Chapter 817: 809 Guan Zu: Legend 1!

Downstairs at Garley Building, Fire Services Department,

firefighters were withdrawing.

Lin Zhenmin, Deputy Director of the Fire Services Department, walked quickly to Guan Zu's side after the command ended and bowed respectfully.

"Mr. Guan, thank you!"

Shaking hands tightly, grateful!

He briefly reviewed this fire, and if it weren't for Guan Zu demanding to directly upgrade it to a Level 5 fire, the rescue work would definitely have been too late.

At that time, it wouldn't have been just 4 people who died, but dozens, especially the survivors on the 15th floor; he estimated not a single one would have run away.

Guan Zu: "No need to thank me, it's all for the citizens!"

Guan Zu glanced at Lin Zhenmin; he didn't know that this Deputy Director in front of him would be promoted in two years and become the Director of Fire Services.

However, this time he personally came to the scene, and Guan Zu saw his efforts.

Lin Zhenmin said solemnly: "That's right, for the citizens. But Mr. Guan's spirit of self-sacrifice moved me very much."

He was very grateful to Guan Zu.

Why?

Because there were only 8 months left until the handover, at which time the leadership teams of various government departments in Hong Kong Island would gradually change, and now, relying on this great merit, the position of the next Director would likely fall to him.

The current Director of Fire Services was in the UK, and returning to Hong Kong Island would take at least 14 hours, which meant he would arrive at the earliest tomorrow at 10:00. Adding the time to buy a ticket and catch a flight, he would at least be able to return to Hong Kong Island at 11:00 in the morning.

And he had to hold a Hong Kong-wide press conference at 10:00 in the morning to implement this merit of his.

Of course...

He also needed to build a good relationship with Mr. Guan in front of him. As long as he had Mr. Guan's endorsement, even if the Director came, he wouldn't be able to snatch his merit away.

Guan Zu: "Were any firefighters injured?"

Lin Zhenmin: "Some were injured, but it's nothing serious, just minor injuries."

Guan Zu nodded: "Good."

If he remembered correctly, in his previous life, a firefighter should have sacrificed himself.

His merit, +1!

Lin Zhenmin asked for instructions at this time: "Mr. Guan, I plan to hold a press conference at 10:00 tomorrow to give an account to all citizens of Hong Kong... I wonder what Mr. Guan thinks?"

As long as Guan Zu nodded, any Director would be scum!

Guan Zu was very keen at reading people. Seeing that his expression was not right, he guessed what was going on, patted Lin Zhenmin on the shoulder with a light laugh: "Since your Director is not here, then naturally you should be in charge of everything."

After speaking, Guan Zu got into the black Chevrolet and drove away.

Leaving Lin Zhenmin dazed on the spot.

In the car,

Guan Zu was looking at the system prompt:

"You timely prevented a super fire, successfully saving..."

"You received the following rewards:"

"Reward 1: 'Major Fire Warning Card' *2. When a fire of Level 2 or above occurs, it will provide a warning 1 hour in advance..."

Guan Zu's eyes lit up.

This is good!

Having experienced this fire, Guan Zu felt the fragility of life and was even more vigilant in his heart.

What if Central Plaza caught fire and he was on the rooftop, how would he run?

He couldn't run away.

And this "Major Fire Warning Card" solved this hidden danger for Guan Zu.

"Reward 2: Citizen support rate +1%..."

"Reward 3: 'Learning Card', 'Korean Card', 'English Card', 'Talent Cultivation Card'..."

After Lin Zhenmin returned to the Fire Services Department, he officially called the Director who was far away in the UK.

In the UK, it was just past 11:00 in the morning.

The Director was just about to have lunch. After receiving Lin Zhenmin's phone report, he couldn't sit still.

"I'm returning to Hong Kong Island immediately. You go and prepare all the materials, and then hold a press conference in the afternoon. I will speak..."

"Ah? This..."

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

The Director frowned, showing displeasure.

Lin Zhenmin said quickly: "No, this matter is related to Mr. Guan..."

He told the story roughly,

"And Mr. Guan said that this matter is too major, and all citizens of Hong Kong are paying attention, so a press conference must be held as soon as possible. He gave a time: hold a press conference at 10:00 in the morning."

Director: "............"

Directly silent.

10:00? I can't make it at all!

Damn it, how to handle this?

If he insisted on dragging it out, Lin Zhenmin would probably use Guan Zu's excuse to block him back.

Finally, he could only say helplessly: "Mr. Guan's words are mature and prudent, and he considers things thoroughly. It should indeed be held earlier... Then this press conference will be hosted by you!"

Lin Zhenmin: "Yes, sir!"

The Director hated secretly, why couldn't he support a confidant who could stand on equal footing with Lin Zhenmin?

They are all trash!

How can I do a good job with you guys!

