Until 11 a.m. on November 26, there were still red fires in many buildings, and the fire on the upper floors was more obvious, and thick white smoke rolled upwards and spread. The bamboo on the exterior scaffolding mixed with green nets fell from high altitudes, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of burning.

Owen needed to spend a sleepless night at the temporary resettlement site of the community hall. After learning of the fire at nearly 3 p.m., Owen hurried back to Hongfuyuan, where he lived, and a cordon had been set up around him. Draped in a quilt, he participated in volunteer work at the resettlement site, guiding residents to register, call the police, report missing, etc.

"From the afternoon to now, the overall fire is a little smaller, but it will rekindle when the wind blows. It's close to the sea again, and it's even more windy." Irving told Jiemian News.

The fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Hong Kong on November 26 has attracted attention from all walks of life, which is the first level 5 fire in Hong Kong since the 2008 fire at the Ka Wo Building on Nathan Road in Mong Kok.

"The fire started as soon as it started, there was smoke, it was very violent." Hu Min and his father, who live in nearby Kwong Fuk Estate, were evacuated on the evening of November 26, and the building where they lived had been cordoned off. He was nearby when the fire broke out and saw the flames quickly spread from one building to another.

In the 24 hours after the incident, data released by the Hong Kong Fire Services Department showed that 55 people were killed and 72 injured, including 8 firefighters, were killed in the fire. Since the incident, 304 fire and rescue vehicles have been dispatched, 341 requests for help have been received, and 279 cases have been successfully handled.

At a press conference at 6 p.m. on November 27, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said that so far, the fire in seven buildings has been basically controlled, and firefighters have successfully rescued 55 people under the gradual control of the fire. Next, the fire incident will be dealt with from four aspects, the first is to extinguish the fire and rescue trapped residents, the second is to rescue the injured, the third is to provide support, and the fourth is a comprehensive investigation. The government has opened 9 shelters for more than 500 residents, and has also used all resources to provide emergency accommodation for residents, which can initially provide 1,800 units.

As of 6:30 p.m. on November 27, Jiemian News saw at the scene that the open flame was basically invisible to the naked eye, but after the wind picked up in the evening, the dark fires on some floors rekindled and continued to burn, sometimes accompanied by explosions. Search and rescue work is still ongoing. At 6 o'clock, another firefighter was sent to the hospital.

Firefighters who take over shifts

1. Placement

At half past 2 a.m. on November 27, Alice Ho Miao Ling Nethersole Hospital was brightly lit. At the door of the emergency room, a cordon has been set up at the scene, the Hong Kong police are stationed nearby, and the staff are busy registering information on the injured. The waiting area is overcrowded, and it is difficult to tell whether it is the injured or their families. People were sleepless and mechanically swiped their mobile phones repeatedly, waiting for the latest news from the scene.

Jiemian News learned from relevant staff that some of the injured in the fire at Hongfuyuan were sent to the emergency room of the hospital. In the emergency room, the logo of the Tai Po Office is very conspicuous, and the inter-departmental rescue station is in place.

Uninjured residents regarded the emergency room as a hope to find out the whereabouts of their families. At 3 a.m., Chen Li sat at the door of the emergency room. Her father was working in Hongfuyuan at the time of the incident on the afternoon of the 26th and has not been able to contact him since. "I'm not in the mood right now." Chen Li told Jiemian News.

According to Jiemian News, after the fire broke out in Hung Fook Court on the afternoon of November 26, the Hong Kong Futian Youth Association discussed support plans in relevant groups. Most of the members of the association are Hong Kong people working in Shenzhen and arrived in Hong Kong between 11 and 12 o'clock that night. They did not go to the scene of the accident, but followed the instructions and sent the supplies to the resettlement site of the Tung Cheong Street Community Hall in Hong Kong.

The materials carried this time included dozens of quilts, more than 300 blankets, thousands of thermal underwear and more than 100 meals, and six seven-seater vehicles were mobilized to transport them back and forth between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Tung Cheong Street Community Hall resettlement site

At 2 a.m. on November 27, the interface news reporter saw at the Dongchang Street Community Hall resettlement site that many residents of Hongfuyuan had been resettled here, providing beds, basic warm supplies and simple meals on the spot. At that time, Su Weisheng, a member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and honorary president of the Hong Kong Futian Youth Association, told Jiemian News that the number of resettlements continued to rise. "We started receiving people at about 10 p.m. on the 26th, when the preliminary count was more than 80 people, and now we don't know the exact number.

"Only residents of Hongfuyuan are accepted here." He estimated that as of 2 a.m. on the 27th, about 150 people had been resettled at the scene.

Near the scene of the incident, the surrounding schools and community halls are open as resettlement sites, and the community has set up a missing persons registration office, a safety report location and a material donation resettlement site.

