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Clifford Lo

Danny Mok

Emily Tsang

At 10am on Wednesday, firefighters continued to battle the massive blaze that earlier claimed the life of one of their colleagues and hospitalised four others.
Fire department personnel had raised four ladders and were shooting water into the third floor of the burning Ngau Tau Kok industrial building as white smoke continued to billow out, swallowing nearby residences.
Donations and tributes pour in for Hong Kong firefighter who died in Ngau Tau Kok blaze
The heat and smoke could be felt from a nearby footbridge leading to the MTR station, with all passers-by covering their faces during the five-minute walk, though some stopped to take pictures of the scene.

Mr Chan, who lives in Tak Po Garden nearby, said his family could not open their windows and were avoiding the area for fear of the smoke.
“We saw the fire right after it started, and we saw how the firefighters have been trying to put it out all along. They have a hard time and deserve our respect.”

Student Lester Cheung said there were fire trucks driving in and out of the area throughout the night.
“I am not scared because they are here. They would have told us to run away if there was any danger.”
A view inside the building


In the nearby Choi Ying Estate, worn-out firefighters were seen resting and drinking water.
Some residents walking by cheered them on, saying “good luck!”. One of the firefighters, looking too tired to speak, replied with a thumbs-up.

An elderly resident from a nearby care home was seen being moved to an ambulance, while a nurse directed a dozen of them sitting in a park further away from the scene. It is yet to be confirmed whether the resident was affected by the smoke, and the nurse refused to comment.
The fire has been contained, but the third floor of the building, where the 2,400 square metre SC Storage site is located, remains ablaze after more than 20 hours.
The scene at 6am on Tuesday. Posted by Tsz Hang Lee


“As the fire scene has a very high temperature now, [our] strategy is to continue to shoot a large volume of water into the building to cool it down,” a spokesman said early Wednesday.
“As the facilities that separate the cubical of the mini-storage have collapsed, it is easier for water to reach the fire scene.
“When the temperature drops appropriately, we will enter the scene.”
The scene at 12.40am. Posted by Jack Fung


The blaze was first upgraded to a third-alarm fire at 12.14pm on Tuesday and a fourth alarm at 7.46pm. Fires are rated on a scale of one to five according to seriousness.
Fireman Thomas Cheung, a University of Hong Kong graduate and senior station officer, died on Tuesday night after being found unconscious inside the building.
Director of Fire Services David Lai Man-hin said Cheung was leading another teammate to the site when he was caught by a sudden rise in temperature and smoke.
The teammate managed to pull out and report the situation, but lost contact with Cheung.
Four others firefighters were earlier taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and dehydration.
Three of the injured firemen were later discharged, while the other was in stable condition on Tuesday night.
Cheung is survived by his wife and a four-month-old child.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said he was saddened over the death of the senior station officer during a visit to the injured firemen at United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong, and said the government would try its best to help his family.
Crews were first called to the storage facility on the third floor of the Amoycan Industrial Centre on Ngau Tau Kok Road at 10.59am.
Thirty engines and about 120 firefighters were deployed.
When asked whether there were physical clashes between firemen and their senior officers at the site over how to fight the blaze – as some media reported on Tuesday night – Lai did not give a direct response.

“We encountered some difficulties in the blaze due to a large area, severe heat and dense smoke,” Poon Wai-lun, deputy chief fire officer (Kowloon) of the Fire Services Department, said.
He said there were more than 200 mini-storage cubicles and the passageway to them was narrow.
“Each cubicle was locked by occupants. We had to break them open to hose them.”
Crews used six water jets and deployed 12 teams equipped with breathing apparatus to enter the building.
Poon said water was sprayed into the premises through the use of two aerial ladders.
A thermal image detector was used to find the seat of the fire, which was contained to the third floor.
Mini-storage tenant and well-known comics artist Kam Siu-man said on his Facebook page that items stored for his business were on fire.
 