Evening, 22:00, ATV and TVB broadcast news, reporting more details about the fire.

And then announced that a press conference would be held at 10:00 tomorrow morning.

A new day.

November 21, Thursday.

The sun was bright, but it was hard to dispel the depression brought by yesterday's big fire.

Hong Kong Island Fire Services Department Building, Hall 1.

At 10:00, the press conference convened on time.

The scene atmosphere was solemn and respectful. Reporters from major media had set up their equipment early, ready to go, with paper and pens in hand, ready to record key information at any time.

Lin Zhenmin, wearing his uniform, walked steadily to the podium.

"Fellow media friends, hello everyone."

"After intense rescue and subsequent cleanup work, we are now informing everyone of the relevant situation of the Garley Building fire."

"First, is to inform everyone of the cause of this fire. It was due to the elevator replacement project that was underway in the building at the time. The welding and metal cutting work in the elevator shaft on the 11th floor caused sparks and high-heat metal pieces to fall into the elevator shaft and elevator lobby on the 2nd floor, igniting the accumulated wooden boards, debris, and building materials."

"Finally, due to the chimney effect, the fire quickly surged to the 15th floor..."

"After verification by multiple departments... Garley Building, when designed, had perfect elevator and stair fire door settings, which could block the fire... then because some merchants, in order to... it was modified into a glass door..."

"The building management personnel did not pay attention to fire safety and wrapped the smoke alarms in plastic film..."

"The elevator company's construction was not strict..."

"The local fire brigade's inspection was not in place..."

"And the casualties..."

Lin Zhenmin's voice was slightly low:

"It is very regrettable to inform everyone that this fire caused 4 deaths and 24 injuries. Among them, the situation on the 15th floor was particularly dangerous. When the fire spread to the 15th floor, high-temperature thick smoke quickly filled the air, almost nowhere to escape, and the rescue work faced huge obstacles."

"Here, on behalf of the Fire Services Department, I solemnly thank one person..."

"This person is Mr. Guan Zu, Chairman of the Legislative Council."

All reporters: "????"

What the hell?

Thank Mr. Guan?

Why did Lin Zhenmin mention Guan Zu?

Because people died in this incident, he had to pull Guan Zu in to divert media attention.

"This fire was a special situation. Only the 1st/2nd/3rd floors and the 13th/14th/15th floors were burning, while the 4th-12th floors in the middle were not. And the 13th/14th/15th floors were not discovered by anyone in the 10 minutes when the fire started, and were also ignored by the 15th-floor staff and customers. This situation had never been encountered before. So it caused us to misjudge at the beginning, and it was only assessed as a Level 2 fire, Level 3 fire at the beginning..."

"It was also at this time that Mr. Guan personally called the Fire Services Department, explained the seriousness of the situation, and guaranteed in his capacity as Chairman of the Legislative Council, demanding it be handled as a Level 5 fire."

"It was also because of Mr. Guan's selfless behavior that our Fire Services Department was able to pay attention to it, and finally urgently mobilized the entire Hong Kong Island fire brigade, 50 fire trucks, and 170 firefighters, rushing to the scene at the fastest speed."

"And it was precisely because of this that the 15th floor obtained the timely intervention of 8 high-spray fire trucks, which suppressed the spread of the big fire, won precious survival space for the citizens, and allowed 40 citizens on the 15th floor to squeeze into the tail end space of the floor, finally successfully surviving."

"And if there hadn't been Mr. Guan's reminder, no Level 5 fire, no timely arrival of a large number of high-spray fire trucks, I'm afraid the consequences for the citizens on the 15th floor would have been unpredictable."

All reporters were stunned.

Didn't expect the situation at the time to be so dangerous.

Didn't expect Mr. Guan to remind them in time.

"This Garley Building big fire..."

Lin Zhenmin was solemn and serious:

"We must sincerely thank all parties for their full support and cooperation in this rescue..."

"Thank Five Star Property, when the fire broke out, for quickly clearing the parking on the side of the road..."

"At the same time, thank the Flying Service..."

"Thank the Auxiliary Medical Service..."

"Thank the Social Welfare Department..."

Then he reflected:

"This Garley Building fire sounded a heavy alarm for us."

"First is that the fire inspection is not in place. Garley Building's smoke alarms were cut off by plastic film, fire doors were illegally dismantled... strengthen fire safety inspections in the future..."

"Secondly, the overall fire prevention awareness of citizens also needs to be strengthened... strengthen the popularization of fire safety knowledge in the future"

Finally, mourning for the dead:

"Here, we want to express our deepest condolences to the injured in this fire..."

"For the 4 unfortunate victims who died, we mourn deeply..."

"Relevant departments will fully assist the families in handling the aftermath..."

Noon, ATV and TVB reported.

All of Hong Kong was indeed diverted by a part of the attention.