2. Fire

At 8:40 a.m. on November 27, Mr. Guo, a resident of Hongfuyuan, wearing slippers and shorts, walked slowly on the road next to the fire scene, looking at the residential building where the incident occurred.

Mr. Guo told Jiemian News that he was fishing outside when the fire broke out. When he returned home at 3 p.m. on the 26th, the fire was already very large, starting from the Hongchang Pavilion near the sea, and then spreading rapidly to adjacent buildings. He described it as "completely helpless" at that time, and there was no time to take anything at home, "I didn't bring any clothes, not even my underwear." Fortunately, only he lived with his wife, and his children had already moved out. When he rushed back to the scene, the building had been sealed off and could no longer be entered, "now the house is all burned down", but fortunately his wife was safe.

He said he did not know the cause of the fire, and he did not learn the cause of the fire from other residents afterwards, "When I came back, it was already burning."

He mentioned that only one building was not affected, "the luckiest", because the wind direction changed from north to east at that time, and "as soon as the wind changed, the fire did not burn." "As soon as those fires dropped, they affected one building, and then another." He said.

As for whether the exterior wall maintenance scaffolding caused the fire and whether the construction workers smoked during the usual construction, he said he did not know, only mentioning that "during the maintenance, we did not dare to open the windows." Subsequently, he sighed, "My house burned, burned the whole roof, and burned into the house." ”

On the evening of November 26, he did not go to the resettlement site arranged by the government, but went to his son's house to sleep on the sofa. "There are too many people in the resettlement site, and the residents of the eight buildings are there."

When asked if the SAR government had further resettlement arrangements, Mr. Guo said "no" and only sighed: "It's miserable, I have come to these bad luck in my old age." ”

This house was bought by him more than 40 years ago and where he lived for more than 40 years.

In the early morning of November 27, the fire was not fully controlled

Mr. Guo's acquaintance, Mr. Tang, who is also a resident of Hongfuyuan, shouted "Yin Gong" from a distance when he saw him being interviewed at the scene.

Mr. Tang said, "The building that was not burned down was actually not comfortable, and the fire hose sprayed very badly." ”

It is understood that when Mr. Tang discovered the fire, the firefighters did not come, "the firefighters took a long time to come", Mr. Tang repeated. Mr. Guo also echoed.

Mr. Tang showed the interface news reporter the video of the fire he took at 15:07 on November 26. "I wanted to go up to get something, but I didn't dare. If I went up, I might not be able to see me now." He lived in Hongtai Pavilion, next to Hongchang Pavilion, which was the first to catch fire.

3. Maintenance

Before the incident, Hongfuyuan left the impression of the outside world as a green protective net and yellow bamboo scaffolding covered all over the body.

According to the official website of Zhongyuan Real Estate, there are a total of 8 residences here, unified named "Hong× Pavilion", with a unit construction area of 48 square meters ~ 54 square meters, and the first launch price is about 116,000 ~ 159,100 Hong Kong dollars, with a total of 1,984 households.

Wang Fu Court is one of the units of Hong Kong's "Home Ownership Scheme", its developer is the Hong Kong Housing Authority, the management company is Chi Bang Property Management Co., Ltd., and the occupation date is 1983. The total population of the housing estate reached 4,643, of which 30% were aged 40~64 and 36.6% were aged 65 and above.

In July 2024, the 40-year-old Hongfu Court began major repairs. The first phase involves Hongchang Court, Hongsheng Court, and Hongzhi Court, the second phase involves Hongxin Court, Hongjian Court, and Hongtai Court, and the third phase involves Hongren Court and Hongdao Court. The contractor is Hongye Construction Engineering Co., Ltd.

The progress of this repair has been twisted and turned. The HK$330 million maintenance plan has caused dissatisfaction among owners. Under this plan, each household needs to pay a maintenance fee of 160,000 to 180,000 yuan every two months in six installments.

At the press conference of the Hongfuyuan project of Hongye Construction Engineering Co., Ltd., some owners questioned, "The preparation of this project was hasty, and the owner was not consulted in advance, and the project cost was almost sky-high, and the owner had no way to know the content and details of the project." In addition, some owners mentioned the problem of smoking by workers.

According to public information, Hongye Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. was established in early 1990, and its main business includes building maintenance, addition and renovation projects, housing estate beautification projects, etc. As of October 2023, the company has 25 people, and the engineering team includes about 100 long-term casual workers.

According to the inspection results, the external components of Hung Fook Court and other physical components and structural components are aging. There are also corresponding problems with fire safety components: individual floors of each staircase need to be equipped with fire-resistant materials to protect non-emergency facilities; some smoke doors, rooftops, electric room doors and storage room doors in the basement lobby do not have one-hour fire resistance performance; each fire water pump is not equipped with backup pumps, etc.

