Multiple Fires Set In Wan Chai

Protesters retreating from a police advance in Wan Chai set multiple fires in the district on Sunday evening, piling heaps of debris at street corners and MTR entrances and setting them ablaze as the railway announced the suspension of services to both Admiralty and Wan Chai.

Sporadic fires had been set in Admiralty and elsewhere throughout the day, but protesters upped the ante when they arrived in Wan Chai by setting multiple fires within a short span of time.

By the time firefighters got to one blaze, another was already lit elsewhere.

Some of the fires appeared quite intense – engulfing almost the entire entrance of an MTR station. However, firefighters had little trouble dousing the flames, taking little more than a minute to extinguish the fires, which sent spirals of sooty smoke billowing out into the night sky.

Some businesses and residents took the fires in stride. While most of the stores on the streets pulled down their shutters for the day in anticipation of trouble, some noodle shops and burger joints remained open for business, with diners enjoying their food inside as masked protesters streamed past.

An expatriate, Thomas, who lives in the area, said the fires didn’t seem to have much effect. “It’s not an issue for us, living here”, he said.

An office lady in her twenties told RTHK that the fires seemed to be minor, “so I think there isn’t much inconvenience caused by the protesters today to the general public – like us living nearby.”

But a 50 year-old housewife who also lives in the area said she was scared by the fires, and questions why they were even set in the first place.

“I’m just so scared and it’s just so ridiculous. That’s it. It’s nothing to do with what you want to say, but why you keep breaking all these things and block the road? Why? What for?” she asked.