Earlier this week on Wednesday afternoon, a fire that started in at the Wang Fuk Court public housing estate in the Tai Po District in Hong Kong. The fire started at the Wang Fuk House building and quickly spread to 7 of the neighbouring buildings. At least 44 people have been killed in the fire including one firefighter, but the death toll could be higher. Hundreds are still missing according to several press reports.ย
According to the authorities in Hong Kong, the fire started at a scaffolding erected against Wang Fuk House, which was being used for maintenance repairs. The scaffolding made of bamboo, and the ongoing works on the building, included various flammable materials such as protective nets, plastic sheeting, and polystyrene (Styrofoam) boards covering windows. Three people responsible for the scaffolding and maintenance operations have been arrested. Times Radio reported that soem residents reported the netting of the scaffolding to the authorities over its flammable risks but no action was taken.
The event is yet again a dire warning about the dangers of fires in high-rise buildings. Technology to counter such fires is still lacking.
Two years ago, China conducted a propaganda campaign about its new fire-fighting drone technology. However this kind of technology is still in its infancy and not very effective against large fires which need thousands of litres of water to subdue. The problems with fire-fighting high-rise towers are multi-faceted but mainly revolve around the capability of pumping water vertically and continuously for an extended period of time. Drones, cranes and ladders can be used to deliver a tethered-hose which needs to be stored along with a pump, powerful enough to deliver water through it upwards and vertically. This type of capability, which needs the combination of this extent of massive equipment, is currently very expensive to acquire and challenging to deploy in the streets. The technology for such a capability is still developing.
Due to the lack of firefighting capabilities against high-rise towers, governments try to address the risk of fire in high-rise buildings by prevention and safety standards. Planning authorities may be very strict in applying anti-fire safety and emergency standards with regard to the construction of high-0rise buildings which often come with built-in-pipe systems and pumps that are used for fire situations.
Newsroom
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