According to the announced maintenance schedule, by November 26, the project has entered the stage of papier-mâché and cleaning of the exterior wall. It is expected to enter the dismantling of the net and shed by March ~ June 2026.

As of November 17, 2025, 15 phases of the project have been paid, with a total cost of HK$179 million.

The large-scale maintenance carried out at the same time has laid hidden dangers. On November 27, Ho Ping-tak, chairman of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Scaffolding and Respecting Trade Union, said that the relevant management company and engineering consultants allowed the eight buildings of Wang Fuk Court to be scaffolded for maintenance at the same time, resulting in the "burning of the chain ship". In addition, there are still residents living in the house during the maintenance period, so maintenance should not be allowed for more than a year.

4. Reasons

At 10 a.m. on November 27, the Hongfuyuan building was still emitting smoke, and many open flames had been extinguished. Jiemian News saw at the scene that the peripheral fire trucks continued to shoot water, the firefighter team was handing over shifts, and about 100 firefighters were preparing for the search and rescue upstairs.

Hong Kong was still dry and windy on this day. Since 7 a.m. on November 24, the Hong Kong Observatory has maintained a red fire danger warning, and its signal shows that "the fire risk is extremely high". By November 27, Jiemian News observed that there was still a resurgence of buildings. When the wind blew, three fire points rekindled together, accompanied by a small explosion.

How this fire escalates step by step is the focus of attention from the outside world.

According to the Hong Kong Fire Services Department, the fire department received a report at about 2:51 p.m. on the 26th and arrived at the scene about 5 minutes after receiving the alarm. At 3:02 p.m., the fire alarm was upgraded to level 3. At about 3:34 p.m., the fire was raised to level 4 again due to "the fire continued to spread, and burning scaffolding and debris continued to fall". At about 6 p.m., complaints and reports were still increasing, the fire was not controlled, and the fire was upgraded to level 5.

Resettlement site materials

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Hong Kong police launched an investigation and found that the exterior walls of the building had protective nets, waterproof canvases, and plastic sheeting, which were suspected of not meeting fire protection standards. In addition, there is also a building that has not been affected, and the windows of the elevator lobby on each floor are closed with foam plastic, and it cannot be ruled out that foam is the cause of the rapid spread of the fire.

"We found that the styrofoam was installed by a construction company for maintenance works in this building. The police have reason to believe that the person in charge of the engineering company was seriously negligent. Senior Superintendent Chung Lai-yi of the New Territories North Regional Crime Headquarters of the Hong Kong Police said at a press conference on the morning of November 27 that she would do her best to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the workers involved in the engineering company to find out the cause of the fire as soon as possible.

At 2 a.m. on November 27, the local police arrested three heads of engineering companies suspected of manslaughter, including two directors and one engineering consultant, aged between 52 and 68.

According to the relevant codes of the Hong Kong Labour Department, the industry should use flame-retardant canvas and scaffolding, but this is not a mandatory requirement. The cost difference between flame-retardant and non-flame-retardant scaffolding nets ranges from $75 to $90 for the former and $40~$50 for the latter. Li Guangsheng, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Licensed Safety Practitioners, said in a radio program on November 27 that there was reason to believe that the shed nets of the building involved were not flame retardant, so that the fire spread so quickly. In addition, he had also seen maintenance workers smoking while working on the exterior walls.

Another reason that may lead to the large-scale spread of the fire is that the fire alarm is obviously unable to start. According to the Daily Economic News, some witnesses said that they had not heard the alarm bell, which also affected the speed of escape.

The staff of the Hong Kong Fire Services Department responded at the press conference that it was preliminarily estimated that due to the impact of the wind, burning debris and bamboo scaffolding drifted to nearby buildings, causing the fire to spread to 7 buildings in Wang Fuk Court. As for the specific number of units involved in the fire, it will not be statistically verified until the fire is under control.

The rapid escalation of fires is closely related to weather, building density and height. Jiang Gong, a municipal practitioner, told Jiemian News that the simultaneous maintenance of eight buildings destroyed the fire spacing between buildings. Since all buildings are equipped with scaffolding, the fire can spread from one building to another along the scaffolding. From the perspective of engineering planning, the simultaneous maintenance of all buildings may be due to unified management and time-saving considerations, but from a safety point of view, it is not very reasonable.

"In addition, the narrow passage between the scaffolding and the exterior wall of the building creates the so-called 'chimney effect'. When the fire burns, it produces high-temperature smoke, and when confined to a narrow passage, the ascent rate is greatly accelerated, and a large amount of fresh air is also inhaled to fuel the fire. In this way, it is entirely possible for the fire to spread to 20 floors in 10 minutes. Jiang Gong pointed out that this also brings further difficulties in three-dimensional combustion, and when the exterior wall scaffolding catches fire, the fire will spread upwards, downwards, and sides at the same time. This also brings rescue difficulties, and firefighters not only have to deal with the flames above, but also be wary of new fire points that may be ignited below.

The Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on November 27 that it would set up a task force to launch a comprehensive investigation into possible corruption involved in the major maintenance project of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.

5. Shed industry

Bamboo scaffolding is another focus of this fire.

From public housing to Norman Foster's HSBC head office building, it can be said that the Hong Kong skyline is built on bamboo frames, a construction method that dates back to the 19th century and is still the mainstream today. But in the midst of repeated accidents, bamboo scaffolding has also become the target of public criticism.

Jimmy Chen, a first-class registered structural engineer, pointed out to Jiemian News that for the local construction industry, cost control, technology inheritance, and low-carbon environmental protection concepts have led to the use of bamboo scaffolding in large numbers. However, compared with steel pipes, bamboo materials also have problems such as weaker structural reliability and poor fire resistance.

"When the exterior of the building is burning, the hanging net composed of combustible materials is easy to cut, but the scaffolding cannot be cut off urgently in a short time. The flammability of bamboo scaffolding will make it a guide for fire, which will quickly spread to all floors. Steel pipe scaffolding is flame retardant, which can at least play a certain role in isolation. Jimmy Chen pointed out.

In the past, bamboo scaffolding has also caused accidents, and the Hong Kong Development Bureau announced on March 17 that it plans to "promote the use of metal scaffolding" in public works. The official explanation stems from safety hazards - from 2018 to the first quarter of this year, bamboo scaffolding accidents have killed 23 people. This policy is seen as the beginning of bamboo scaffolding to withdraw from public construction, meaning that ArchSD will require at least 50% of government projects to use steel scaffolding.

On November 27, the rescue continued

Despite this, bamboo sheds are still commonly used in Hong Kong's architectural circles, and they are also related to the local ecology.

Jiang Gong has long observed Hong Kong's construction ecology, and he analyzed to Jiemian News that the construction industry in Hong Kong is inseparable from dealing with two associations, one is the "Bamboo Industry Committee" established in 2010, and the other is the "Hong Kong Shantytown Chamber of Commerce" established in 1941. In addition, there is also a "Hong Kong and Kowloon Shannafing and Respecting Trade Union" that represents the interests of front-line workers.

"From the perspective of the development of the entire industry, the bamboo shed craft has been passed down in Hong Kong for hundreds of years. It is not just as simple as building a temporary work platform, but also represents a kind of architectural wisdom that adapts to the local environment. At a time when the policy environment is changing, these shed industry organizations must not only maintain the living space of the industry, but also promote the improvement of safety standards, which is not easy to grasp. Jiang Gong believes.

Faced with the challenge of being replaced, in 2021, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Scaffolding Association, the Hong Kong Small and Medium-sized Shed Industry Association, the Hong Kong Federation of Bamboo Shed Industries, the Hong Kong Shed Industry Association, the Hong Kong Federation of Construction Industry Subcontractors and the Hong Kong Construction Industry General Union jointly established the "Hong Kong Bamboo Shed Industry Sustainable Development Concern Group" to correct the name of bamboo scaffolding craftsmanship.

In January this year, a bamboo scaffolding collapse accident occurred at the construction site of Kai Tak Hospital in Hong Kong, resulting in 11 injuries. The "Hong Kong Bamboo Scaffolding Industry Sustainable Development Concern Group" held a press conference and said that Hong Kong has a large number of people, and most of the new and maintenance single-block buildings have limited local environment and cannot build and use metal scaffolding. At the same time, most buildings in Hong Kong are in a special situation, and the replacement and repair of exterior wall equipment cannot be replaced by gondolas, trellis or lifting platforms, and they all rely on scaffolding erected by workers for repair.

The relevant person in charge said at the press conference that the banning of bamboo sheds means that "the jobs of workers have been broken and the lives of more than 4,000 workers and their families have been affected."

When residents whose houses are burned down are homeless, will these "associations" make a little change? Jiang Gong believes that how Hong Kong's construction scaffolding will evolve in the future depends on how to find a better balance between industry development and public safety. But what is certain is that whether it is a bamboo shed or a metal shed, the key to safety is not in the material itself, but in strict management and standardized operation. This is also the direction that all shed organizations have been working on.

On the afternoon of November 27, Li Jiachao said at a press conference that the Hong Kong Development Bureau has met with the industry to discuss a roadmap for promoting metal scaffolding instead of bamboo scaffolding. In addition, the government has immediately arranged to inspect all housing estates in Hong Kong undergoing major maintenance to check the safety of scaffolding and building materials.