A devastating four-alarm fire in Tai Po's Wang Fuk Court has caused four deaths and injured three others, with two people in critical condition, local media reported. The Director of Fire Services, Andy Yeung Yin-kin, plans to visit the injured victims at Prince of Wales Hospital shortly.
Intense flames and vast amounts of smoke led to debris falling from multiple high-rises, forcing the evacuation of many residents to the ground. Fire services deployed numerous engines and ambulances to the scene.
Police received the initial report near 3 p.m. from a pedestrian about burning scaffolding on Wang Cheong House. Subsequently, numerous residents of Wang Cheong House, Wang Tai House, and Wang Sun House reported being trapped in their apartments.
One resident of Wang Sun House stated she fled her unit after hearing firecracker-like sounds, believing the bamboo scaffolding had ignited. Another mistook the noise for 'falling concrete' from renovation work, only fleeing when a friend called about the fire, local media noted. Management confirmed an emergency evacuation was underway.
The entire Wang Fuk Court complex, containing eight blocks, is presently undergoing a major external renovation project. Owners' Corporation records confirm all buildings have scaffolding erected for exterior wall plaster spraying.
Documents from the Wang Fuk Court Owners' Corporation in Tai Po show that the housing estate began a massive maintenance and repair initiative in July of last year, Hong Kong01 reported. Wang Yip Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. is the project's contractor, which has been under construction for over one year. The original timeline indicated that the scaffolding would be taken down in phases between March and June of next year. Hong Kong01 attempted to contact the owners' corporation and the contractor concerning the fire, but no reply was received from either party.
In January of last year, the owners' corporation at Tai Po Wang Fuk Court passed a significant maintenance strategy amounting to NT$330 million, Hong Kong01 confirmed. This required the 1,984 households across eight blocks to make maintenance payments of NT$160,000 to NT$180,000, scheduled in six bi-monthly installments. A considerable number of the owners expressed displeasure over this arrangement. Construction for these activities commenced in July of last year.
Following this, some owners organized a special general meeting, adhering to the Building Management Regulations' legal procedures, to re-evaluate the maintenance proposal and elect new representatives for the corporation. After consistent efforts, certain owners successfully convened a special general meeting in September of last year, Hong Kong01 reported. Following deliberations, they reached a unanimous decision to remove the old corporation that had served for more than ten years and to select new corporate representatives.
The newly elected corporate representatives vowed to scrutinize the maintenance contract terms and collaborate with owners to supervise the project's development. Minutes from a September meeting this year indicated that the major maintenance contractor had updated the Corporation on progress and planned to speed up construction. The plan involves beginning scaffolding demolition for the first phase between March and April next year, for the second phase between April and May next year, and for the third phase between April and June next year. The project, which includes reconstructing rooftop solar panels and repairing architraves, has been active for more than a year. The scaffolding required reinforcement and repair in early October after sustaining damage from super typhoon "Birch Gaza."
Hong Kong01 tried to call the contractor regarding the fire; however, the person hung up without answering the inquiry. The phone number for the owners' corporation also went unanswered.
