The Wang Fuk Court tragedy was caused by a series of human errors and fire safety failures and was “completely avoidable,” senior counsel Victor Dawes said on Monday as a new round of inquiry hearings resumed.
The fifth round of public hearings opened in the morning after a six-week break, with the independent committee continuing to examine the cause of the blaze that claimed 168 lives last November.
Citing expert reports and government investigations, Dawes told the hearing that almost all fire safety systems failed due to human factors on the day of the disaster.
He said two separate investigation teams, using different methods, had reached the same conclusions, significantly strengthening the credibility of their findings.
One expert team, led by Hong Kong Polytechnic University professors Asif Sohail Usmani and Jiang Liming, tested fire-scene samples to examine the chimney effect. Another team, which included City University of Hong Kong professor Richard Yuen Kwok-kit, conducted burn tests using a three-story model in Sichuan.
The investigations highlighted unauthorized openings in stairwells during the building’s renovation, which allowed fire and smoke to enter residents’ escape routes.
Investigators also confirmed that the fire started in the light well outside Units 104 and 105 of Wang Cheong House and was fueled by non-flame-retardant mesh.
Tests showed that the non-flame-retardant netting rapidly melted into “flaming droplets,” igniting nearby bamboo and wood. The material released 27 times more energy than flame-retardant alternatives, leading experts to conclude that the initial fire would likely have self-extinguished had safer material been used.
Almost no evacuation time
The hearing also heard that residents had almost no evacuation time because fire alarms had been disabled and windows were covered with foam boards, leaving them without timely warnings.
Among the 168 victims, 91 died from smoke inhalation, including residents whose flats were not touched by flames.
Reports also stated that 114 of the deceased were aged 65 or above, and many were likely trapped by clutter while trying to escape.
Lam Kin-kwan, deputy head of the Fire Services Department’s interdepartmental investigation task force, testified that the blaze started near a bicycle parking area at 2.43pm, with the first emergency call made at 2.51pm.
Lam said investigators initially suspected that a discarded cigarette butt ignited debris, with heat gradually accumulating and accelerating the spread of the fire.
He added that openings in the stairwells allowed smoke and heat to enter the building at an early stage, hampering residents’ escape.
