Yick 15" anchored at the Dangerous Goods anchorage off Stonecutters Island, occurred at about 5.42 a.m. on the 5th July, 1953. 4 persons on board were burnt to death before the arrival of Fire Float No. 2; one person was reported missing and presumed dead. A Revenue Launch and a Naval fire boat also proceeded to the scene of the fire and rendered assistance in this operation.
25th Dec., 1953–Pak Tin, Wor Chai & Shek Kip Mei Villages, Kowloon. On Christmas night 1953, at about 9.39 p.m. a disastrous fire occurred in one of the largest squatter areas of the Colony. The fire involved the Pak Tin, Shek Kip Mei and Wor Chai Villages, Kowloon, and a large number of miscellaneous wood and stone mushroom factories, stores, workshops and squatter huts were destroyed. The Brigade encountered extreme difficulty in the laying out of hose lines as thousands of squatters carrying their personal belongings rushed out of the area from the few lanes. A strong variable wind blowing at the time added to the difficulties of fire fighting operations and assisted the spread of the fire. The fire was finally brought under control and extinguished with 35 deliveries. The Auxil- iary Fire Service were called out and rendered valuable assistance in this operation. Two persons lost their lives at this fire.
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3. Apart from the one mentioned above, there were 49 other outbreaks of fire in squatter areas in the Colony. These involved large areas and heavy damage in many cases. Squatter fires are difficult to control in view of the flimsy materials used in the construction of the huts and the lack of fire breaks in the areas. However on many occasions the Fire Brigade was able to confine the fire to relatively small areas, due to prior
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