Massive Fire in Hong Kong Housing Block Kills at Least Seventy-Five

What Happened?

A fire tore through a large heavily crowded apartment block in Hong Kong, killing at least seventy-five people and leaving hundreds more still missing. The fire took place in the Wang Fuk Court, which is in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong, destroying seven out of eight high rise structures that are part of the area. 

Firefighters in Hong Kong now say they have the blaze mostly under control, but it could be days before the status of all those still missing could be confirmed.

Why it Matters

Worldwide, more people now live in cities than in the countryside for the first time in human history, and many of those city dwellers reside in heavily crowded housing blocks like the Wang Fuk Court complex in Hong Kong. With space at a premium, real estate developers and city planners have opted to try to put as many people as possible into the least amount of room they can. Which often leads to megastructures where thousands of people live together in small flats or apartments.

According to Hong Kong police, mesh material and plastic sheets on the outside of the building were not fireproof and could have contributed to either starting or spreading the blaze. Thus far three real estate executives have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by Hong Kong authorities. In addition to the physical evidence from the fire, several different videos circulating online purported to show where the inferno got started.

Even after most of the fire had been extinguished, an extensive rescue effort was reportedly underway. As many as three hundred people may still be trapped on the upper floors, which the fire did not reach directly. 

The fire is now the deadliest blaze in Hong Kong in the past sixty years. Already questions are being asked about building codes and construction standards, in addition to enforcement of those regulations. The blaze and its aftermath are likely to trigger tough questions for builders and city officials as grieving loved ones of those who perished will demand answers to how and why this fire caused so much destruction so quickly.

Last year a deadly blaze tore through a housing building in London, England, so the Hong Kong incident is not the first large scale blaze in recent memory to cause mass casualties in a major city. As city populations continue to swell, local officials and real estate developers will be forced to take a closer look at their safety requirements so that similar catastrophes don’t befall their respective locations. 

How it Affects You

Even as some heads of state and political leaders have called for reducing fire code safety requirements for builders in order to reduce costs, the Hong Kong fire will likely force a re-evaluation of those public policy positions. For countries with dense urban populations and lax building safety standards, more disasters like this one are probable in the future.