I don’t know how firefighters even hope to put something like that out. You can’t reach the higher floors with water from the ground, it doesn’t seem like there was any sort of sprinkler system in the building. Would they go in from the ground floor and just work their way up one level at a time?

Scaffolding was set up for renovations and the fire was able to spread quickly by bypassing all the fire breaks that are built into high rises and shooting up the outside. Hong Kong is unique in its use of bamboo scaffolding, which is obviously more flammable than steel.

I’ll put the final death toll at 150-180. “Missing” have even odds of not being at home.