Government surveyors failed to detect major fire risks at a housing complex destroyed in Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in decades because they were following outdated guidelines that did not require in-person inspections of renovation works, a public inquiry has heard. The independent committee was told on Monday that illegal alterations to Wang Fuk Court’s emergency…
Hong Kong’s fire services declined to activate an emergency alert during the city’s deadliest inferno in decades, citing concerns that it might have caused confusion among trapped residents, a public inquiry has heard. An independent committee investigating last year’s disaster at Wang Fuk Court was also told on Thursday that the system, which would have…
A public inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has shed light on government departments’ confusion over their roles in supervising large-scale renovation projects, with a fire service official insisting his department was not responsible for handling complaints about flammable building materials because it lacked expertise in construction. Michael Yung Kam-hung, an assistant director…
A Hong Kong fire services official has defended a decision to decline mainland Chinese firefighters’ help to combat the city’s deadliest inferno in decades, citing concerns they might be unable to immediately adapt to the new environment and effectively communicate with their local counterparts. On the 12th day of a public evidential hearing on Wednesday,…
Hong Kong authorities conducted no fire risk assessment of a HK$336 million (US$42.9 million) Wang Fuk Court renovation project before the city’s deadliest fire in decades ravaged the site, a public inquiry has heard. Sam Keung Sai-ming, an assistant director of the Fire Services Department’s licensing and certification branch, said on Friday that authorities did…
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 the cause of Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in decades is expected to conclude its first round of evidential hearings on Thursday, with the role of the property management firm at…
The seventh session of the independent inquiry into last year’s fire at Wang Fuk Court – Hong Kong’s deadliest in decades – is under way with the focus turning to ISS EastPoint, the estate’s property management firm. The blaze, which started on November 26 last year and raged through seven of Wang Fuk Court’s eight…
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 a fire that killed 168 people at a Hong Kong housing estate is holding its third public hearing, with three residents expected to testify after a government lawyer gives an…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. A public evidential hearing into a devastating fire that engulfed a residential complex in Hong Kong and killed 168 people enters its second day on Friday. Victor Dawes SC, lead barrister for an independent…
Contractors for a renovation project at the site of Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades got away with covering up the use of substandard material because of systemic defects in government supervision, a public inquiry into the blaze that claimed 168 lives has heard. In the first of a series of evidential hearings, a judge-led…