佐敦文苑樓火警︱婦人衝火場雙手燒傷無力救老伴 泣訴：我幾心痛

40 The tragedy unfolded around 11 p.m. on the 13th floor of the building, where the victim, identified as Mr. Chu, lived in a cramped subdivided unit. According to Hong Kong 01 reporting, the fire left one charred body and sent four other residents to the hospital after they inhaled thick smoke.

The Struggle on the 13th Floor

The human cost of the blaze is centered on the relationship between Mr. Chu and his partner of 30 years, known to neighbors as Sister Lai. A waste picker who survived by collecting cardboard and foam boxes, Lai was away from the flat when the fire started. Upon returning to the building around 10 p.m., she was alerted by neighbors that her unit was on fire. Lai rushed to the 13th floor and found the bedhead engulfed in flames. Mr. Chu, who suffered from asthma and relied on a wheelchair, had fallen from the bed and was lying on the floor. For ten minutes, Lai fought through dense smoke, attempting to drag her partner to safety. She sustained burns to both hands in the process, but eventually reached a point of total exhaustion. “I couldn’t save him because I had no strength, and my hands were burned.”Sister Lai, victim’s partner, via Hong Kong 01 Unable to move Mr. Chu, she descended to the 12th floor to plead for help from three firefighters. However, she claims the rescuers were preoccupied with knocking on the doors of other units. By the time firefighters entered her flat, Mr. Chu had already passed away.

A Subdivided Unit Split Nine Ways

The physical environment of the flat highlights the systemic danger of Hong Kong’s subdivided housing. The unit where Mr. Chu lived was a “one-into-nine” split, meaning a single original apartment had been carved into nine separate, narrow living spaces. Inspectors found the space to be claustrophobic and cluttered with items, including wooden ladders and plastic buckets. The walls, ceiling, and iron gates were severely blackened by soot, with visible peeling from the intense heat. The layout created a death trap. Because the air conditioning was running at the time of the fire, the windows and doors were shut tight, trapping the smoke inside. Lai suspects the fire was caused by an electrical leak near a power switch and pillows at the head of the bed. The danger extended beyond the interior. External scaffolding and netting on the building’s facade also showed signs of charring, suggesting the fire’s intensity was visible from the street.

Allegations of Failed Management and Rescue

In the wake of the tragedy, Lai has launched a scathing critique of both the building’s management and the emergency response. She claimed that the building’s fire alarm was not audible during the outbreak and that the building manager was nowhere to be found, leaving other staff members to handle the emergency call. Her frustration extends to the nature of the death itself. While the fire was the catalyst, she insists that the lack of immediate intervention turned a survivable situation into a fatality. “He wasn’t burned to death, he was suffocated, suffocated by thick smoke!”Sister Lai, victim’s partner, via Hong Kong 01 Lai questioned the rescue priorities, asking if responders only prioritize those they believe are still alive, while ignoring those who might be saved in the critical first minutes.

The Human Cost of Urban Poverty

Beyond the immediate loss of life, the fire has left Lai completely destitute. Having lived in the unit for over a decade, the blaze destroyed not only her home but her means of survival. Witnesses observed her pushing her cart of foam boxes and scrap materials away from the scene, appearing broken and adrift. When questioned by reporters about her future, her response was a stark indictment of her current vulnerability. “I have nowhere to live, how can you help me?”Sister Lai, victim’s partner, via Hong Kong 01 For Lai, the loss of her partner of three decades is a blow that renders further existence meaningless. She expressed a sense of total isolation, stating that with the people closest to her gone, there is no point in her remaining. This incident underscores the precarious existence of the city’s poorest residents, where a single electrical fault in an illegally or poorly partitioned flat can erase a lifetime of companionship and a place of shelter in minutes. With the victim’s body removed by coroners in the early hours of May 22, the focus now shifts to whether the “one-into-nine” configuration of the flat violated safety codes and why the alarm system failed to alert residents.