Hong Kong Fire Generates High Numbers of Crispy Critters

[ChloeTzang]

No sprinkler systems in China?

At least 128 people now confirmed dead.

It would appear there weren't sprinkler systems.

"Wang Fuk Court is privately owned but subsidized housing built in the 1980s. The basic apartments in the complex measure 40-45 square meters (430-485 square feet), according to online real estate listings. Like most Hong Kong mass market housing, they appear to lack smoke detectors or sprinkler systems. The buildings were constructed before revisions to Hong Kong’s fire codes required mandatory fire refuge floors."

No fire alarms went off either, and apparantly some of the seniors living there weren't that mobile so getting down the fire escpe stairs wasn't an option for them. Nearly 40 percent of the 4,600 people who lived in the towers were 65 or older. “In the past, we’ve seen similar facade fires, but we haven’t seen fatalities because people can successfully evacuate from the building – but not from this one.” Survivors said they did not hear a fire alarm, prompting people to rush from door to door to warn others of the blaze. “Ringing doorbells, knocking on doors, alerting the neighbours, telling them to leave – that’s what the situation was like...

I found another mention that the complex's fire alarm systems failed.

Apartments there were on the market for around HK$3-4 million

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2025/11/27/what-to-know-about-the-apartment-fire-in-hong-kong/

Here's a tower layout

 

[briancamdudetenger2018]

this reminds me of the dwayne johnson movie skyscraper

 

[ishtat]

It is very suspicious that the fire seems to have started in 5 or 6 buildings simultaneously, rather than spread from one to the next in sequence. That suggests the possibility of human agency in ignition. Considering the age of these buildings there would be no sprinklers, no smoke detectors no pressurized escape stairs.

First question to ask is 'which developer would benefit the most financially from a very large cleared building site?' That land is worth far more than the poor quality accommodation built on it - and land in Hong Kong is incredibly valuable.

 

[ChloeTzang]

It is very suspicious that the fire seems to have started in 5 or 6 buildings simultaneously, rather than spread from one to the next in sequence. That suggests the possibility of human agency in ignition. Considering the age of these buildings there would be no sprinklers, no smoke detectors no pressurized escape stairs.

First question to ask is 'which developer would benefit the most financially from a very large cleared building site?' That land is worth far more than the poor quality accommodation built on it - and land in Hong Kong is incredibly valuable.

Apparantly it did start on the exterior of one building and that green fabric you see went up like a torch, aling with the bamboo scaffolding - and the buildings are so close that it jumped from one to the next almost instantly. Add using ploysterene foam to block all the windows and you have it in one. Dry bamboo burns freally really well and once a few apartments were on fire it was barbeque time.

There's interviews with people who were on the phone to their wives or husbands - ne guy said his wife was at home, tried to get out but the halls and stairway was filled with smoke so she had to get back to her apartment to breath - suspect anyone like her is a goner. They're doing an apartment by apartment search now but likely they'll be lucky to find anyone left alive. That smoke was heavy and almost everyone that dies in these fires dies from smoke inhalation rather than actually burning to death - which I guess is preferable.

 

[LeahWill]

Based on thread title, I came here expecting to learn how to season dog and cat.

Whilst when I saw the thread title I thought -

"That may well be one of the most disgusting things I have seen written on the internet"

 

[ll74]

Looking at the title of the thread, you'd never expect that the thread was about a.majoor disaster that killed over 100 people.

Odd. ¯⁠\⁠(⁠°⁠_⁠o⁠)⁠/⁠¯

 

[HisArpy]

At least 128 people now confirmed dead.

It would appear there weren't sprinkler systems.

The wildfire in Paradise, Ca conclusively proved that interior structure sprinklers don't work as advertised. The 911 towers showed us that even with fire retardant sprayed everywhere and interior fire sprinklers with fire hoses on every floor, the buildings still burned until they collapsed and killed thousands but the Paradise fires conclusively proved beyond a doubt that this tech does not work.

It doesn't work because by the time the sprinklers are activated, the fire is too large to be put out by the limited amount of water the sprinklers can deliver.

Given that undeniable evidence they are nothing more than a panacea/feel-good requirement in the building code. Yet the legislature will not allow anyone to build without them. They don't save lives, they don't save structures. They only add cost and raise insurance rates.

 

[Bray123]

There are clear parallels with the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London. Decorative cladding (not approved for hi-rise buildings due to flammability rating) applied to the outside acted as a chimney when fire got into the space between the cladding and the building.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fire

 

[John_von_Neumann]

The wildfire in Paradise, Ca conclusively proved that interior structure sprinklers don't work as advertised. The 911 towers showed us that even with fire retardant sprayed everywhere and interior fire sprinklers with fire hoses on every floor, the buildings still burned until they collapsed and killed thousands but the Paradise fires conclusively proved beyond a doubt that this tech does not work.

It doesn't work because by the time the sprinklers are activated, the fire is too large to be put out by the limited amount of water the sprinklers can deliver.

Given that undeniable evidence they are nothing more than a panacea/feel-good requirement in the building code. Yet the legislature will not allow anyone to build without them. They don't save lives, they don't save structures. They only add cost and raise insurance rates.

You're comparing the effects of a jet airliner colliding with a skyscraper to wildfires? There's so much wrong with this post, but suffice to say, you're an idiot.

 

[Bray123]

Saying that a forest wildfire went out of control because sprinklers in hi-rise towers don't work is a weird position to take, but totally expected from the forum clown.

