Tai Po probe: fire contractor admits never conducting on-site checks due to ‘busy’ schedule

A Hong Kong fire safety contractor has admitted to a shocking lapse in duty during the official probe into the city's deadliest fire in decades. Chung Kit-man, director and engineer of Victory Fire Engineering, testified that his company never conducted on-site inspections of the fire service equipment at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, blaming a 'busy' schedule. His company was the contractor responsible for the estate's fire safety systems. The independent committee is investigating the November 2025 blaze that raged for 43 hours, killed 168 people, and displaced nearly 5,000 residents.

Evidence presented revealed a catastrophic chain of failures. A week before the fire, Victory Fire Engineering discovered the main power switch for the fire service pumps and alarms had been turned off by the estate manager to allow renovation work. Despite this critical discovery, the contractor took no action to notify the Fire Services Department or pressure the management to restore the life-saving alarms. The hearings have identified the deactivation of alarms as one of six key 'human factors' that contributed to the scale of the tragedy, highlighting a systemic breakdown in safety protocols and accountability.