Seldom were there any up-to-date or reliable registers of the inhabitants of burnt-out squatter areas, and fires accordingly presented a golden opportunity for professional beggars and others to try to cash in on any free relief by spinning a convincing tale of distress.
52. Meanwhile the local Kaifong Welfare Association set up a Relief Committee, through which were channelled and distributed all the substantial gifts in cash and in kind which were always forthcoming from other Kaifong associations and from leading Chinese charitable organizations. English and Chinese language newspapers received and sent on individual subscriptions. Only fire victims holding registration cards issued by the Social Welfare Office were recognized. The cooking and distribution of free meals was the responsibility of the Social Welfare Office, and in the weeks following the Shekkipmei Fire, when as many as 100,000 meals per day had to be provided, the Social Welfare Office Kitchens, by working right round the clock, were able to cook some 70,000 meals in the 24 hours. The balance of over 30,000 was cooked by Army Kitchens, without whose prompt and whole hearted assistance it would have been impossible to cope.
53. The most impressive work of rehabilitation was undertaken after the Shekkipmei Fire of Christmas 1953, when the decision was taken by Government to rehouse the 58,000 fire victims in sanitary, fire-proof dwellings to be erected on the fire-site, and for which an economic rent of from $10 to $15 per unit was to be charged. A concerted effort was made to deal with this emergency and Government departments, Military Authorities, Kaifong Associations, and the voluntary agencies in general, all worked together as a harmonious team. On the 15th February 1954, just six weeks after the fire, the first families began to move into their new homes.
54. Fires were not the only events which called for emergency measures. Refugees also created special problems. In May and October 1949, large groups of officially sponsored British and Indian evacuees from Shanghai and North China
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