Contractor questions 'unusual tilting‘ that left Wang Fuk Court water tanks emptied during deadly fire

The sixth day of the Wang Fuk Court public hearing revealed that the estates’ fire hydrants had been emptied during renovation works, with a contractor questioning the necessity of tiling inside the tanks.

Seven witnesses testified before the judge-led independent committee this morning, including Chung Kit-man, director and engineer of Victory Fire Engineering, and electrician Li Chun-yin.

A key focus of the morning session was the dry fire hoses during the deadly blaze, which investigations revealed had been emptied as part of ongoing renovation work.

According to the Wang Fuk Court maintenance contract, all tank surfaces were to be finished with white ceramic tiles—an arrangement Chung told the hearing he found unusual.

“In my experience, water tanks normally do not need to be tiled inside,” he stated. “The water is for firefighting and does not require special cleanliness. I also don’t understand why the repair work took three months, which is longer than usual.”

He confirmed to the committee’s counsel, Lee Shu-wan, that the decision by the owners’ corporation to tile the tanks meant they had to be fully drained and the pumps shut off to prevent water from being drawn back up during the process.

Three estates found without water

The hearing was told that after Victory Fire completed its fire service repairs on Wang Yan, Wang Tao, and Wang San House on 16 October last year, staff went to the rooftops to test the system. 

When no water flowed from the hoses, another employee checked the tanks and discovered they were completely empty across all three buildings.

Victory Fire Engineering then contacted Lam, the engineering supervisor at Wang Fuk Court, and learned that all eight estates were undergoing similar repair work, which required the draining of their fire service storage tanks.

Chung testified that he was later informed all eight tanks had been emptied due to these engineering works, and he instructed his staff to notify the management office.

He was reportedly told that another fire services contractor, China Status Development, would take responsibility for the matter.

Compounding the issues, during a subsequent repair visit by Victory Fire on November 19, the company discovered that the main power supply to the entire firefighting system had been switched off, and the inlet pipes to the fire pumps had been replaced.

“We didn’t know what other parts of the system had been altered,” Chung said.

"I didn’t think of it"

When questioned by counsel Lee about his failure to inform the estate’s property management company, ISS EastPoint, of the severe implications of an untestable fire system, Chung's response was candid: "I didn't think of it at the time.”

While Lee pressed on whether his company bore responsibility for continuing component replacements despite the system being untestable, Chung vehemently denied negligence. 

“We hadn’t tested it, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t going to test it. Replacing parts is still better than not replacing them,” he asserted.

"More good than harm"?

Chung also recounted a post-fire interaction where a firefighter requested access to a water valve. 

Despite cautioning the officer about the lack of a relevant certificate, he advised that the valve could still be used. Asked if he believed Victory Fire’s actions ultimately did “more good than harm,” Chung replied, “I think so.”

Under cross-examination by Richard Khaw, representing ISS, Chung admitted that a prevalent industry mindset of "not teaching others to do their job" influenced his decision not to offer safety recommendations after discovering the main fire pump switch—which was handled by another contractor—had been turned off.

He explained that even if something seemed amiss, he felt he could only remind himself to perform better.

Regarding whether the power cut impacted Victory Fire's own work and delayed completion testing, Chung clarified that his company lacked the responsibility or authority to expedite the work, framing their relationship with management as strictly client and contractor.

He concluded that notifying management about the switched-off pump would, in his view, have amounted to “meddling.”

The initial round of eight hearings is scheduled to conclude on April 2.