HONG KONG (AP) — A series of systemic failures, including deactivated fire safety systems and the use of flammable materials during building maintenance, contributed to Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, an independent inquiry heard Thursday. The November 2025 blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po district consumed seven of the complex’s eight buildings, killing 168 people, including one firefighter, and displacing thousands.
The hearings, which began Thursday, aim to determine the cause of the disaster and identify accountability. Victor Dawes, the committee’s lead lawyer, detailed how a combination of factors created the conditions for the rapid spread of the fire. While the most likely ignition source was a cigarette discarded on a platform within an air shaft, he emphasized that this was not the sole cause.
“On the day of the fire, nearly all fire safety systems meant to protect lives failed because of human factors,” Dawes stated, presenting CCTV footage, documents, and text message records to the committee.
Evidence presented revealed that despite previous complaints about construction workers smoking on site, including photographic evidence, the labor department was unable to substantiate the claims. A complaint was then passed to the fire services department, who deemed it outside their purview.
Further compounding the tragedy, the maintenance contractor had used non-fire-retardant netting for scaffolding, a detail previously unknown to authorities. The housing department’s practice of notifying contractors of inspection times also came under scrutiny, as did the labor department’s oversight of outdated fire retardancy reports.
The fire’s impact on the close-knit community of Wang Fuk Court has been devastating. Thirty-seven households lost at least two family members, and many former residents are currently living in temporary housing across the city.
Yip Ka-kui, who lost his wife in the fire, described the information presented at the hearing as “explosive,” suggesting a pattern of “covering up for each other.”
Police have arrested 38 people in connection with the incident, with nine facing charges including manslaughter and fraud. An additional 23 individuals have been arrested by the anti-graft agency on suspicion of bribery and conspiracy to defraud.
The inquiry, established in December and expected to take nine months, will also investigate potential systemic issues such as bid-rigging in large-scale building maintenance projects.
Hong Kong officials recently proposed buying back homeownership rights from fire victims, a move that has disappointed those hoping to rebuild at the original site. However, authorities have announced plans to allow residents to retrieve belongings from the damaged apartments in April.