Short-circuit blamed for death of cats

Three cats died and four others were injured after a fire suspected to be caused by a short-circuiting "massage gun" during charging gutted a Hung Shui Kiu apartment.

It was the second blaze in four days linked to massage products. The first was a fire at a Sau Mau Ping public housing unit that killed four people - all female.

The latest fire broke out in a 700-square-foot flat in block 27 of Parkview Garden on Chui Pak Road about 3am yesterday when a tenant, Wong, 30, was woken by the smell of smoke.

Wong cried for help at the window, alerting residents and security guards.

A Fire Services rescue team with breathing apparatus rescued Wong.

The fire was put out 20 minutes later and 30 residents were moved out. Firemen then retrieved seven cats, of which three died at the scene.

The rest, including one with critical injuries, were taken to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' Wan Chai headquarters.

Wong said he was at home alone as his mother and younger brother were at work.

"I heard the sound of burning items in the living room and so I returned to my bedroom to cry for help," he said.

Wong said all of his seven cats were in the same room, and three of them were unresponsive.

On Friday, a short-circuiting electric massage chair burst into flames in a flat at Po Tat Estate in Sau Mau Ping, killing four people, including a two-year-old girl, whose 60-year-old grandfather was still fighting for his life in hospital.

On the latest fire, the former head of the department of engineering at the Institute of Vocational Education, Peter Chiu Ping-kuen, said the battery of a massage gun, similar to that of other electrical appliances, would release flammable gas if damaged.

The massage gun could have overcharged, short-circuited and exploded upon accumulation of a massive amount of power. Chiu warned users against dropping electrical appliances, as this would cause damage to the battery and release flammable gas.