Fire safety in high-rise buildings under the spotlight
The tragic Wang Fuk Court apartment complex fire in Hong Kong once again brought fire safety in high-rise buildings under the spotlight. Here in Taiwan, some may still remember the Eastern Science Park fire back in 2001, which lasted almost four days. An expert says that because of the inherent difficulty in putting out a fire so high up, it’s important to take everyday precautions.
Thick billows of white smoke kept seeping out of this building in Hsinchu when it was engulfed in flames in May 2024. Two firefighters lost their lives. Further back in 2001, there was also a huge fire in the Eastern Science Park in New Taipei’s Xizhi.
The blaze lasted almost four days, or 43 hours to be exact, making for the longest-ever fire in Taiwan. Overseas, the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, UK lasted two days and killed 72. Like the recent Wang Fuk Court fire in Hong Kong, all of these cases involved high-rise buildings, which makes extinguishing efforts that much more difficult.
Voice of Lin Chin-hung
Fire safety expert
It’s more physically straining for firefighters. There are also fewer vehicles suitable for putting out high-rise fires. It’s crucial that fire safety equipment in the buildings functions properly.
Height is a major obstacle in firefighting, requiring ladder trucks that may still fall short. Taiwan currently has three of its largest ladder trucks, stationed in Taipei, New Taipei and Kaohsiung, respectively. They could reach up to 72m in height, or around 23 stories tall. Any higher, firefighters must enter the building in person. This brings to mind the Taipei 101. What if the tallest building in the country were to catch fire?
The Taipei 101 has a fire shelter room every nine floors. With two-layered airtight doors, they offer extra time for survival. At the same time, each floor has exhaust fans that could be triggered in a fire, to draw out smoke. Additionally, air pumps would also be activated in escape routes to increase air pressure. But what if the fire were to start on the exterior, as it did at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex?
Voice of Lin Chin-hung
Fire safety expert
It’s not enough to block out the smoke in the corridors. You may also have to try block out the smoke entering from the windows. That will then depend on the routine precautions you’ve taken. If you haven’t taken any precaution, there’s not much you can do.
The fire safety expert says it all boils down to being well-prepared for the worst, in order to prevent a high-rise fire.
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2025-11-27