"Mr. Guan actually warned in advance?"

"If it weren't for Mr. Guan's warning, winning more than 10 minutes of precious time, there might have been more casualties..."

"Those citizens who survived on the 15th floor are really lucky!"

All citizens of Hong Kong discussed it one after another.

They wouldn't blame the firefighters or the Fire Services Department for not doing their job because people died; mainly, this time the firefighters arrived in time, extinguished the fire quickly, and showed sufficient professional quality.

Instead, Guan Zu's warning became a legend of this fire event.

Why did Mr. Guan warn in advance?

Could it be that he did too many good deeds, and heaven gave him a warning?

Some people believe in Feng Shui metaphysics, feeling that Guan Zu must have received a reminder from Mazu or Wong Tai Sin.

Afternoon,

The Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, also held a press conference.

Government House, on the lawn.

"On behalf of the Hong Kong Island government, I express my condolences to all the injured in the fire..."

"For the unfortunate citizens who died, we mourn deeply..."

"I express recognition for the rapid dispatch of the fire brigade..."

"The government will do its best..."

Then he spoke eloquently, a bunch of thanks and reflections, basically the same as the Fire Services Department's statement, but the dimension was higher.

Finally,

he mentioned the focus of this speech:

"Given the seriousness of this fire incident, I have decided to establish a 'Special Fire Committee'..."

"The committee will focus on the improvement of the fire safety system, including but not limited to the ineffective supervision of building fire safety, the lack of public fire safety education, and fire warning, alarms..."

"We expect that, with the efforts of the 'Special Fire Committee', we can formulate a more perfect and strict fire safety standard..."

"Given Mr. Guan Zu's major contribution in the fire, I will invite Mr. Guan Zu to serve as the Chairman of the committee..."

"What?"

"Let me be the Chairman of the committee?"

Central Plaza.

Top floor, Guan Zu's office.

When the news reached Guan Zu, Guan Zu was dumbfounded.

Oh no, I've become a workhorse!

This matter is a relatively cumbersome thing to say the least.

But after Guan Zu thought about it, he decided to accept this task.

If it's busy, it's busy. Anyway, it's the subordinates who are busy. I just need to memorize the materials, and this matter is indeed a very necessary thing.

The Garley Building fire incident in his previous life happened, burned for nearly 21 hours, and finally caused...

It was precisely because of this that Hong Kong Island began a series of comprehensive and in-depth upgrades to the fire safety system.

Revising the "Buildings Ordinance" and the "Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance", promoting the fire safety system renovation of old buildings (automatic sprinkler system, automatic fire alarm system), upgrading fire facilities and equipment, establishing special rescue teams, strengthening cross-departmental (fire, medical, police, ambulance) collaboration and drills, strengthening public fire safety education...

These things were all promoted by the "Special Fire Committee".

And now,

these tasks fell on Guan Zu.

A new day.

Guan Zu went downstairs and saw A-Bu eating bread.

"Yo~~~"

A-Bu: "............"

Damn it!

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully the single dog!

No, I must speed up!

I'll buy a bouquet of flowers today and send it to the hospital. Du Xiaohe is still hospitalized.

Guan Zu came to the newsstand.

The first headline that caught his eye was————

"Incredible! How did Mr. Guan warn about the fire in advance? Did Wong Tai Sin leak the secret?"

"Strange person, strange things! Is Mr. Guan a fairy descending to earth? Why did the Goddess and Wong Tai Sin protect him many times?"

"Mr. Guan's Bazi revealed, with Wong Tai Sin, the Goddess..."

"Guan Zu, the spokesperson for the gods..."

Looking at the content,

Good heavens, it's well-reasoned, saying things like he often worships Wong Tai Sin and Mazu, became the richest man in Hong Kong in 6 years, made 500 million in Macau, and every disaster he encountered was smooth sailing...

It's well-founded and convincing.

Guan Zu, legend degree +1!

It made Guan Zu start to doubt—could I really be a fairy descending to earth?

Of course, Guan Zu would not deny the blessing of Wong Tai Sin and Mazu...

Wong Tai Sin, loyal!

Mazu, loyal!

10:00 in the morning,

When Guan Zu finished his work as a workhorse and started preparing to find someone to go fishing with...

"What?"

"Damn it, someone is suing Five Star Property for illegally moving cars?"

Guan Zu heard Da Tou's report and was directly dumbfounded.

It turned out that just an hour ago,

a citizen brought a lawyer and filed a lawsuit in court, targeting the illegal act of Guan Zu ordering the parking attendants to forcibly break windows and move cars the day before yesterday.

And the court had already accepted it.

"Something's not right..."

"Who is pushing this behind the scenes?"

A strange smile appeared on Guan Zu's face,

"Hehe~~ things are getting interesting!!" ===== CHAPTER 818 =====