The fire that claimed the life of a 30-year-old firefighter continues to blaze on for a third day, 55 hours it began on Tuesday.
Despite having been contained to its origin point on the third floor of Amoycan Industrial Building, the fire has reportedly spread to parts of the fourth and fifth floor.
Hui Siu-wai, Director of the Buildings Department, inspected the site earlier today amidst fears that the 66-year-old building will collapse, Oriental Daily reports. According to the SCMP, the possibility of a collapse has been ruled out.
However, as Amoycan faces an exterior wall of nearby apartment complex Tak Bo Garden, the government has hired double-decker buses to stand by in case of an emergency evacuation.
The fire, which began in a storage facility late Tuesday morning, is now reportedly the city’s longest fire in over two decades, ousting the previous record-holder, a fire in Kwai Chung which took 40 hours to put out.
Eight teams equipped with breathing apparatuses were sent into the building to combat the blaze as water was streamed in through windows from aerial ladders and fire engines.
Around 300 residents from a nursing home 50 metres away were evacuated yesterday evening, HKFP reports.
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