Hong Kong tower residents had safety complaints more than 12 months before deadly fires

Hong Kong resident KC Chen believes luck saved his wife from one of the city's deadliest disasters.

The elderly man had just got home from a bike ride when he saw flames climbing up one of the buildings in his apartment complex.

He called his resting wife, who struggles to walk due to knee problems, and ordered her to evacuate. Only 10 minutes later, his building was also ablaze.

"If I wasn't there in the first place, I don't know what would have happened to my wife," he told the ABC.

"I can't imagine it."

Hong Kong is reeling after fire engulfed the Wang Fuk Court estate in the Tai Po District, leaving at least 128 dead and 200 missing.

The fire started in one of the complex's eight towers on Wednesday afternoon and then quickly spread to the other buildings. By Thursday morning, seven of the towers were burning.

The site had been under renovation for more than a year, with towering bamboo scaffolding and green mesh-like netting wrapped around multiple buildings.

Windows on at least one of the towers had been covered in polystyrene.

Anger among residents is brewing after authorities revealed the materials used were non-compliant and quickened the fire's spread, allowing it to jump from building to building.

On Friday afternoon, authorities confirmed what many residents had complained to the ABC about: the fire alarms in the towers had failed, leaving residents without warning as the blaze took hold.

KC Chen said the buildings used to undergo routine fire alarm tests, but he said that stopped once the renovations began.

"Usually, from time to time, the alarm bell rings," he said.

"But since the renovation started, I've never heard the fire alarm ring, let alone a test alarm."

'Why didn't the fire alarm go off?'

Without fire alarms or warnings, luck was the only thing that helped some of the residents of Wang Fuk Court survive.

Lee Wai-seung, who lives in one of the towers in the complex, had left the building to visit his son, who lives in another tower. His son had called him to come over and help with a problem with his security system.

"As soon as I went downstairs, I saw his building was already on fire," he recalled.

Lee Wai-seung called his son back and told him to get out — then thought of his wife at home.

"I wanted to go back to my own building, but the firefighters stopped me and wouldn't let me go up," he said.

"I told them my wife is upstairs. They asked me to call her to come down quickly."

Like KC Chen, Lee Wai-seung fears what would have happened to his wife had he not intervened and saved her — and his son, had he not called him over to help at that very moment.

Eight people were arrested on Friday by Hong Kong's anti-corruption watchdog, that is continuing to probe the fire.

Hong Kong police arrested three people from the construction company — two directors and one engineering consultant — on allegations of manslaughter on Thursday.

Authorities said they suspected construction materials used on the outside of the government-subsidised housing — including plastic cloths, netting, and styrofoam blocks — did not meet safety regulation standards.

But the seemingly faulty alarm system is something residents also want examined.

"We spent so much money on renovation, and still so many people died," Lee Wai-seung said.

"Why didn't the fire alarm go off?"

Safety concerns go back more than 12 months

Residents have also told ABC News they thought the deadly inferno could have been prevented if safety practices were followed.

Some residents were so concerned about the green mesh netting wrapped around the buildings and the bamboo scaffolding, they wrote complaints to Hong Kong's Labour Department, the region's peak government agency for workplace health and safety.

Complaints were received in September 2024 and October 2024, the department said in a statement.

The department has confirmed to ABC News it conducted 16 inspections at the Wang Fuk Court complex since renovation works started in July last year.

In a statement, a department spokesperson said its staff had issued repeated written warnings to the construction contractor, reminding the company to "implement appropriate fire prevention measures".

The latest inspection of the site and another written warning from the department were given on November 20, just six days before the deadly inferno.

But it also said it had "consistently monitored" the installation of the mesh netting and concluded its quality certificate met official fireproof standards, saying the risk of fire was low because there were meant to be no open flames on the site.

Residents from the complex have told ABC News they had previously raised complaints with the contractors that workers were smoking inside the bamboo scaffolding, posing a fire threat.

ABC News has put the allegations to the construction company, but has not received a response.

Hong Kong launches city-wide investigation into building works

While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the new details raise serious questions about the efficacy of building safety enforcement in Hong Kong and the need to overhaul regulations.

Hong Kong authorities have launched a city-wide investigation of similar apartment complexes.

"The government has arranged immediate inspection of all housing estates undergoing major repairs in Hong Kong to check the safety of scaffolding and building materials," Hong Kong chief executive Jon Lee announced on social media.

ABC News has verified photos of officials visiting construction sites that contain green mesh netting.

The Bamboo Scaffolding Code, which sets the standards for the use of such scaffolding a mesh nets or tarpaulins, is not a statutory law in Hong Kong.