Fire department divisional officer Tung Wing-kei says examination of Ho Wai-ho’s breathing apparatus found ‘very rare’ damage to gas cylinder valve and handwheel
Jess MaandBrian WongPublished: 11:11am, 23 Apr 20260 New UpdateIntroductionThis story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.The role of Hong Kong’s fire service remains under the spotlight on the 18th day of evidential hearings held by an independent committee investigating the catastrophic blaze at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court.
Three officers from the Fire Services Department are testifying on Thursday before the judge-led panel. Four of their colleagues gave accounts the previous day of how the department responded to residents’ complaints about fire hazards.
The blaze, which broke out on November 26, 2025, engulfed all but one of the estate’s eight buildings, which were undergoing renovation at the time.
Hong Kong’s deadliest fire since 1948 killed 168 people, including a firefighter, and displaced nearly 5,000 residents.
Michael Yung Kam-hung, an assistant director who specialises in fire safety, told the committee on Wednesday that residents’ complaints about the use of combustible construction materials and workers’ smoking habits did not fall under the department’s purview. He insisted the complaints should have been addressed by the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit and the Labour Department instead.
Yung said there was an established division of labour between the fire service and building authorities, and that fire risk matters related to construction were usually handled by the latter as the department lacked professional knowledge to advise on engineering projects.
But he also admitted that such a division of labour was not stipulated by any written documents. Some frontline staff of departments were not clear about the scope of duties of each government arm, which Yung conceded was “unacceptable”.
The committee also heard that after receiving fire equipment shutdown notices from contractors, the department’s initial inspections did not involve verifying reported defects but merely classified them based on contractors’ descriptions.
Follow our live coverage as the hearing continues.
More from our coverage:
