Common Causes of Home Fires & Prevention

Hong Kong's closely packed buildings, narrow corridors and small flats mean a fire in one home can affect a whole floor or building within minutes. Many home fires appear accidental, but their causes can often be identified and prevented. Prepared by Fire Station, Hong Kong fire extinguisher specialists, using FSD statistics and prevention guidance, this article examines six common causes through everyday examples. It explains practical steps you can take today and how to choose approved fire extinguishers, including portable extinguishers and fire blankets, to add protection at home.

Contents

1. Hong Kong fire alarm figures: where did home fire alarms come from?
2. Reason I: Power failure, towboard overload
3. Reason two: Discretion of cooking, fire of cooking oil
4. Reason III: Inadequate handling of cigarette butts
5. Reason IV: Candles, candles, incense
6. Reason 5: Lithium batteries for chargers, mobile phones and electric walkers
7. Reason VI: Miscellaneous, cardboard piles
8. Six-point factor check.
9. Families with elders and children need special attention.
10. How can domestic fire extinguishers and blankets be selected and placed?
11. It's a fire. Are you sure you're going?
12. Monthly self-censorship list for home fire prevention
13. Common problems FAQ

I. Hong Kong fire alarm figures: Where did home fire alarms come from?

According to the work of the Fire Department in 2025, there were 5,449 fire alarm incidents in 2025, after false reports, mistongues, and controlled combustion s.

Main causes (fire alarm in disaster buildings in 2025)	Percentage	Common examples of home
Power failure.	About 42%	Trailboard overload, ageing of wires, unplugging, electrical failure, overheating of chargers
Man-made factors	About 25%	Handled cigarette butts, candles; cooked with no one to look after them; candles were placed close to the groceries

In addition, the Government, in its response to the Legislative Council, indicated that the Fire Services Department dealt with 27, 36 and 59 incidents per year, respectively, involving fire from external chargers, which more than doubled in three years, mainly because of battery failure, such as short circuits or overheating.

These figures point to one thing: home-based fire alarms are often not "don't paint" but are built up with electricity, cooking and fire. The following six reasons are adapted to the usual situation, not necessarily the same as your house, but the lesson deserves the attention of everyone who lives in a building.

II. Reason I: Power failure, towboard overload

Common image: a towboard tanned into house appliances

Many of the old buildings have few slots, and residents are used to tug boards: television, routers, fans, cell phones, and games are all concentrated in the same spot. The surface is easy, but long-term high loads work, and the electrical cords and towboard pressure are high. The ageing of electrical wires, loose plugs and overheating can lead to short circuits or sparks, and the presence of boxes and miscellaneous items in the vicinity can easily become the starting point for fire alarms.

The fire department's power safety alert.

• Use electrical products that meet specifications.
• Do not "rebut" the towboard to overload.
• Periodically check whether the plugs, plugs and towboards are damaged or loose.
• Do not insert chargers or fire cattle into the power source for long periods.
• There are problems with fuses or circuit breakers, and there is absolutely no need for self-repair and for professionals to deal with them.

You can do it today.

• It counts the trailers of the house, removes the combination of "refurnished" and uses a stand-alone plug to the extent possible for large power appliances (heaters, furnaces, coolers).
• Select a towboard that has been loaded to protect the switch, and keep an eye on whether there are signs of heat, colour change or burning.
• Wires should not be pressed on the floor or in private at home, nor should they be used for old purposes.
• In the vicinity of Jin-su, there is either a crumbing or a "cracking" sound, which immediately shuts down the electricity and seeks inspection by registered electric engineers.

Electrical ignition?

The Fire Services Department's Home Fire Safety Code states that electrical fires should close the power main or remove electrical plugs, and do not use water or water-agent fire extinguishers to extinguish them. In the early stages, fire fires can be used as dry powder or carbon dioxide fire extinguishers, and Fire Extinguishers & Fire Safety Products.

III. Reason II: Discretion in cooking, fire in cooking oil boilers

Common image: Cooking the phone and looking at it.

A few minutes later, the smoker came back to the kitchen, and the cooking pan was on fire. The heating of the oil could be self-fired at a certain temperature, so that no one could watch the fire, dry it or forget to turn it off, which is the common cause of home fires.

The fire department's cooking safety alert.

