoped that the authorities could learn a lesson from this incident and promote the amendment of relevant legislation as soon as possible to ensure the safety of other buildings.
Leung Mei-fun, a member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Economic and Democratic Alliance, said during her inspection of the fire scene that there had been a number of fatal fire tragedies in old buildings in Hong Kong, and since 2014, she has repeatedly raised oral questions, private bills and motions in the Legislative Council on the amendment of the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance, proposing to amend the legislation to strengthen the fire safety of old buildings, and give the Director of Fire Services discretion to assist the old buildings in upgrading the fire protection system, and only recover the costs afterwards. Subsequently, her further non-binding motion was endorsed by the Legislative Council across parties, but unfortunately the HKSAR Government has not adopted the proposal. She called for a comprehensive review of the fire safety of the old building, the establishment of a sound system, an emergency policy, and a timely amendment to the law to give the Director of Fire Services sufficient discretion to prevent the recurrence of the tragedy.
GDToday reporter Li Xindi Nanfang + reporter Chen Yu
【Video】GDToday reporter Chen Chen Xu Xiaoxin
【Authors】 Li Xindi, Chen Chen, Chen Yu, Xu Xiaoxin
Hong Kong today