MARINE DEPARTMENT LIBRARY
S.S. Tjiwangi
37. A severe fire raged through the superstructure of the passenger vessel, S.S. Tjiwangi as she lay in the Tai Koo Dockyard on 6th February, 1962. Fire Service staff worked with Dockyard units to ex- tinguish the fire. Prompt action avoided what would otherwise have resulted in the total loss of a 9,000-ton vessel and confined damage to $1 million.
Ngau Tau Kok, Kowloon
38. An unusual fire occurred on 15th March, 1962, when a 300- gallon fuel oil supply lorry caught alight in the road, setting fire to property on either side. A quick appreciation of the situation by the officer commanding enabled the primary fire to be isolated from sub- sidiary ones and for all three to be extinguished in fifteen minutes with only minor damage to property. This incident well illustrates the poten- tial danger of transporting inflammable fuel through densely populated
areas.
Thompson Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
39. Thompson Road was the scene of a fire on 28th March, 1962, which broke out in a four-storey building used for both industrial and residential purposes. The heat was great enough to ignite three vehicles parked in the roadway. Every available fireman was called upon to rescue sixty people trapped on the roof who were removed uninjured to safety. The fire was brought under control within forty minutes and finally extinguished in two hours after the call.
40. Property directly at risk was estimated at $135,000 of which some $65,000 worth was damaged. Such a high percentage of damage was due to concentrating on rescues before dealing with the fire. How- ever, Special Rescue Tenders about to be delivered, will carry a trained rescue squad of twelve men, and enable crews arriving first at the scene of a fire to deal with both rescue and fire-fighting at the same time.
Chinese New Year
41. No less than 105 Fire Calls were received on 5th February, 1962, of which 85% were attributed to the careless discharge of fire- works. From a Fire Service viewpoint, some form of control over the use of explosive fireworks would be welcomed.
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