• Cooking should look at the stove.
• When the fire is found to be abnormally burning, the cooker should be immediately shut down and inspected.

You can do it today.

• Don't leave the kitchen for long while cooking, so let's stop the fire.
• In the case of hot oil and explosives, there is no "one-size-fits-all" use.
• Regular cleaning of the smokers and the build-up of the stoves can spread quickly when the oil is on fire.
• Hand towels, kitchen paper, rubber bags should not be placed near the stove.
• Hang a fire blanket near the kitchen entrance, not on top of the stove.

Cooking oil boilers on fire?

Be careful not to pour water. Turn off the fire under safe conditions, then fully cover the pan with a pancap, a metal plate, or a blanket, and keep it covered until it cools, so that the cooking pan is not removed or moved immediately. Detailed steps can be taken to Fire Blankets & Kitchen Fire Safety.

Reason III: Inadequate handling of cigarette butts

Half a cigarette, enough to burn down a house.

It is dangerous to smoke on a bed or comb, to dump a cigarette on a balcony and to dump an ashtray in a garbage can without clearing it. The surface of the cigarette appears to have gone out, but there may still be fire on the inside, falling down the bed, the cotton, the combing or the box, and it may burn slowly and then explode. People who are tired, drink alcohol or take sleeping pills are more likely not to notice the fire before it increases.

You can do it today.

• Never smoke on a bed or a comb.
• The fire department warns that the cigarette butt s need to be completely out, so they can be thrown out and wet first.
• With deep, solid ashtrays, not near boxes, curtains or miscellaneous items.
• Do not dump a cigarette in the window or on the balcony so as not to fall on a hanger or groceries downstairs.

V. Reason IV: Candles, candles, incense

Little faith, big risk.

Many families in Hong Kong experience incense, candle light, long light or candles. The problem is not the fragrance itself, but the fragrance is surrounded by paper, rubber bags, clothing, paper wraps, or placed by a window, when the wind blows to Mars and falls into flammable material; The candles are burned to the end, the wax is released from the candlesticks and may be lit with the same offering. The fire department has also listed the careless handling of candles as one of the main human factors in building fire alarms.

You can do it today.

• Candles, candles and other flammable materials, such as paper, fabric and rubber bags, are not placed near them.
• A candlestick with a strong, heat-resistant fragrance, not at the edge of the window, in the wind or on the edge of the house.
• All the fires were completely extinguished before going out, and before being clean.
• Families with elders or little friends could consider replacing the open fire with LED electronic candles.
• Clothes and paper shall be burned during the service and shall be used in a prescribed scavenger and shall be accompanied by fire-fighting equipment.

Reason five: Lithium batteries for chargeable beverages, mobile phones and electric step tools

The fastest growing new type of risk

The Fire Services Department dealt with incidents involving fire from external chargers, which increased from 27 in 2023 to 36 in 2024, to 59 in 2025. The primary cause of failure is battery short circuits or overheating. Cell phones, tablets, electric toothbrushes, hand-held vacuum cleaners, electric bicycles, electric skateboards are all used with lithium batteries, generating large amounts of smoke and flammable gas once heat is out of control. The fire is violent and prone to rekindling.

You can do it today.

• Charged with original or compliance chargers, do not buy undisclosed products.
• And do not charge on the bed, under the pillow, or on a comb, or be left unattended all night.
• Charged treasures swell, deform, heat or smelly, immediately deactivated and away from combustible material.
• The high-power charger does not use a towboard, and the plug is removed when the charge is completed.
• The old battery should not be treated as garbage, but should be handed over to the designated recovery point.

Battery smoke point treatment?

When you have a fever or a small amount of smoke, you can pull the power safely, pull the plug and stay away from it. If you have a fire, a large amount of white smoke, or a whirlwind, do not risk putting your body on fire, you should immediately evacuate, close the door and call 999. A detailed judgement can be made as Small-Fire Response: Extinguish or Evacuate?er.

vii. Reason VI: Miscellaneous, cardboard piles

"Lately clear" becomes fuel for fire.

In Hong Kong, house stores, bedbeds, corridors, back stairs are packed with boxes, old home-made clothing. It's usually just something that's holding back, but once there's a fire, such as electric sparks, fireworks, candles, it turns into fuel. Even more dangerous is the blockage of corridors and stairs, which prevents households from escaping with firefighters, as well as the easy accumulation of smoke.

