There are currently more than a thousand footbridges and pedestrian subways in Hong Kong, but some of them overlap with other pedestrian crossing facilities on the ground, resulting in a very low utilization rate, and have evolved into the residences of many street sleepers. There are also street sleepers living in the pedestrian tunnel of MTR Nanchang Station, which is sparsely populated. There have been fires in recent months. Recently, arson is suspected. A young female street sleeper suffered burns to her hands while fleeing. A representative of a community organization bluntly stated that the safety alarm was sounded, and the “fire attack and water attack” threatened the lives of the homeless. There are also voices saying that if the government continues to ignore the “concealed bombs” and adopts the policy of “doing nothing” in the planning of pedestrian tunnels, the consequences will be disastrous.
In fact, the fire crisis had already been foreshadowed. In just one month, two fires broke out in the tunnel one following another. At regarding 5 o’clock in the morning on the 13th of last month, the pedestrian tunnel at the entrance D1 of MTR Nanchang Station was suspected to be caused by cigarette butts igniting the sundries of street sleepers, causing a fire. The entrance was ruined and a large area of the wall was blackened. Injuried. A reporter from our newspaper visited the scene 2 days following the incident and found that a lot of furniture had been burned. The stinky smell lingers for a long time.
At regarding 10:00 p.m. on the 19th of this month, the pedestrian tunnel leading to Shenwang Road connected to Exit C of Nanchang Station was suspected of being set on fire. The female street sleeper was suspected to have escaped naked, suffering second-degree burns on her hands. The case was handed over to the police crime squad for investigation, and the fire caused exit C of Nanchang Station to be closed. It is understood that there are more than 10 street sleepers in the entire tunnel, and social workers are also following up the case.
The pedestrian tunnel connecting Exit D1 and Exit C of MTR Nam Cheong Station leads to large housing estates such as Nam Cheong Estate, Fu Cheong Estate, Tai Kok Tsui Harbor Court, and the Cheung Sha Wan Fish Wholesale Market. And when the station is open, the two exits can communicate through the interior of the station, but following the station is closed at night, the tunnel will be effective. Many citizens are worried that the fire alarm will spread to the MTR station at any time in the future, and the street sleepers will have more chances to cause tragedy because they cannot face the sudden fire while they are asleep.
Some middle school students who passed by said that they did not know that there was a pedestrian tunnel in the above site, and they mostly used the station to get in and out. However, Kemmy, a student, said that he had never used the tunnel and did not know anyone living in the site. The reporter stayed at the scene for nearly an hour following the first fire, and found that there were very few people using the tunnel, only a few delivery workers on bicycles and a pedestrian passing by.
Wu Weidong, director of the Association of Community Organizations, pointed out that street sleepers seldom rest here in summer because there is no convective wind. On the contrary, more street sleepers choose this place in winter. He is concerned that similar incidents will happen once more, and that homeless people may be sleeping and vulnerable when the fire broke out. He emphasized that “fire attack and water attack” all threaten the lives of homeless people, and appealed to the public to give homeless people due respect. For example, he pointed out that the current shortage of temporary accommodation for street sleepers cannot keep up with the increase in the number of street sleepers, and the number of rough sleeping places “with roof tiles” has also decreased, and street sleepers “don’t know where to go”. Wu once once more urged the government to formulate “homeless friendly policies” to protect the basic rights and interests of the homeless. He admitted that the current lack of a comprehensive homeless policy is disappointing.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department responded to this newspaper’s inquiry last month and stated that it had received 3 complaints regarding environmental hygiene problems at the site in the past month and had participated in 10 joint operations. For the environmental hygiene problems caused by the occupation of street sleepers, the rubbish and waste voluntarily disposed of by street sleepers will be cleaned up, and thorough cleaning will be carried out. If the situation permits, daily cleaning and cleaning services will be provided at the gathering place of street sleepers.
As for the Highways Department, the MTR Corporation is responsible for the structural maintenance of this section of the pedestrian tunnel, and the Department is responsible for the maintenance of its internal finishes and lighting facilities. After the first fire alarm, the department immediately inspected the damage of the facilities in the pipeline and found that the lighting facilities were damaged. It installed temporary lighting the next day and commissioned an independent inspection consultant to conduct further inspections to confirm that the damage to the facilities was intact. It poses an immediate danger to pedestrians, and the department will start repairing the internal finishing of the pipeline and the lighting system, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.
