What we know about Hong Kong apartment fires

A devastating fire broke out at a high-rise public housing complex in Hong Kong, killing at least 83 people, the highest death toll in 60 years. The number of missing people exceeds 270, and thousands of residents are staying in shelters.

Several high-rise buildings were still burning the day after the fire, with thick smoke billowing into the air and blanketing the Chinese territory’s skyline.

According to local media reports, three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder related to the fire and an investigation has begun.

Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed condolences to the victims, including “firefighters who died in the line of duty,” state media reported.

The cause of the fire is still unclear, but here’s what we know so far.

At approximately 14:51 local time (06:51 Korean time) on the 21st, a fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a large residential complex located in Tai Po District, Hong Kong.

Wang Fuk Court consists of eight tower blocks, each 31 storeys tall. Tai Po district councilor Mui Siu-feng told BBC Chinese that seven people had been affected by the fire. The tower block, built in 1983, was undergoing renovation work when the fire broke out.

Tai Po is a residential area in northern Hong Kong, near the city of Shenzhen in mainland China.

The complex offers 1,984 apartments for about 4,600 residents, according to the 2021 government census.

According to the census, nearly 40% of people living in Wang Fuk Court housing complex are over 65 years old.

Some of them have lived in subsidized public housing complexes since they were built.

The cause of the fire is unknown, but preliminary findings show the speed with which it spread was unusual, Hong Kong’s security minister said early Thursday morning.

Police said mesh material and plastic sheets were found outside the building, neither of which are believed to be fire-resistant.

Police said Styrofoam was also found in the building’s windows, which, along with other building materials, may have caused the flames to spread so quickly.

Police arrested three men, aged between 52 and 68, on suspicion of murder in connection with the fire. Two of them are directors of a construction company and one is an engineering consultant.

A police spokesman said investigators were not investigating or taking action on the allegations by top company officials.

An official said, “It is believed that this accident occurred due to the gross negligence of the company’s personnel, and the fire spread beyond control, resulting in significant casualties.”

Local media reports said some residents said the building’s fire alarm did not go off.

This fire was the deadliest fire to occur in Hong Kong in at least 63 years and was classified at Alert Level 5, the highest severity level.

It was declared level 4 40 minutes after it was first reported, but the level was raised again around 18:22, about 3 hours and 30 minutes later.

Local media previously reported that explosions were heard inside the building and that fire hoses could not easily reach higher floors.

Deputy Fire Commissioner Derek Armstrong Chan told media that extreme heat prevented firefighters from entering the building to carry out rescue operations.

In addition, 767 firefighters, 128 fire trucks, 57 ambulances, and 400 police officers were deployed.

Among the dead was firefighter Howai Ho, 37, who had worked at Sha Tin Fire Station for nine years.

Fire officials said they lost contact with him around 15:30 and found him collapsed about 30 minutes later. He was taken to the hospital but pronounced dead a short time later.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of a dedicated and courageous firefighter,” Fire Chief Andy Young said.

Hong Kong’s fire department said at least one other firefighter was hospitalized.

According to local media, police are using loudspeakers to help residents find their families.

The government said several emergency shelters had been set up to accommodate evacuated residents. The South China Morning Post reported that one of them, at Tung Cheong Street Sports Center, was full and residents were being directed to other shelters.

The Kwong Fuk Community Hall, just across from another housing estate, was deemed unsafe. Evacuees were moved to other shelters further away.

BBC China correspondent Gemini Cheng observed elderly residents using canes or wheelchairs arriving at some shelters.

Lee said at least 900 people were sheltering in temporary facilities, according to AFP.

The Department of Education announced that six schools in Tai Po would remain closed on Thursday and listed the affected schools on its website.

Security Minister Tang Pingkeung said in a statement that an emergency surveillance and support center was operating to manage the impact of the fire.

Hong Kong police have set up a hotline where citizens can inquire about casualties.

Wang Fuk Court’s tower block is undergoing renovation, so even the rooftop is covered with bamboo scaffolding and green construction netting.

As mentioned earlier, police said that the rapid spread of the fire was due to materials used in the renovation project, including netting, plastic sheets, and Styrofoam.

It is still unclear how the fire started, but whatever the cause, installing proper netting around the outside of the building was key to stopping the fire from spreading, Jason Poon, president of construction NGO China Monitor, told news outlet Initium Medi. He added that substandard netting can cause fires to spread quickly.

Another engineer told Initium Media that most mesh netting used in construction across Hong Kong is not made of flame-retardant materials.

Cardboard, debris and paint thinner are also often found on scaffolding, which, combined with dry weather, can accelerate the spread of fires, engineers said.

A fire safety expert interviewed by the BBC said bamboo scaffolding, a common sight in the city’s urban landscape, also played a role in fanning the flames.

According to local media reports in March, the government’s development agency has been trying to phase out the use of bamboo due to safety concerns.

The push to use metal instead of bamboo comes after a surge in scaffolding-related deaths in Hong Kong, although reports say these have been caused by falls and other safety issues rather than fires.

Professor Jiang Liming of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University also pointed out that Wang Fuk Court’s blocks are “relatively old” and were built in the 1980s, so “the glass windows are not fire-resistant.”

“Modern buildings have double-pane glass windows, but this building probably only had single-pane windows… (which) makes them very easy to break by flames and allow flames to penetrate through the facade.”

Additional reporting was by Jack Lau of BBC Global China and Gemini Cheng of BBC China in Hong Kong.