In Tai Pong, Hong Kong, fire broke out in Wang Fuk Court, a large apartment complex of around 2000 apartments, killing 160 people on November 26th.
According to BBC, the fire was reported 40 minutes prior to the fire alarms reaching level four, a high level of urgency. The fire reached 392 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas of the buildings. The crowded evacuation and high temperatures held the firefighters back from entering the 31 story buildings, and performing rescue operations. Additionally, the fire hoses weren’t easily reachable to the higher stories.
2,311 firefighters and 188 ambulances were dispatched. Many emergency shelters were set up holding at least 900 people. Many elders were spotted with wheelchairs or crutches entering the shelters.
“I heard about it when my old classmates re-posted on their stories”, says Diane Zhou ‘28, a student from Hong Kong. “It made me sad”.
According to New York Times, it suggests that the fire started inside a semi-enclosed staircase space covered with bamboo scaffolding and protective netting for a construction project.
Investigators believe that the fire began with plastic netting that caught fire, starting a chimney effect for the fire to spread upwards. Highly flammable plastic foam panels were also attached to the windows of apartments. The foam panels, which were meant to protect the windows, caught fire and shattered the windows. This led to the fire spreading inside. The blaze reached the interior and exterior of the buildings, burning more than 40 hours.
“A lot of the media blamed it on the bamboo scaffolding. It was the construction company’s fault. …The problem wasn’t the fire control measure”, Diane says.
Diane also shared a BBC covered story about Ho Wai-ho, a 37 year-old fire fighter that passed away with his soon to be wife one month before the wedding. A resident said that he and his wife repeatedly called each other telling him that he couldn’t get out of their home. The resident said that it is most likely that she fainted, and Wai-ho passed away after entering the building.
Image Source: The Atlantic