Fire_Brigade_1956-1957 — Page 9

of fire-crackers. As a result of the fire, the premises and their contents were severely damaged. Although the fire occurred during working hours, owing to the regular use and observance of fire drills only 1 person was killed and the remaining employees succeeded in making their escape before the arrival of the brigade. 23rd December, 1956–

A serious fire broke out in the temporary market at Shek Wu Hui near Sheung Shui at about 2.19 a.m. on December 23rd. Two Chinese adults and one child lost their lives in the tragedy, in which some 200 corrugated iron shop structures and huts were destroy- ed together with their contents. The premises involved were the temporary market structures erected in 1955 and consisted of 9 single-storey buildings of corrugated iron sheeting on angle iron roof members supported by cast iron columns, with corrugated iron sheeting on wood-frame partitions. Six of these buildings were approximately 120′ x 32′ and each was divided into 20

back-to-back shops, 12′ × 16′ each. The remaining three buildings were approximately 120′ × 24′, and each of them was divided into 24 shops, 10' X 12' each, making a total of 192 shops. The internal streets were only 12 feet wide, and the provision of contiguous flimsy shades over the fronts made the market an entirety without any form of fire-break. The rapid spread of fire was attributed to the form of construc- tion and the use of the narrow streets for storage of furniture, shop fixtures, etc., coupled with the storage of kerosene and other inflammable liquids and fire- crackers in some of the shops.

13th February, 1957—

In the early morning of the 13th February, 1957, a serious fire with an unfortunately heavy loss of life, occurred in Canton Road, Kowloon, at the junction with Shan Tung Street. The buildings involved were 992-998 Canton Road and consisted of four 4-storey Chinese tenement buildings with brick load-bearing walls and pitched tiled roofs. From information received and results of investigations, it was assumed

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