Opinion | Hong Kong must enforce safety rules before more buildings go up in flames

It has only been three years since the deadly Yau Ma Tei tenement fire, which broke out in a restaurant celebrating Diwali and a birthday, killing seven and injuring more. Then-chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor vowed that the Fire Services Department and Buildings Department would inspect 2,500 buildings aged 60 years and older within the year for fire safety.

The 1953 fire that swept through a Shek Kip Mei squatter camp on Christmas Day claimed two lives and left 53,000 survivors homeless. It forced the colonial government to resolve, once and for all, the housing needs of the influx of immigrants, forced to live in makeshift homes with no fire or flood protection. Hong Kong’s public housing programme was born.

The 1996 Garley Building fire that claimed 41 lives and injured 81 brought about tougher building regulations.

It’s 2024, and while there is no way to eradicate fires – we had at least two last week – we are still struggling with the same old problems: regulations have been upgraded and inspections carried out but older buildings are either not up to standard in terms of fire protection measures and/or still have obstructed escape ways.

The fire at the 60-year-old New Lucky House in Yau Ma Tei on April 10, which killed five and injured 43 people, has put a spotlight on what the government has yet to do to tackle these building safety issues. And it’s safe to say it will take more than more legislation, tougher regulations or inspections.