The inquiry into the fire at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court in November 2025, which claimed the lives of 168 people, opened on 19 March

A public inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in nearly eight decades has revealed a series of “unacceptable systemic failings that cannot be overlooked” across multiple government departments and contractors involved in the renovation of the multi-storey residential building complex.

During the first evidential hearings the independent committee – led by Judge David Lok – heard that almost all life-saving fire protection measures had failed, with Senior Counsel Victor Dawes stating: “On the day of the fire, nearly all fire safety systems meant to protect lives failed because of human factors.”

As reported by the South China Morning Post, the probe was told that the fire, which engulfed seven of the estate’s eight residential blocks in a 43-hour blaze, was “most likely” started by a discarded cigarette igniting flammable materials stored in a lightwell.

Dawes said evidence suggested the blaze began outside the first-floor units of Wang Cheong House, where investigators found “charred cardboard, plastic bottles, utensils, and cigarette stubs.” He added that while there was “no direct proof” of a cigarette being dropped at that moment, workers had been repeatedly observed smoking on site, with residents lodging numerous complaints.

Ground-floor CCTV captured smoke and ashes from 2.33pm on the day of the incident, shortly before workers discovered the fire at 2.45pm.

As well as smoking by workers, Dawes went on to outline five further critical failings that contributed to the disaster, including:

  • the fire alarm system being deactivated
  • fire hoses turned off for months—well beyond the legal 14-day limit
  • removal of fireproof windows from emergency stairwells
  • polyfoam boards used to block windows
  • non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting installed.

These issues combined to create a catastrophic environment in which flames spread rapidly up the building façade. Dawes said one of the victims, firefighter Ho Wai-ho, “might have fallen to his death” while attempting to escape as a “chimney effect” intensified the fire’s vertical spread.

The committee heard that three key government bodies – the Labour Department, Fire Services Department, and the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU) – each refused responsibility for ensuring fire-retardant materials were used in the HK$336 million renovation project.

Dawes continued, saying, “we are unable to clearly point out which [government] department has ever taken responsibility for the matter.”

Notably, the ICU had even notified the project consultant in advance of inspections, enabling contractors to temporarily replace substandard scaffolding mesh with a fire-retardant equivalent. A subsequent test showed a net sample burned for 10 seconds despite a certificate claiming a four-second burn—an outcome that “no ICU inspectors expressed surprise at.”

Indeed, the certificate itself may have been forged as it bore an outdated name of a mainland testing authority.

Former residents and bereaved families described the first day’s revelations as shocking. One resident said the hearing was “heart wrenching,” while another relative who lost his wife said the information was “explosive” and appeared to show authorities “covering up for each other.”

The inquiry continues, with the first witnesses scheduled to appear week commencing 23 March.