An electrical heater caught fire in an apartment in Kowloon’s Wong Tai Sin area on Wednesday night, forcing an evacuation of the building, but no injuries were reported.
At 9pm, a 57-year-old man observed smoke coming out of an electrical heater in his apartment in Block 3 of Tsui Chuk Garden in Wong Tai Sin, Oriental Daily reported.
He managed to escape, alerted his neighbors to the fire, and called the police.
Firemen took about 20 minutes to extinguish the fire in the apartment. Around 50 residents of the building were evacuated out into the cold weather, but no one was hurt.
A preliminary investigation by the Fire Services Department suggested that a short circuit caused the heater to burst into flames.
The Consumer Council said the power consumption of an electrical heater is generally high and it should not share a power outlet with other high-energy-consuming appliances.
Also, heaters should not be used to dry clothes or be operated near combustible materials.