Residents of Hong Kong’s blaze-ravaged Wang Fuk Court would still have died even if the housing estate’s fire alarms had been working during last year’s inferno, a contractor has suggested, prompting the judge overseeing a public inquiry into the disaster to question whether he was attempting to evade responsibility. Legal counsel for a director of…
Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in decades was a result of a “systemic failure” in public policy, two fire engineering experts have said, citing the lack of strategies to fight flames on the facades of high-rise buildings and the prolonged use of combustible materials in “temporary” works. An independent committee inquiry heard on Thursday that last…
An independent committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has ruled out seeking statutory powers to compel witnesses to testify, a move that has left some survivors concerned that key figures may avoid scrutiny. Committee chairman Justice David Lok Kai-hong said the panel would not ask the chief executive to convert it into a…
Requiring that only incombustible materials be used for large-scale renovations at housing estates is unrealistic and fails to take into account risks that arise after prolonged use, a public inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in decades has heard. The use of polyfoam boards to seal windows was among five key factors that led to…
A Labour Department official has told an inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadly Tai Po inferno that the temporary removal of fireproof windows from emergency passages in the blaze-hit estate complied with occupational safety protocols, triggering questions on whether the interests of workers and residents are at odds. The inquiry also heard on Tuesday that a…