You can do it today.

• The doors, corridors and stairs are kept open and no large miscellaneous items outside the shoe cabinets are placed.
• The contents of the house are used as far as possible in closed cabinets instead of open-air box piles.
• Do not pile in the vicinity of the meter, towboard and electrical appliances.
• Regular clean-up of paper boxes and old newspapers.
• There are long-term stacks of items in the halls of the building that can be reflected to the Administration or the United Nations.

The public location of the building is equipped with fire-fighting equipment, and Fire Extinguishers for Car Parks & Industrial Buildingsers.

Eight, six major factors.

Causes	High-risk position	The most important thing is prevention.	Initial processing tool
Power failure.	Trailboards, plug-soo, behind the electrics.	Don't argue. Don't plug in the charger.	Turning off power; dry powder or carbon dioxide extinguishers (no water)
Cook.	The stove, the smoker.	Cooking is the only way. Cleaning oil.	Turn off the fire; the pan cap or the fire blanket (do not pour water)
Smoke.	Beds, combing, garbage cans, terraces	Don't smoke in bed. The cigarette is completely out.	Dry powder extinguishers
Candles.	It's near the temples, the windows, the offerings.	Stay away from flammable material. People go out of fire.	Dry powder extinguishers, fire blankets
Lithium batteries	Bedside, combing, charge points at the door.	Charge with a compliance grid. Don't be unattended.	Pull out the power and stay away; the heat is out of control and evacuate the alarm.
Miscellaneous accumulations	Storage rooms, corridors, back stairs.	Regular clean-up. Keep the passage open.	Dry powder extinguishers

Nine: Families with elders and children need special attention.

• Older persons: Remember to be slow, and forget to put out a fire when it is easy to cook. You can use a cooking stove with automatic fire-closing functions and use LED candles as a substitute for a clear fire.
• Children: The lighters and matches are buried in places they can't get, and they are taught "Fire is called adults".
• People with mobility difficulties: The clean house should be as close as possible to the gate as possible, and arrangements should be made for the escape of the owners.
• The whole family: Know that fire extinguishers are sidelined with fire blankets, remember the same fire route as 999.

You can practice the four-step method of "drive, aim, click, sweep" with the owner. Details of How to Use a Fire Extinguisher: PASS & Common Mistakes.

X. How can domestic fire extinguishers and blankets be selected and placed?

The Fire Services Department encourages citizens to voluntarily set up fire extinguishers at home and hand-held fire extinguishers, such as blankets, to improve fire safety at home.

1. Selection of qualified fire extinguishers

• All portable fire extinguishers and blankets must be approved by the Fire Commissioner, who can supply or sell them in Hong Kong. You can identify them using the mobile fire department application's handheld "cleaning" function.
• Dry powder extinguishers are most suitable for home accommodation: the Fire Services Department refers to households in general that are better suited to dry powder extinguishers, as they apply to most fire alarms, including electric fires and burning flammable liquids.
• 2 kg or less: The NBC recommends the selection of a model of 2 kg or less, which is too heavy to initiate use.
• Note the date of production: Select a product with a date close to the date.

2. Basic household configuration

3. Placement

• Fire extinguish ers: placed near the gate or in the corridor as an eye, i.e. on the escape route, hand-held.
• Fire blanket: hang on the wall near the kitchen entrance, not above the stove.
• Avoid high temperatures, dampness or direct sunlight.
• An additional one may be considered for a large unit, multiple layers or open kitchen.

4. Are domestic fire extinguishers subject to an annual check-up?

Following the amendment of the Fire Protection (Equipping and Equipment) Regulations, 2024, the household voluntarily installed portable fire suppression equipment for residential use. Exemptions are subject to the same legal duty to operate effectively at all times and to be inspected by a registered contractor every 12 months. However, in the interests of safety, it is still recommended that a monthly self-examination of the pressure table be carried out, expired or replaced. The old cylinder can be Fire Extinguisher Recycling Service, as Fire Extinguisher Inspection & Replacement.

