Residents at multiple Hong Kong estates undergoing repair works fear that the scaffolding and netting covering their buildings could go up in flames like the fatal Tai Po fire, according to local media reports and social media posts.
The blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po broke out on Wednesday afternoon and quickly engulfed seven of the eight residential towers in the housing complex. The inferno has killed at least 94 people and left many more missing.
Rescue missions entered a third day on Friday as firefighters conducted door-to-door checks inside the buildings in search of survivors, after the fire was largely brought under control on Thursday evening.
All eight blocks at Wang Fuk Court were covered in bamboo scaffolding and green construction mesh when the fire began. Police said that the netting, mesh, canvas and plastic sheeting installed on the buildings were suspected of not meeting fire safety requirements.
At Sui Wo Court in Fo Tan, where major renovation works have been underway, a meeting was held on Thursday night as anxious residents pressed estate management and the construction company carrying out the works to provide details about fire safety measures.
The residents also inquired when the scaffolding and mesh covering their nine residential blocks would be taken down, local media outlet HK01 reported.
Estate management and personnel from the construction firm said they had collected samples of the mesh for fire safety testing, while the scaffolding was expected to be completely removed as early as next month and as late as March next year, a netizen wrote on Threads.
“Residents were emotional, and [the meeting] became a gathering for venting feelings,” the netizen wrote in Chinese. “Many questions remained unresolved.”
Another Threads user, Linus Wong, said workers began removing the construction mesh installed at Victory Garden in Kwai Chung on Thursday, following the blaze in Tai Po.
In a video posted by Wong, a piece of green construction mesh burned quickly. He said he had picked up the mesh and tested its flammability.
Meanwhile, estate management at Elegance Gardens in Tuen Mun warned residents against collecting construction materials and conducting fire tests, according to Ming Pao.
Some residents at Elegance Gardens, which shares the same construction company responsible for repair works at Wang Fuk Court, had been collecting the mesh covering their buildings for burn tests.
The Elegance Gardens management said it had tested the mesh and found that its flame retardancy appeared to decrease as the material became weathered, according to Ming Pao. Repair works at Elegance Gardens have been suspended.
In the wake of the Tai Po fire, authorities announced on Thursday a citywide inspection of housing estates undergoing repair works.
The Labour Department has also launched a two-week enforcement operation targeting fire protection facilities and large-scale construction sites.
Police said on Thursday that three men, aged between 52 and 68, had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. One is an engineering consultant at a construction firm, and the other two are the company’s directors.
The police force is conducting a joint investigation with the Fire Services Department. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has also launched a probe.
