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Cause of the Wing On Fire:
CHAPTER X-CONCLUSION.
99. The proximate cause of the Wing On Fire was the violent combustion of washed celluloid film scrap stored in Godown No. 5. The most acceptable explanation of how the film scrap caught fire is the self-ignition of a small quantity of unstable film.
Responsibility for the Loss of Life and Damage:
100. The prime responsibility for the loss of life must rest with the persons who accepted the film scrap for storage in a godown connected with domestic premises. The Fire Brigade did all that was possible to save life once the fire had started.
(a) We are of the opinion that at least some members of the godown staff were aware of the contents of the drums. We consider that the prime responsibility for acceptance of the washed film scrap rested with Wong Tong and his store-keepers, all of whom are dead.
(b) We consider that as Mr. Lam Wan Kui was directly responsible to the Wing On Company for the good conduct of its godowns, he was respon- sible for the issue of proper instructions to the staff as to what goods should or should not be accepted and for the carrying out of those instructions. He gave no instructions other than not to store com- modities which might subject owners of goods to a higher rate of insurance or which might invalidate insurance in the event of a destructive fire. He must bear a large measure of the responsibility for the fire.
(c) We consider that some degree of responsibility attaches to the Chief Manager of the Wing On Company, Mr. L. P. Kwok, for not ensuring that the member of his staff responsible for the management of the company's godowns was thoroughly familiar with the regulations for storage of cinematograph film and dangerous goods.
(d) We consider that a minor degree of responsibility rests with the Chief Officer of the Fire Brigade for his failure to ensure adequate publicity for the regulations for storage of dangerous goods and celluloid. (e) We should have felt satisfied that all possible steps to save property had been taken if the Acting Chief Officer or another responsible Fire Brigade officer, who could have appreciated the importance of early ingress into Godown No. 2, had been spared from rescue operations during the earliest stages of the fire to maintain general supervision of the fire area and especially the area at the rear of the Des Vœux Road premises.
Summary of Recommendations:
101. (a) We recommend that Fire Brigade and the Marine Department and, where necessary, the Department of Imports and Exports should inter- change information about the arrival in or removal of dangerous goods from the Colony. We consider that sufficient surveillance of the move- ment of dangerous goods can be effected by such co-operation without amending the regulations, except to provide that the arrival of cinema- tograph film should be notified to the Marine Department.
(b) We recommend that importers should endeavour to have cargoes of dangerous goods labelled at source by their suppliers in accordance with Hong Kong regulations, and that the system of labelling should be extended to celluloid and cinematograph films.
(c) We recommend that licensing plates should be reintroduced as soon as possible and that licences for storage of dangerous goods should be required to be prominently displayed in places of storage.
(d) We recommend that all godowns and places of storage above a certain size to be specified by law should be required by law to register with the Fire Brigade, and that they should be open to inspection by authorized officers of the Fire Brigade.