Five sent to hospital after subdivided flat fire in Tsuen Wan leaving two in coma

Five people, including two who were found in a coma, were hospitalized after a fire broke out at a subdivided flat on Sha Tsui Road in Tsuen Wan shortly after midnight on Wednesday. 

It is understood that the flat is divided into three rooms with one of the rooms having experienced a power outage, prompting one of the tenants to head out and inspect. The tenant found smoke billowing out of the other room and immediately reported the fire to police. 

All five hospitalized were tenants of the three rooms, including a man in his 50s living in the room that had caught fire; a 42-year-old mother Lam, her son and daughter, aged 18 and 15; and a 22-year-old woman Chan. 

They were all sent to Yan Chai Hospital. The middle-aged man was found collapsed in the room, while Lam was found unconscious on the stairs between the 5/F and 6/F. 

Firefighters dispatched a breathing apparatus team and a water jet to put out the fire and some 60 residents were evacuated. 

Mr and Mrs Lee, who live on the 6/F, said they didn’t hear the fire alarm and only fled their home after smelling the smoke. The corridors were also smoky and the two later entered a neighbor’s flat to wait for rescuers. 

Firefighters found the cause of the fire suspicious and a police investigation by the Tsuen Wan district crime squad is underway. 

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