“He tried to extinguish the fire but suffered burns,” Mack said, adding that the worker's three co-workers managed to escape unharmed from the building before paramedics arrived.
The fire department dispatched more than 160 firefighters and paramedics to the scene, including 38 fire trucks and five ambulances. A 700 meter (2,300 ft) long fire hose was laid to reach the water source.
Samuel Wong Chung-ong, the ministry's deputy New Territories North region official, said the factory “stored a large amount of plastic hoses that caused thick smoke.”
He added that the fire, which covered an area of 20 meters by 40 meters and reached very high temperatures, was upgraded to a third alarm fire at 1am due to its intensity. Fires in the city are rated on a he alarm scale of 1 to 5 depending on their severity.
Firefighters used three rounds of water to extinguish the fire, which was extinguished at 3 a.m. and extinguished around 3:30 a.m. They had to remain at the scene and wait for the area to cool in case the flames reignited.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Police said there is “no evidence of criminal involvement in the incident” at this time.
The injured employees were taken to Tuen Mun Hospital and then transferred to Prince of Wales Hospital in Shatin for treatment.