 

[ChloeTzang]

(This is US data) Between 2017 and 2021, local fire departments responded to an average of nearly 53,000 structure fires per year where sprinklers were present. That’s only 11% of all structure fires. But when sprinklers were installed, outcomes were dramatically better.

Compared to fires in buildings without automatic extinguishing systems (AES), sprinkler-equipped structures saw:

90% lower civilian death rates per fire
32% lower civilian injury rates
35% lower firefighter injury rates
Sprinklers work consistently and vastly reduce safety risks. In 92% of fires large enough to activate them, sprinklers operated. When they did, they were effective 97% of the time. In total, sprinkler systems operated and were effective in 89% of fires that met the activation threshold.

Fire spread also drops significantly. In buildings with sprinklers, fire was confined to the room or object of origin in 94% of cases, compared to just 70% in properties without AES protection.

In 96% of incidents, five or fewer heads activated.

Now if we look at the Hong Kong fire, it spread externally up the scaffolding and fabric drapes and sprinklers would not have had any impact on that. That fire was raging externally but when apartments started catching fire, a sprinkler system woud likely have significantly slowed down the spread of flames and reduced smoke, which is a major cause of injury and death in fires. Reducing the smoke would have been a key to survival - the hallways often fill with smoke before apartments, and if the stairways also fill with smoke, that makes evacuation impossible - which is what happened to a number of the victims, who returned to their apartments for lack of any other viable choice and were then smoked and barbecued into crispy critters.

I guess if you live in a high rise the best thing to do is have a good flashlight and smoke/rebreather hoods stashed away along with a small fire extinguisher you can carry with you and a flame resistant suit or coveralls you can get into fast - they don't cost much.

https://www.draeger.com/en-us_ca/Productfinder/Rescue-and-Escape/Escape-Respirator-Hoods

https://buildops.com/resources/sprinklers-work/

 

[ChloeTzang]

Whilst when I saw the thread title I thought -

"That may well be one of the most disgusting things I have seen written on the internet"

Thread title changed to protect tender sensibilities

 

[ChloeTzang]

Also - for any of you that fly - in an aircraft crash, for planes that actually get to the ground intact and are on fire then, most deaths at that point are from toxic smoke inhalation, which can put you out quickly - I actually have one of thse smoke hoods - I was a paranoid flyer - I still am - and one of those doesn't take up much space, you can get them on quickly and then scramble over the bodies if you need to. Also, statistically, most survivors are seated the rear of the aircraft, so sit at the back.

Best tho is to find someone who has actually survived a crash and fly with them - the probablity of them being in a 2nd such crash is small enough to guarantee you that you won't experience one!!!!!

 

[Bray123]

Also - for any of you that fly - in an aircraft crash, for planes that actually get to the ground intact and are on fire then, most deaths at that point are from toxic smoke inhalation, which can put you out quickly - I actually have one of thse smoke hoods - I was a paranoid flyer - I still am - and one of those doesn't take up much space, you can get them on quickly and then scramble over the bodies if you need to. Also, statistically, most survivors are seated the rear of the aircraft, so sit at the back.

Best tho is to find someone who has actually survived a crash and fly with them - the probablity of them being in a 2nd such crash is small enough to guarantee you that you won't experience one!!!!!

Statistically those at the back of an aircraft are the last to die when it flies straight into a mountain.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Statistically those at the back of an aircraft are the last to die when it flies straight into a mountain.

This is true, altho the delay actually doesn't give you timeto kiss your ass goodbye. And of course it doesn't guarantee you will survive being run over by a firetruck even should you sucessfully egress the aircraft....

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...burning-plane-run-TWICE-15-minutes-later.html

 

[briancamdudetenger2018]

this fire i think is gonna be like one of those mysteries

 

[eric_erosfan]

The wildfire in Paradise, Ca conclusively proved that interior structure sprinklers don't work as advertised. The 911 towers showed us that even with fire retardant sprayed everywhere and interior fire sprinklers with fire hoses on every floor, the buildings still burned until they collapsed and killed thousands but the Paradise fires conclusively proved beyond a doubt that this tech does not work.

It doesn't work because by the time the sprinklers are activated, the fire is too large to be put out by the limited amount of water the sprinklers can deliver.

Given that undeniable evidence they are nothing more than a panacea/feel-good requirement in the building code. Yet the legislature will not allow anyone to build without them. They don't save lives, they don't save structures. They only add cost and raise insurance rates.

Please stop demonstrating that you are ignorant about every topic that comes up on the PB.

 

[latecomer91364]

Here in the U.S., we conservatives have a lot of problems with government over-regulation, but not in the area of building safety.

Consider the difference between the 1976 Tangshan earthquake which 'officially' killed 242,769 people, although higher figures of around 655,000-779,000.

Compare it to the 1971 'Sylmar earthquake' which killed 65 people - but was lower on the Richter scale, at 6.6.

It's all about the building codes.

 

[John_von_Neumann]

Please stop demonstrating that you are ignorant about every topic that comes up on the PB.

That's asking him not to post at all.

Which is a sentiment I can get behind.

 

[gxnn]

It's being reported that 1.3 billion people are now homeless due to the fire.

Two national guard members were gunned down on street in DC by an Afghan immigrant, this is more real, wake up, boy, time to take a leak

 

[Philthy_Phil]

Two national guard members were gunned down on street in DC by an Afghan immigrant, this is more real, wake up, boy, time to take a leak

Am I supposed to care?

I don't need to pee.