5. Where to buy a domestic fire extinguisher?

Fire Station is a specialized fire extinguisher shop located in Z huang Bay and a specialized fire-fighting supply for domestic dry powder extinguishers and blankets approved by the Fire Services Department. All products are sold on a special offer, have been packaged for basic delivery , and are delivered by the Hong Kong New Territories. If you want to match it at once, you can Home Fire Safety Essentials. If you want to compare different volumes, Fire Extinguishers & Fire Safety Productsing.

XI. REAL FREEDOM: ARE WE GONNA GO?

Life goes first. Only the fire is small, knows what to burn, there are fire extinguishers on hand, there's a safe exit behind us, smoke is not thick, and several conditions are set, and you have to deal with it yourself.

• Call on everyone to leave and close the door when they leave.
• Use the nearest stairs to escape, never take a lift.
• Break the corridor alarm glass and start the fire alarm.
• Call 999 when you reach a safe location.
• Close the door when trapped, seal the door with glue and wet towels, and call 999 to explain the position and wave the towels by the window for rescue.

Detailed diagnosis of the same seven scenarios can be seen Small-Fire Response: Extinguish or Evacuate?.

XII. Monthly self-censorship list for home-based fire protection

Scope	Check items
Electricity.	No towboards; no heat, colour or loosening of plugs, towboards; no chargers to remove
Kitchen.	The smoker does not have a large amount of oil on the stove; there are no paper towel bags near the stove; fire blankets are in place
Fire.	No flammable materials near candles, candles; ashtray cleared; lighter collected and buried
Battery	Charges did not swell; did not charge on the bed; old batteries were sent for recycling
Miscellaneous	The doorway is open to the corridor; the boxes have been cleared; there are no miscellaneous items near the electric watch boxes.
Fire-fighting equipment	The pressure sheet is in green range; the seals are fully plugged; the barrel is not rusty; the housekeeper knows it's on the side.

Frequent issues FAQ

What's the main reason for the Hong Kong building fire alarm?

According to the work of the Fire Department in 2025, there were 2,000 fire alarms in disaster buildings in 2025, mainly due to electrical failure and the same human factor (e.g. the careless handling of cigarettes and candles), accounting for approximately 42 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.

What's the danger of a towboard?

The Fire Services Department reminds the public not to "button up" to avoid danger from overloading, to use electrical products that meet specifications, to regularly check whether plugs, plugs and towboards are damaged or loose, and to refrain from permanently plugging chargers or fire cattle into the power supply.

Is there a lot of fire on the chargers?

In its response to the Legislative Council, the Government indicated that the Fire Services Department dealt with 27 cases per year and 36 cases per year from 2023 to 2025, respectively, and that 59 incidents involving fires with external chargers were mainly caused by battery failure, such as short circuits or overheating.

What should we do when the cooking boilers start a fire?

Do not pour water. The stove should be shut down in safety, and the pan should be completely covered with a pancap, a metal plate or a blanket to extinguish the fire, so that the air can be isolated and covered until it cools. The fire should be burned with a smoker or cupboard, and should immediately evacuate and call 999.

What kind of fire-fighting equipment should the home have?

The Fire Services Department refers to a home that is more suitable for the use of dry powdered fire extinguishers; the Committee recommends the selection of a model of 2 kg or less, which is easier to use.

Do domestic fire extinguishers require annual inspections?

However, it is still recommended that the pressure sheets be checked regularly and that the co-corresponding body condition be removed from the legal duty to operate effectively at all times and every 12 months.

How do you know if domestic fire extinguishers are approved by the Fire Services Department?

All hand-held fire extinguishers and blankets are approved by the Fire Commissioner, who can supply or sell them in Hong Kong.

Where can we buy fire extinguishers and blankets?

Fire Station at G/F, Karrie Industrial Centre, Pak Tin Par Street, Tsuen Wan All products are sold at special prices and have been packaged for basic delivery and are delivered by telephone by the Hong Kong New Territories. 3464 3987 ，WhatsApp 96309976 。

Home-based fire alarms are too often not "don't win" but are a long-standing habit that accumulates into a high risk. From this day on, electricity will not be used to block, people will be cooked, cigarette candles will be completely extinguished, no charge will be made on the bed, and no groceries will be removed. And you'll have a proper fire extinguish er for the house and the same fire blanket. It'll be a few more minutes for you and your family. Not sure how to choose and Contact Fire Stationat any time.