wooden structures and was spreading rapidly. Firemen en- countered extreme difficulties in preventing the fire from involv- ing the remaining 300 huts and adjoining factories, including a rubber shoe factory, enamel factory, torchlight factory, timber stores and saw-mills, etc. The fire float was unable to get to work on account of the tide being out at the time. This fire, which could have developed into a very serious one, necessitated the attendance of seven fire appliances to bring it under control. No casualties occurred in the outbreak. An unknown number of squatter huts were destroyed by the fire.
3. Apart from the fires mentioned above, there were twenty seven other outbreaks of fire in squatter areas in the Colony. This represents slight increase over the preceding year.
SPECIAL SERVICES
4. The number of special service calls was greater than in the previous year. Some of the more serious disasters which required the services of the Brigade are mentioned below:
(1) The rainstorm during 21st - 22nd May, 1957, which totalled fifteen inches caused many landslides and flooded premises. A total of forty one emergency calls was dealt with in Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories, the latter being cut off by the collapse of sections of the Castle Peak Road and the Tai Po Road. The Fire Brigade and Auxiliary Fire Service rescued many persons from landslides and the heavy floods which affected buildings, huts, etc., and Fire Appliances also pumped out a number of flooded areas.
(2) There were two typhoon occurrences during the year under review when heavy rains caused damage to properties, and a number of landslides and house collapses occurred. During the typhoons the Fire Brigade responded to many emergency calls and carried out rescue operations in various parts of the Colony. (3) At 19.44 hours on the 10th August, 1957, a call was received to an explosion caused by an aniseed oil distiller under steam pressure at No. 393, Lockhart Road, Wan Chai. The explosion did serious damage to the building; three Chinese males were seriously injured, two succumbing to their injuries after being taken to the hospital by Fire Brigade ambulance. Fire appliances
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