2,500 buildings to be inspected after tragic fire
Print Edition
HONG Kong authorities will inspect 2,500 older residential buildings after a deadly fire on Sunday killed seven people in what an official said may have been an unlicensed restaurant operating in an apartment.
The fire and building departments will aim to complete the review by year-end, a government news release said on Monday evening. The inspection will cover buildings at least 60 years old and include those that are part-residential, part-commercial.
“In light of the risks exposed by this fire accident, I have asked the (fire services and building departments) to further step up inspections to eliminate serious fire safety threats to safeguard people’s lives and property,” Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said.
The fire killed seven people and injured 11 others. Ten people remain hospitalized, seven in critical condition. The dead and injured range in age from 8 to 48 years old.
The apartment where the fire started may have been operating as an unlicensed restaurant, according to the area’s district council member, Leslie Chan. He said the victims were from the city’s Nepalese community.
Hong Kong media reports said people in the restaurant were celebrating Diwali, a major Hindu festival, as well as a birthday. Candles set soundproofing materials on fire, according to the reports.
The building, which is on Canton Road in Kowloon, lacked a sprinkler system and people were trapped in the back of the kitchen, Fire Services Department officer Cheung Kwong-yuen said.
The fire highlights lingering safety issues in older buildings in Hong Kong, one of the world’s most densely populated cities. The inspections will focus on the buildings’ common means of escape and identifying fire hazards. Inspectors may take enforcement actions based on their findings, including prosecutions.
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