Fire kills 12 dogs and 2 cats in tin-sheet house of Hong Kong couple with 40 animals
The man and woman were out at the time, and another eight dogs and 16 cats were found alive but injured after blaze
Twelve dogs and two cats were killed on Friday when a fire gutted a tin-sheeted house occupied by a Hong Kong couple and nearly 40 stray animals.
Another eight dogs and 16 cats were found alive at the 2,000 sq ft site after rescue teams put out the blaze. The couple was out at the time of the incident.
The animals suffered varying degrees of injury, according to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
“They were blackened by smoke and some of them had lost consciousness,” a spokeswoman for the society said. “We have deployed all resources in an effort to resuscitate them.”
On Friday afternoon the animals were being treated in a clinic at the society’s headquarters in Wan Chai.
The male occupant of the house is a retired grocer who stored a lot of grocery products and some gas canisters used for hotpot cooking at the place.
The blaze broke out in the single-storey structure in San Wai Tsuen off San Sik Road near Tin Shui Wai, soon after 8.30am.
According to police, several canisters also exploded in the fire.
Fourteen fire engines and one ambulance were sent to the scene and more than 50 firefighters were deployed after authorities were notified at 8.40am, the Fire Services Department said.
Firefighters used two water jets and put out the flames soon after 9am. The house was badly damaged by the fire.
A spokeswoman for the department said it could not find any natural cause for the blaze, and police were investigating.
A police source said it was still too early to conclude that this was a case of arson. He said officers reviewed security footage but did not find anything suspicious.
Detectives from the Yuen Long police district are handling the case.
