Hong Kong warned tower contractor of fire risk days before blaze

HONG KONG – The Hong Kong authorities warned renovators of a high-rise complex about fire hazards one week before the housing estate was

wrecked by the city’s deadliest fire in decades,

raising questions about the effectiveness of safety enforcement.

The Hong Kong Labour Department said it had inspected Wang Fuk Court 16 times since renovation work started in July 2024. Members of the public had complained about “issues relating to the scaffolding” in September 2024, it added in a statement e-mailed on Nov 27 to Bloomberg News.

Multiple written warnings were issued to the contractor about the need to adopt appropriate fire safety measures, including after the most recent inspection on Nov 20, the department added.

Inspectors also “consistently monitored” the installation of netting wrapped around the towers and found its quality certificate met official fire-proof standards, according to the statement.

The bamboo poles and nets that once encased the now burned-out building have become the focus of an investigation into a blaze that incinerated the 2,000-apartment complex, after raging for more than 24 hours. Questions of culpability are at the centre of that probe, after the authorities arrested three senior figures at the engineering firm conducting the renovations on suspicion of manslaughter.

The death toll now stands at 128 people. That’s a greater loss of life than the Grenfell Tower fire in London, which killed 72 people in June 2017. That blaze was later deemed to be the result of a “catalogue of failures” by the government and construction industry. It’s also by far Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze since 1957 when 59 people died in a tenement disaster.

The city’s anti-graft agency on Nov 28 arrested eight people. Those detained were two directors and a pair of project managers responsible for supervising the project, as well as three scaffolding subcontractors and a middleman.

“It’s premature to pass judgment on any officials or even on companies involved,” Hong Kong Legislative Council member Regina Ip told Bloomberg Television on Nov 28. “I think the government should take a good look at our existing legislation, and whether there are gaps in the requirements about fire retardant materials.”

Ms Ip also questioned building management mechanisms that rely on owners who’re unpaid volunteers to supervise renovation works. “There have always been complaints about the awarding of contracts because there’s a lot of competition for this lucrative work,” she said. 

The HK$315.5 million (S$53 million) renovation project at the housing estate in northern Hong Kong once home to 4,600 people was being conducted by Prestige Construction & Engineering Co. That company is involved in 11 other residential building projects in Hong Kong, according to the government.

Prestige had previously breached safety requirements on other construction projects, the South China Morning Post reported, citing Labour Department records. It was convicted of two safety offences in a project on Hong Kong island in November 2023, according to the records seen by SCMP, which only cover offences dating back two years.

Bloomberg News visited its office on Nov 27, but the shutters were down and no one responded. Phone calls to the office went unanswered.

The authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang said investigators had found foam boards covering windows in the single building in the eight-tower that escaped the flames. “These foam boards are highly flammable and the fire spread very quickly, so we found their presence unusual,” he added. 

Netting and plastic sheeting encasing the towers also burned far more intensely than expected, he said.

The Buildings Department inspected 127 buildings and found foam boards covering windows at two of them, the government said in a Nov 28 statement. It has ordered their immediate removal.

The fire destroyed hundreds of homes and displaced thousands of residents, many of whom are staying in temporary shelters or with family and friends. The Hong Kong Housing Authority has relaxed mortgage terms to let banks offer special arrangements, including deferred repayments, to help Wang Fuk Court owners ease their financial burden, the government said Nov 29.

Hong Kong insurers may face record claims from the city’s worst fire in more than half a century.

China Taiping Insurance Holdings confirmed in a statement that it is the insurer of the Wang Fuk Court renovation project. The company’s estimated HK$2.6 billion exposure, after factoring reinsurance and taxes, could be about 1-2 per cent of net assets as of June, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

The Kimpton Hotel fire in 2023 was previously the city’s largest fire insurance event, with Ping An being the lead underwriter on coverage of about HK$2.6 billion.

The government declared a three-day mourning period beginning on Nov 29, and the Home Affairs Department set up condolence points in all 18 districts for the public to sign books and pay their respects.

National and regional flags at all government buildings in Hong Kong and overseas will be flown at half-mast throughout the mourning period. All government-organised celebrations will be cancelled or postponed, and officials will scale back attendance at non-essential public events. Bloomberg