Elderly woman found dead after blaze in cluttered Wong Tai Sin flat

The charred body of an elderly woman was found in a flat in Hong Kong’s Wong Tai Sin after a blaze broke out on Sunday morning, with officers uncovering a large amount of clutter piled up all the way to the ceiling.

The Fire Services Department received a report at 8.45am on Sunday of a No 1 alarm fire at a lower-floor residential flat at Lung Kwong House in Wong Tai Sin.

Firefighters arrived a few minutes later and extinguished the fire within 26 minutes, at 9.16am.

Some 300 people were evacuated, while a female upper-floor resident was taken conscious to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei after inhaling dense smoke.

An investigation was ongoing, the force said, although a preliminary probe found no suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire.

“Together with other relevant departments, we will investigate along the lines of a cigarette butt or incense and joss paper accidentally igniting the clutter,” said Chan Chun-wai, a senior station officer with the Fire Services Department.

He added that no abnormalities were found in any of the fire safety systems upon testing.

According to police, the victim, found in the living room, was a woman believed to be in her eighties.

Chan noted the woman lived alone.

He said some ancestor shrines were found in the flat, which could be one of the possible causes of the fire.

The clutter found in the flat included flammable items such as nylon bags and plastic bottles, Chan said.

Chan urged the public to be careful with ignition sources at home, given the recent dry weather.

“If burning incense or joss paper, it should be burned inside a container, kept as far away as possible from flammable items, and completely put out before leaving,” he said.

Residents should also avoid hoarding excessive clutter at home to prevent accidents, he added.