Global Markets
Home›Global Markets›Emerging Markets›Hong Kong Tai Po fire inquiry to hear final submissions
Hong Kong Tai Po fire inquiry to hear final submissions
The probe into the Nov. 26, 2025 Wang Fuk Court blaze, which killed 168 people and displaced nearly 5,000 residents, is expected to issue a report about a month after closing submissions.
An independent, judge-led committee in Hong Kong investigating the city’s deadliest fire in decades will hear closing submissions from legal representatives following 27 sessions of evidential hearings, according to SCMP Economy. Counsel for the committee, the government and other parties are expected to deliver final submissions from Wednesday to Friday, after which the panel will finalize a report due in about a month.
The deadly blaze broke out at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in Tai Po on Nov. 26, 2025, engulfing seven of the estate’s eight buildings. The fire killed 168 people and displaced nearly 5,000 residents, with SCMP Economy noting it occurred while the complex was undergoing a HK$336 million facade renovation.
SCMP Economy reports that experts told the committee the fire spread at about 10 metres per second and produced 11 fire plumes within two hours. They cited non-fire-retardant materials used during the renovation, including scaffolding mesh and plastic sheeting, and also pointed to temporary openings created in emergency staircases.
The committee also heard that replacing fire-rated windows with temporary wall openings, covered with wooden boards to let workers access scaffolding, allowed heat, flames and toxic smoke to enter stairwells and compromise residents’ escape routes. SCMP Economy adds that styrofoam boards used to block unit windows during the renovation prevented residents from detecting the fire early and delayed their response.