Tai Po fire hearing: management company unaware of alarm system shutdown notice
A fire services contractor testified he asked to reactivate the safety system five days before the deadly blaze.
Public hearings into Hong Kong's devastating Tai Po fire, which killed 168 people, have entered a critical phase, focusing on why the building's fire safety systems were deactivated. Chung Kit-man, director of the fire services contractor Victory Fire Engineering, testified that he requested the estate's management office reactivate the fire alarm and firefighting pump systems five days before the November tragedy. Shockingly, the systems were found to have been switched off a full week prior, and no action was taken to turn them back on, leaving residents without critical early warnings and water pressure during the blaze.
Further testimony revealed a pattern of negligence and pressure. Chung admitted that an annual inspection had flagged problems with the estate's water tanks, which he failed to mention in a certificate filed with authorities. A technical officer from the management company, ISS EastPoint Properties, separately stated they were pressured by authorities to issue a certificate for new equipment. The judge-led committee is now scrutinizing whether substandard cables were used in the alarm system and the overall breakdown in communication and procedure between the contractor, management, and regulatory bodies that led to this catastrophic failure.
- Fire alarm and pump systems were switched off a week before the blaze that killed 168 people, and remained off despite a reactivation request 5 days prior.
- The fire services contractor admitted to not reporting known problems with water tanks in an official certificate filed with the Fire Services Department.
- A management company technical officer testified about being pressured by authorities to certify new equipment, pointing to systemic regulatory failures.
Why It Matters
The hearing exposes catastrophic failures in building safety enforcement and accountability, with direct implications for regulations and management standards worldwide.