Long before flames tore through Wang Fuk Court, residents of the aging Hong Kong apartment complex had been sounding alarms — not about a fire, but about a renovation project they believed was dangerously flawed and riddled with misconduct. Their concerns, raised repeatedly over several years, were acknowledged by authorities but never fully addressed. The result was one of the deadliest residential fires in the city’s history.
The blaze, which broke out on Nov. 26, burned for nearly two days, killing 161 people and forcing thousands from their homes. While investigators are still determining the precise cause, officials have zeroed in on highly flammable construction materials used during ongoing renovation work — materials residents had warned about as early as 2024.
Years of Red Flags
Wang Fuk Court, built in 1983 and home to roughly 2,000 families, was ordered by the government in 2016 to undergo major repairs as part of a citywide safety program for buildings over 30 years old. The initiative followed a deadly building collapse in 2010 and aimed to improve structural integrity and fire safety.
But residents say the repair process quickly went off track. They complained of soaring costs, poor workmanship and the use of cheap, combustible materials, suspecting that corruption had infiltrated the project. Some alleged that contractors and the estate’s owners’ board were acting against residents’ interests, possibly with political backing.
Despite inspections by multiple government departments and the issuance of warnings and citations, officials often downplayed the overall danger. In one instance, an official described the fire risk posed by scaffolding netting as “relatively low,” even as residents shared photos of cigarette butts near flammable coverings and demonstrated how easily insulation materials ignited.
Oversight Gaps and Questionable Decisions
Records show that government agencies relied heavily on assurances from contractors and consultants, conducting routine checks without addressing broader safety concerns. Fire alarms in seven of the estate’s eight towers later failed during the blaze, another lapse that had gone unnoticed.
The renovation project itself raised further questions. Residents objected to unusually low consultancy fees, a known red flag in Hong Kong’s construction sector, where anticorruption officials have warned that such pricing can signal collusion. They also pointed to irregular voting practices within the owners’ board, including the use of proxy votes, which anticorruption authorities have previously identified as a common tactic in rigged renovation schemes.
Tender documents later revealed that the winning contractor had a history of legal and safety violations, information that was not flagged during the approval process. Some competing bids also contained identical pricing, another indicator of possible cartel behavior.
Warnings That Fell on Deaf Ears
As construction began, bamboo scaffolding wrapped in green netting and polystyrene foam panels was installed across the towers. Residents questioned whether the materials matched those approved in contracts and met fire safety standards. At least one resident publicly burned a sample of the foam to show how easily it caught fire.
Complaints were filed with the Housing Bureau, the Labor Department, the police and the city’s anticorruption commission. Yet construction continued. Departments later said materials had passed safety tests, often based on certificates provided by the contractor.
After the fire, the anticorruption agency disclosed that some safety certifications had been falsified and that substandard netting had been installed after storm damage, saving contractors a relatively small sum but with catastrophic consequences.
Aftermath and Accountability
In response to the tragedy, authorities ordered the removal of scaffolding netting at more than 200 construction sites citywide. An independent judicial inquiry has been launched, and at least 21 people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, corruption and fraud linked to the Wang Fuk Court project.
Government departments have largely declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation. Fire services officials confirmed that they had instructed responsible parties to repair damaged equipment weeks before the blaze, but those fixes proved insufficient.
For survivors, the disaster is not just a story of faulty materials, but of systemic failure. Repeated warnings, evidence of misconduct and clear safety risks were acknowledged in fragments, yet never addressed as a whole.
As Hong Kong reckons with the scale of the loss, Wang Fuk Court stands as a grim reminder of what can happen when oversight falters, accountability is diluted and residents’ voices are ignored.
