LIVE: Scene from Hong Kong as fire in high-rise buildings kills 13

[putnam6]

For comparison, temperatures inside the Grenfell fire reached well over 1000°C.

Those sorts of extremes apparently allow the fire to leap from floor to floor.

Even with the likes of firewall protection.

Which, as you suggest, may have been a luxury in this instance.

Hopefully, they managed to get the majority of the poor sods out.

Yeah, but for it to supposedly start on the bamboo scaffolding outside and get inside and run so quickly, the building is huge 

https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-hig...3d9f228022

Hundreds of residents were evacuated as the fire spread across seven of the eight buildings in the complex. At least 29 others remained hospitalized. Bright flames and smoke shot out of windows as night fell.
 
Authorities said earlier that investigators would be looking into factors including whether material on the exterior walls of high-rise buildings met fire resistance standards, as the rapid spread of the fire was unusual. Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung said officers had found foam sheets that are highly flammable.
 
Officials said the fire started on the external scaffolding of one of the buildings, a 32-story tower, and later spread to inside the building and then to nearby buildings, likely aided by windy conditions.

 
John Lee, the city’s chief executive, said the government will prioritize the disaster but halt public efforts for the Dec. 7 elections for the Legislative Council. He didn’t say if the elections could be delayed but said decisions would come “a few days later.”
The fire at three of the buildings was “coming under control” shortly past midnight, according to the Fire Services Department.
The housing complex consisted of eight buildings with almost 2,000 apartments housing about 4,800 residents, including many elderly people. It was built in the 1980s and had recently been undergoing a major renovation.

 
 Firefighters work to extinguish a fire which broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong’s New Territories, Wednesday, Nov. 26 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
on Wednesday expressed condolences to the firefighter who died and extended sympathies to the families of the victims, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also urged efforts to minimize casualties and losses.