Social_Welfare_Annual_Report_1948-1954 — Page 29

50. It was a characteristic of the majority of the fires which wiped out squatters' huts that there was scarcely any loss of life, although the damage to property was incalculable, and relief measures on a massive scale had to be organized on each occasion with great speed.

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On the other hand, the comparatively rare fires in or near the densely crowded tenement buildings were liable to result in a heavy loss of life, though any relief work was, by comparison, much easier to handle. The worst tenement fire in the Colony's history occurred in some warehouses on the 22nd September, 1948. Most of the 173 persons who died were killed within the first few minutes after the first explosion had taken place.

51. Throughout the period under review there was an uninterrupted series of fires in squatter areas. The largest of these was the disastrous conflagration which within a few hours on Christmas Night 1953 made homeless some 58,000 souls at Shekkipmei in the Shamshuipo District of Kowloon. This fire was probably the worst the Colony has ever known, although fortunately loss of life was very low. In January 1950 another squatter blaze in Kowloon City had made home- less over 20,000 people in five hours, but without any loss of life. These were the two biggest fires, but many others occurred, both big and small. The Social Welfare Office and the public became grimly practised in dealing promptly with mass relief work, and in planning longer-term measures on behalf of the victims of these fires. As soon as a squatter fire broke out the Fire Brigade, the Police, Emergency workers from the Relief Section, and the leaders of the area's Kaifong association rushed to the scene. The Kaifong leaders would set up temporary headquarters, often in the nearest Social Welfare Office Welfare Centre, for the organization of imme- diate relief work. The Social Welfare Office Relief Section Workers moved in as close as possible to the scene of the fire without impeding the work of the fire-fighters or police, and began immediate registration of the victims. Speed was essential for a number of reasons, but mainly in order to restrict registration as far as possible to genuine fire victims.

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