The news of the fire in high-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong is estimated to have been seen by everyone.

The fire has now killed at least 72 people and may be the worst fire in Hong Kong in nearly three decades. This may be the worst fire in Hong Kong in nearly three decades.

May the deceased rest in peace!

One

The fire broke out in Wang Fu Court, Tai Po, Hong Kong, which is 42 years old and is currently under repair.

It is a public housing officially subsidised sale in Hong Kong, built by the Hong Kong Housing Authority and sold to low-income people at low prices. Nearly 5,000 people live in it, 30% of whom are elderly.

The fire was started from scaffolding outside.

Citizens screamed loudly when they found out, but found that there were no alarm bells on the entire construction site, and it was impossible to remind the people in the building to evacuate.

A few minutes later, the flames rushed up to the higher floors.

In autumn and winter, the fire spread rapidly with the blessing of strong winds, and finally set all 7 buildings on fire.

It could not be extinguished until night.

At night, 7 pencil buildings with more than 30 floors were on fire, and there were explosions in between, like hell, very terrifying.

Two

Normally, the fire should not spread so quickly.

Not to mention that construction workers smoke, even if someone deliberately sets fire, it cannot burn so fast.

Because scaffolding is generally steel structure and non-combustible. The protective net is a fireproof material, which is fireproof and heat-resistant, and even if it burns, it will be extinguished quickly.

However, the overhaul of Hong Kong's Hung Fuk Court did not occupy either.

The scaffolding is not made of steel, but of bamboo.

This is also a chronic disease that has been criticized for a long time in Hong Kong's construction industry.

A friend who has managed construction sites in Hong Kong told me that this kind of bamboo frame is very popular because it is cheap and lightweight.

It can facilitate workers to build structures outside all kinds of strange houses, but the disadvantages are also obvious.

First, it is easy to rot, causing workers to fall from a height, and it is easy to cause a large amount of construction waste when demolishing.

Second, dry bamboo is a combustible substance, and the sparks produced by crackling are easy to ignite.

Although fires caused by bamboo sheds alone are uncommon, it is indeed a hidden danger.

In addition to the bamboo shed, the green protective net is not a fireproof material, but an ordinary material.

The mesh structure is inherently flammable, and if it is not a fireproof material, it is a great safety hazard.

Not to mention that there is a lot of styrofoam, which is the most flammable without fire treatment.

Once burned, it will spread quickly and produce toxic gases, and many people are not burned to death in the fire, but are actually choked.

At present, the police believe that the cause of the fire may be related to the protective net, waterproof canvas, and plastic sheeting outside the building, and it cannot be ruled out that styrofoam is the cause of the rapid spread of the fire.

Therefore, they arrested the person in charge of the contractor of the renovation project on charges of manslaughter.

These people are indeed to blame.

Three

In fact, when the renovation plan of Hongfuyuan came out, some residents proposed that there was a fire hazard in the exterior wall decoration materials.

It's just that the contractor was vague and finally mixed this matter.

The report also mentioned a detail: the renovation requires 330 million Hong Kong dollars, and each owner bears 16-180,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Owners are generally dissatisfied with this.

Some owners questioned that the middle was full of profit transfer, and the property committee and the corporation were full of pockets in the sky-high bidding fee.

After many votes and arguments, it was finally promoted.

I don't know how those migrant workers and the elderly finally made up a huge amount of money.

Now, they have lost not only their money, but also their homes.

There are a total of 8 buildings in the entire real estate, and 7 buildings have been burned.

The only building that did not burn down, the police found a large amount of untreated foam at the elevator.

Four

Who is responsible for such a tragedy?

The first to bear the brunt are certainly construction contractors and smoking construction workers. These people will definitely bear criminal responsibility.

Then it should be the regulatory authorities of the respective regions. After all, the decoration of these eight buildings is a big project, and every step actually needs to be approved.

Especially after similar fires caused by unqualified shed nets in Tsim Sha Tsui and Central in the past two years, Hong Kong has repeatedly emphasized the use of fire shed nets, but no one has checked the fire prevention problems of such a large community.

Those who do not follow the law and do not enforce the law strictly must also bear responsibility.

In addition, about the issue of bamboo frames in Hong Kong.

Most countries around the world have stopped using bamboo frames, and the mainland has also banned the use of bamboo frames in previous years.

In March this year, the Hong Kong Development Bureau also stipulated:

"At least half of the new real estate should use metal brackets, and gradually reduce the use of bamboo frames."

However, the construction industry strongly opposes it considering the cost issue.

Of course, they did not explicitly talk about the issue of money, but found some twists and turns.

What is said that "the abolition of bamboo sheds will make bamboo shed workers unemployed" and "affect the livelihood of more than 4,000 people".

It is also said that the bamboo shed is "the craft left by the ancestors, and it should be passed on".

Not to mention the fire hazards of bamboo sheds at all, not to mention how much construction waste was caused by the construction and demolition of bamboo sheds, not to mention how miserable the workers who died because of the rotten fall of bamboo sheds were.

Some people may say that this time it is not because of bamboo, how can we blame the things left by our ancestors.

This time it is really not all about bamboo, although bamboo itself is not flammable, but it is very resistant to fire.

If there is only a net shed, the fire may burn out quickly, and it will never burn all night. Because after the fire caused by the net shed and ignited the bamboo, the bamboo continued to burn, causing greater damage.

In addition, the so-called "things left by our ancestors" should be more in museums, right?

Five

We all say that the past is not forgotten, and the teacher does not forget the future. But the truth is that it is difficult for humans to learn from history.

In the past two years, there have also been fires related to sheds and bamboo frames in Hong Kong.

But the first two times, they were both uninhabited buildings and did not cause serious casualties, so they did not attract enough attention.

There is also the fire at the Carrie Building mentioned in the second season of "News Queen", which is also related to irregular construction.

The disaster occurred in 1996 and was the worst building fire in Hong Kong's modern history.

Older readers should have seen the live broadcast of Hong Kong media back then:

At that time, the welders in the elevator lobby on the second floor produced a large amount of sparks during the operation, which ignited the flammable debris in the elevator trough, forming a chimney effect, which in turn caused the high-heat gas to spread upward through the unclosed elevator shaft.

Because the smoke doors on the 13th to 15th floors of the building were not closed, the contact of the hot gas with fresh air caused a backfire, forming another fire on the upper floors.

As a result, the entire building was quickly engulfed by two fire points.

The people in the building couldn't run up or down, so they could only jump off the building in despair to survive.

Others cried out for help at the window until they were completely engulfed in flames......

The lessons that fires teach us are always bloody.

The Karrie Building fire 30 years ago killed 41 people.

Today, the number of deaths caused by the Hongfuyuan fire has exceeded this number.

The flames are ruthless, and we must be extra cautious about fire prevention.

Many people saw this disaster and complained that "high-rise buildings cannot be bought" and "fires are too scary".

In fact, it's not just the top management.

Even people living in low-rise buildings and ordinary bungalows should always be vigilant against fires.

Do not throw cigarette butts indiscriminately, do not charge or pile up combustible materials in the corridor; Qingming Festival does not burn paper at the outlet, and fireworks and Kongming lanterns are not secretly set off in the no-burn area during the New Year......

Whether you live in a tall building or a low building, these things should be done.

Otherwise, it will be too late to really cause a fire.

In addition, engineering maintenance should tighten the strings of fire prevention and disaster prevention.

Renovation workers wrap not only a building, but the lives of hundreds or even thousands of residents, and there is no room for the slightest carelessness.

It is conceivable that many older high-rise buildings in the city will face maintenance problems in the future, and I hope that similar tragedies will not be repeated.