Hong Kong fire toll rises to 128: The unanswered questions about deadliest blaze in 70 years

As the inferno that engulfed the Wang Fuk residential compound in Hong Kong has finally been put out almost two days after it first began, anger is swelling among the locals of the financial hub, with many calling the blaze a “man-made disaster”.

The toll from the blaze has risen to 128 from the previous count of 55 on Thursday (November 27), with many others being injured, including 11 firefighters. Officials have said that 25 calls for help still remain unresolved.

After the Hong Kong blaze, three people in charge of renovation works in the complex have been arrested for manslaughter, and authorities have launched a corruption inquiry.

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The fire — the worst in Hong Kong in 70 years — have led residents asking many questions about security lapses. It has also tapped into the social anxiety around affordable housing, where sky-high property prices mean that many people live in tightly packed high-rise apartments that can become death traps when disaster strikes.

A blaze that spread too quickly

On Wednesday, firefighters received a call about a blaze shortly before 3 pm local time. As per Hong Kong Fire Services Derek Armstrong Chan, the fire first broke out at Wang Cheong House, a 32-story residential building and one of the eight tower blocks that make up the Wang Fuk Court complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po neighbourhood, which was undergoing renovations.

By the time, authorities reached the scene the bamboo scaffolding and the netting placed around the buildings were on fire. Firefighters began tackling that blaze, but it quickly spread from building to building, turning a single tower block fire into multiple simultaneous multi-storey infernos.

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The blaze engulfed at least seven of the eight buildings. By the early hours of Thursday morning local time, fires were extinguished in three buildings, with four still showing “scattered traces of fire,” according to the city’s leader, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee. And on Friday (November 28), the Hong Kong government said firefighting at Wang Fuk Court had ended.

Authorities are still trying to ascertain just how many people remain trapped in the burning buildings whereas the death toll as of now has been pegged at 128.

Hong Kong fire fuels scrutiny of safety lapses

After the fire, many are asking one question — What caused the blaze? Were there security lapses?

Many have focused their attention on the bamboo scaffolding that was placed around the high-rises at Wang Fuk Court. Interestingly, such scaffolding is an iconic sight across Hong Kong, and widely used in construction.

Earlier this year, authorities announced plans to phase out bamboo in favour of sturdier, fire-resistant steel, citing bamboo’s combustibility and deterioration over time.

However, many Hongkongers are questioning the focus being put on the bamboo scaffolding, with many even pointing out that much of it was still standing after the blaze. In fact, many have said that by blaming the bamboo scaffolding, the authorities are trying to deflect responsibility from the actual cause of the fire, which is still unknown.

After the fire, many are pointing to the fact that several residents at Wang Fuk Court had expressed unease about renovation plans when they were announced last year. Moreover, they had made complaints in the past about the construction netting material. Several old Facebook posts have emerged in which residents shared what they said were complaints filed with the Labour Department about possible fire hazards.

One construction expert in Hong Kong, who spoke with the ABC, also claimed he had repeatedly warned that the scaffolding mesh appeared to be non-compliant, and failed to meet fire safety standards.

Residents had also made complaints to the construction company about workers smoking at the site and on the bamboo scaffolding.

Many even alleged that alarms had been turned off during the renovation works, as construction workers regularly used fire escapes to get in and out of the building. According to Kiko Ma, who owns an apartment at Wang Fuk Court, “This was preventable… A lot of people did not do their duties,” the 33-year-old told the BBC, adding that the renovation firm used “poor quality, flammable materials”.

Authorities also found polystyrene boards, a highly flammable material, blocking windows of multiple apartments. One resident of Wang Fuk Court said that many of the windows in his building were covered with a thin layer of polystyrene foam. He noted that the material blocked much of the light and prevented residents from seeing outside. It was only because of a small gap in the foam covering his bathroom window that he had been able to see that a neighbouring building was on fire and escape in time, he was quoted as saying by the New York Times.

The fire has also prompted questions whether the disaster was the result of corruption and a lack of accountability. This comes as residents raised questions about perceived collusion between housing committees that oversee maintenance and renovations of such estates and contractors.

Challenges for firefighters dousing the flames

Many Hongkongers also questioned why it has taken authorities over a day to douse the flames that erupted in the buildings, engulfing residents in a fireball.

However, authorities noted that the excessive heat and the raging flames posed huge challenges for the firefighters, slowing down their progress. Officials added that given the dry weather and the high temperatures emanating from the buildings, it was difficult for fire engines to park very close to the blocks that were ablaze.

Some residents also questioned why helicopters and water bombs were not deployed. But, Gary Au Gar-hoe, a spokesman for the fire division of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers said that water bombs were not effective in putting out fires in buildings. “Throwing water bombs – or firefighters spraying water jets – with furniture burning inside, would make it difficult [to bring the blaze under control],” he told the South China Morning Post.

What comes next after the blaze

As of now, three people from the construction company have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, citing “gross negligence” and the use of substandard materials, including flammable nets and foam-boarded windows.

Moreover, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Hong Kong’s statutory anti-graft body, announced that it had set up a dedicated task force to investigate potential corruption linked to the renovations at Wang Fuk Court. And on Friday, the South China Morning Post reported that the body had arrested two directors of Will Power Architects Company — the firm that is the consultant to Wang Fuk Court’s renovation project.

Many observers note that the blaze will pile on pressure on Chinese and Hong Kong officials. It’s left to be seen how authorities react to the anger.

With inputs from agencies