A No. 3 alarm fire broke out on Robinson Road in Mid-Levels West, resulting in six people being unwell and sent to hospital, including a firefighter.
At 12:01 noon on the first day of the Lunar New Year (22nd), a fire broke out in a unit on the 23rd floor of Huihui Court, No. 9 Robinson Road.
The unit was engulfed in flames, thick smoke gushed out the windows, and the outer walls of the two or three floors upstairs were also blackened. Smoke seeped even from the lobby on the ground floor, and some residents heard the help of their domestic helpers.
Firefighters responded to the report and were on the scene fighting. Robinson Road was closed and the traffic was heavy at the moment.
Six people in the fire were unwell and sent to hospital, including a fire chief and a middle-aged man who lost consciousness due to smoke inhalation.
The fire department raised the fire alarm to level 3 at 1.24pm. The fire was surrounded at 2.20pm and brought under control at 2.39pm.
Firefighters are using two jets and two breathing apparatus teams to fight the fire.
As of 1:39 p.m., the fire was still on, police said.
More than 50 people evacuated and fell downstairs, and there were still more than 20 people and 7 dogs who did not leave. Some people took shelter on the roof.
According to the news from the scene, the resident was singing karaoke in the unit at that time, during which the karaoke machine smoked and burned the curtains. The fire spread and burned more and more violently.
Nanika, a Filipino foreign domestic helper who lives downstairs in the building where the fire broke out, said that her employer was not at home when the incident happened, and she was preparing to go out to a nearby church for gatherings. A friend called to inform her that the building was on fire, and she followed the police and fire instructions to evacuate to the ground. On the way, she saw thick smoke billowing from the building, she was trembling with fright, she was moved to tears, and she needed the police to calm her emotions.
The maid Nanika followed the police's instructions to go to the fire alarm.
(Photo by Zheng Jiahui)
Thick smoke was coming from the unit.
(Photo by Weng Yuhui)
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