Almost half of notices filed to deactivate fire-fighting systems over the past two years for maintenance involved renovation projects that lasted longer than the maximum two months allowed under new rules introduced after the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire, official data has shown. A spokesman for the Fire Services Department told the South China Morning…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. An independent committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadly Wang Fuk Court fire will scrutinise the roles of building and home affairs authorities on the 20th day of evidential hearings. Four witnesses from the Buildings Department…
Hong Kong’s fire services chief has acknowledged that better communication with building authorities is needed after an independent committee earlier revealed that his officers had taken no action against possible safety breaches during renovations at Wang Fuk Court, where 168 people were killed in last year’s inferno. But Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung Yan-kin…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The head of the Fire Services Department will give evidence on the 19th day of evidential hearings into Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, becoming the most senior official to testify to date. Director…
Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department has launched an internal review to improve its strategies for tackling large-scale blazes following the deadly Wang Fuk Court inferno, with officers set to examine operational effectiveness and equipment use. Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung Yan-kin said on Tuesday that his deputy for operations, Derek Armstrong Chan, would lead…
Six labour unions with Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department have denounced banker turned film producer Checkley Sin Kwok-lam for comments about its chief’s handling of the Tai Po fire. The unions banded together on Thursday to slam Sin’s comments about the department’s strategies for battling the city’s deadliest fire in decades. The blaze raged for…
The owners’ corporation of the Hong Kong housing estate destroyed in last month’s deadly fire is seeking to oust the main contractor and consultant for renovation works after staff from both companies were arrested for alleged manslaughter and corruption. The Fire Services Department, meanwhile, revealed on Thursday that it had conferred the honorary title of…
The fire that tore through the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po and killed at least 159 may have started on scaffolding between the first and second floors of one of the blocks, according to preliminary investigations by Hong Kong fire services. The city’s fire services director also said a life-size replica of…
A global property management giant that was engaged to oversee the tender for fire safety and serve as the interface between residents and renovation contractors at Hong Kong’s ill-fated Wang Fuk Court estate broke its silence on Monday to offer condolences but declined to comment on its involvement. ISS EastPoint, a subsidiary of Denmark-based ISS,…
The death toll from Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in seven decades climbed to more than 100 on Friday as the government announced a three-day official mourning period from Saturday for victims of the blaze. National and Hong Kong flags at all its buildings and facilities will fly at half-mast until Monday, with officials cancelling all…