The Lessons Behind Hong Kong’s High-Rise Apartment Fires

Peter Lee

In recent days, several high-rise apartment buildings in Hong Kong were struck by devastating fires, resulting in severe casualties and property losses. These incidents drew widespread global attention. Many people wondered: How can a structure made of steel and concrete burn so easily?

The truth is, living safely in a high-rise building requires a solid understanding of its fire-safety rules. Without such awareness, life in a high-rise can be far more dangerous than most people realize.

My Early Days in a Toronto High-Rise

When I first immigrated to Toronto, I rented a unit in a high-rise apartment. During that period, something constantly puzzled me—the fire alarm would go off almost every few days. Every time it sounded, building management would urgently instruct all residents to evacuate, forbid the use of elevators, and direct everyone to take the stairs. Moments later, several fire trucks and police cars would arrive, as if a major fire had broken out.

But after the firefighters inspected the building, the cause was almost always the same: someone had tossed a still-burning cigarette butt down the garbage chute. The chute contained combustible materials, producing smoke that triggered the alarm. This single action would set off the entire emergency response chain.

Because this happened so frequently, many newcomers—including myself—began to feel skeptical. Wasn’t this overreacting? Mobilizing multiple fire trucks just because of a bit of smoke? Eventually, some people stopped evacuating altogether, choosing instead to look out the window to watch the fire trucks and the hurriedly fleeing residents.

Why the Response Is So “Excessive”

I was confused as well. If every high-rise in Toronto had so many alarms, wouldn’t the city run out of fire trucks?

Later, after discussing this with colleagues at work, I learned the real reason: such incidents were most common in buildings with large numbers of new immigrants—people unfamiliar with the strict fire-safety rules of high-rise living. Throwing an unextinguished cigarette into a garbage chute, for example, is extraordinarily dangerous in a tall building.

The quick arrival of fire trucks and the mandatory evacuation were not overreactions at all—they were standard and necessary safety procedures. Fires in high-rise buildings spread with astonishing speed once they begin.

The Crucial Factor: The “Chimney Effect”

A friend of mine, who also lived in a high-rise, once told me she was fined CAD 200 simply for keeping her unit door and window open at the same time to ventilate the space for a few minutes. I didn’t understand it either, until she showed me the written notice and I studied the regulations.

The key lies in what engineers call the chimney effect.

High-rise buildings contain vertical shafts that run from bottom to top—elevator shafts, garbage chutes, pipe shafts, and more. These structures naturally act like giant chimneys. If a resident opens the hallway door and an exterior window simultaneously, it creates a strong pressure differential. This strengthens the upward airflow within the building’s vertical shafts.

If there is even a small source of smoke or fire, this intensified airflow can carry flames upward in a matter of seconds, turning a small incident into an uncontrollable disaster.

This is why fire alarms in high-rise buildings must be taken seriously, and why emergency responses appear so “sensitive.”

High-Rise Living Is Not the Same as Living in a House

More and more people now choose to live in high-rise apartments. But it must be clearly understood: high-rise living is fundamentally different from living in a detached house.

      •    A fire in a detached home is mostly a personal risk.

      •    A fire in a high-rise is a collective risk involving hundreds of people across dozens of floors.

The recent fires in Hong Kong serve as a painful reminder:

High-rise residents must share a collective sense of fire-safety responsibility.

Before moving into a high-rise, every resident should understand the principles of “smoke-shaft management”:

No tossing cigarette butts, no propping open fire doors, no creating drafts between hallways and windows, no blocking emergency exits. These simple rules protect the lives of everyone in the building.

Only with a clear understanding of high-rise fire risks can residents consciously avoid danger in everyday life and ensure the safety of their entire community.