roofs and floors of these buildings collapsed. The floors were supported only by wooden poles and when these had burnt through the floors collapsed one after another. In a short space of time the fire, which was an extremely fierce one, spread to other tenement houses and five people were trapped on upper floors. Thanks to quick work by firemen they were all rescued and taken to hospital where only six were detained. The ground floors of all the buildings were used as business premises and the flats above were occupied by a very large number of families, the majority being hawkers. As the rapid spread of the fire in its early stages was extremely serious the Auxiliary Fire Service detachment in Kowloon was mobilized. The fire, which was a particularly dangerous one, was extinguished at 07.08 p.m.
15th November, 1958- No. 128, Mong Kok Road, KOWLOON
A call was received at 01.58 hours on 15th November, 1958, to a fire at No. 128, Mong Kok Road, a 2-storey brick and timber structure with a tiled roof. Sparks from an electrical short circuit had ignited the kapok used for upholstering furniture. The first floor and a quantity of blackwood furniture were severely damaged by fire and the ground floor and its contents by water. The fire was brought under control at 02.02 hours without casualty.
17th November, 1958-Nos. 141-143, Shanghai Street, KOWLOON
At 06.59 hours a call was received at Kowloon Fire Station from Police Radio Control to a fire at this address. Five fire appliances with No. 2 Fire Boat were in attendance. On the arrival of the Fire Brigade this fire had gained a firm hold on the flimsy building and had spread to the full depth of the premises, i.e. from Shanghai Street to the rear scavenging lane. A number of people were trapped in the building and could not escape owing to iron bars being fitted across the windows. Acetylene cutting sets were immediately brought into use by the firemen, the iron bars were cut and the five persons were rescued by firemen and removed to hospital. No deaths occurred among the rescued persons.
7th December, 1958—No. 100, BEDFORD ROAD, KOWLOON
At 12.16 hours on 7th December, 1958, a fire occurred at No. 100, Bedford Road, a 4-storey building housing a number of garment factories. The fire originated in a button factory on the
6