SOCIAL SERVICES
Shek Kip Mei Fire. At about 9.30 p.m. on Christmas ngiht a fire broke out in an illegal factory in the heart of the Colony's largest squatter area, and fanned by a strong dry wind burnt for five hours before being extinguished. When dawn came on Boxing Day some 59,000 people had lost their homes in Hong Kong's largest fire, and immediate measures for their relief were necessary.
In this emergency everybody worked together, and grateful ⚫ acknowledgment is here made of the help given by the Military Authorities, all the voluntary charitable organizations, and by other Government departments.
Within a few hours of the fire, registration of the fire victims was under way, hot meals had been prepared, a relief com- mittee had been set up, and plans for early resettlement were being carried out.
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