 
“The storage for G. Goal Club [a comics shop he co-owns] was on fire at noon,” he said.
“Perhaps our valuable collections, such as original manuscripts, old comic books, and vinyl records, are now reduced to ashes.”
The mother of another tenant who lives nearby went to the building as soon as she heard of the fire.
She said her children had rented a cubicle in the mini-storage area for less than HK$1,000 a month for about a year. However, the cubicle was not on the third floor.
“I came to check after seeing so many fire engines … We have things like winter clothes and closets there,” she said.
SC Storage posted several statements on Facebook late Tuesday announcing the fire, and offering assistance to those affected.
“We sincerely regret the fire that has occurred at our storage facility and the loss of life and property damage that has occurred,” a statement said.
A spokesman said the company was individually contacting impacted customers, with a 24-hour hotline also created on 8177 7778.
Hang Lung Properties, the property owner of the Amoycan Industrial Centre, expressed deep regret and condolences over the death of the firefighter, saying it would cooperate fully with the investigation.


The Transport Department said all Kwun Tong-bound lanes of Ngau Tau Kok Road were closed to traffic.
The fire raises further question over if older buildings in the city should be legally required to install sprinklers. The 66-year-old Amoycan Industrial Centre in the fire was not equipped with sprinkler systems.
There are about 650 industrial buildings in the city aged more than 30 years. About 120 of them are in Kwun Tung area, including the one in this fire.
As a pioneer of the self storage industry in the city and Macau, Kevin Shee, who founded SC Storage in 2001, told media on Tuesday night the leases had stated the stored items would not be covered by fire insurance, but he might compensate their losses after seeking legal advice.
The fire has also raised concerns about whether the mini-storage users should declare what items are stored.
On November 22, 2014, principal fireman Leung Kwok-kei, 49, was injured in a gas explosion during an explosion in a Shek Kip Mei flat. He died in December 4.
On March 8, 2010, Senior fireman Yeung Chun-kit, 47, of Lai Chi Kok Fire Station, died in a alarm No4 fire at Lai Cheong Factory Building in Cheung Sha Wan.
Ngau Tau Kok fire 


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Ngau Tau Kok fire

Battling exhaustion, Hong Kong firefighters continue to combat deadly blaze at Ngau Tau Kok industrial building

Firefighters finally contained the blaze on Wednesday morning. Photo: Felix Wong

Fourth-alarm blaze in Ngau Tau Kok industrial building continue. 22JUN16 SCMP/ Felix Wong

tom cheung

The fire broke out at Amoycan Industrial Centre on Ngau Tau Kok Road No.7 at about 11am on Tuesday. 21JUN16 SCMP/ Felix Wong

People cover their mouths and noses during evacuation as the fire broke out at Amoycan Industrial Centre on Ngau Tau Kok Road No.7 at about 11am on Tuesday. 21JUN16 SCMP/ Felix Wong

Firefighters arriving at the scene in Ngau Tau Kok in Kowloon. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Hong Kong firemen battle blaze at hotel construction site

Firemen battle the blaze at the hotel site in Wan Chai. Photo: Edward Wong

Fires at Wanchai. SCMP/Edward Wong

Residents evacuated after fire in Hong Kong Mid-Levels apartment spreads to unit 12 floors below

No Caption Available.

Some of the nearby streets were closed as a fire engine and an ambulance were called in to fight the blaze. Photo: NowTV

Search under way for cause of third-alarm fire in Hong Kong residential building

Unstable water pressure was also being investigated. Photo:Bruce Yan

Firemen helps a victim where a third alarm fire was broken out at 366 Hennessy Road in Wan Chai in the afternoon. The Transport Department said all lanes of Hennessy Road both bounds near Tin Lok Lane and Tin Lok Lane northbound are closed to traffic due to the fire. 19APR16 SCMP/ Bruce Yan

(160419) -- HONG KONG, April 19, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Firemen put out fire in a building at Hennessy Road in Wan Chai, south China's Hong Kong, April 19, 2016. Two old people were hospitalized after the fire accident. (Xinhua/Lo Ping Fai) (ry)

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Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying says he is saddened by the death of senior station officer Thomas Cheung as he visits four other firemen in hospital
