Hong Kong Fires: Building Mesh Failed Regulations

HONG KONG (AP) — Protective mesh covering scaffolding around buildings that burned last week in Hong Kong did not meet fire resistance standards, Hong Kong authorities said Monday, as a wave of public sympathy and support was met with government measures to quell criticism.

Chris Tang, Hong Kong’s Security Secretary, said mesh samples were taken from multiple locations of the seven buildings that caught fire. Seven samples were found not to meet the standards. Initial tests had suggested the mesh met standards, but investigators had not been able to fully verify it because of the fire.

“Because the fire is now out, we have been able to access places that were not easily accessible before to take samples,” Tang told reporters.

The fire started Wednesday afternoon and was not completely extinguished until Friday morning. Authorities raised the death toll to 151 on Monday.

Tsang Shuk-yin, head of Hong Kong police’s victim investigation unit, told reporters at the scene on Monday that teams had located five more bodies during searches throughout the day. They also removed the bodies of three people who had already been found by firefighters but who could not be immediately recovered.

There are 104 people missing, he added. The fire also left 79 injured and thousands homeless.

Donations to fire survivors had reached HK$900 million (US$115 million) as of Monday, officials said, as a steady stream of people placed flowers, cards and other memorabilia at a makeshift altar near the complex of burned buildings.

“When something happens, we come out to help each other,” said Loretta Loh, after paying her respects at the scene. “My heart hurts.”

The fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon at the Wang Fuk Court complex in the Tai Po suburb. It burned seven of the eight apartment towers, home to about 4,600 people.

On Monday, Hong Kong authorities said teams were assessing the safety of the other buildings, including the one that caught fire first and was most damaged.

The millions in donated funds, and HK$300 million ($38.5 million) in seed money from the government, will be used to help victims rebuild their homes and provide long-term support, local officials said. The government has also provided cash grants to survivors to help with expenses, including funerals, and is working to find them accommodation.

By Monday, 683 residents had found places in local hotels and hostels, and another 1,144 had moved into temporary accommodation. Two emergency shelters remained open to others, officials said.

All buildings in the complex were clad with bamboo scaffolding covered with nylon mesh for external renovations. The windows were covered with Styrofoam panels, and authorities are investigating whether fire regulations were violated.

Residents had complained for almost a year about the mesh covering the scaffolding, Hong Kong’s Labor Department said. He confirmed that officials had carried out 16 inspections of the renovation project since July 2024 and had warned contractors several times in writing that they must comply with fire safety requirements. The last inspection was just a week before the fire.

Hong Kong’s anti-graft agency has arrested 11 people, including the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company. A growing number of people have been questioning whether government officials should also be held accountable.

“People are angry and think the HK (Hong Kong) government should be held accountable,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a local political scientist and senior research fellow at the Paris-based Asia Center think tank.

But the room for dissent is limited in the former British colony, which came under Chinese control in 1997 and has been increasing efforts to silence public criticism on national security grounds.

On Saturday, the Office for Safeguarding National Security issued a strongly worded statement about what it called “evil plans” that had “the ultimate motivation to use the disaster to create trouble and disrupt Hong Kong.” He did not give specific details.

On Saturday, a man who helped organize an online petition calling for government accountability was arrested on suspicion of sedition, local media including HK01 and Sing Tao Daily reported. Two others were arrested on Sunday, including a volunteer who offered help in Tai Po after the fire broke out, the same media reported.

Cabestan said Hong Kong authorities were operating like authorities in mainland China, preventing protests before they could develop.

Hong Kong police declined to comment specifically on the arrests, telling The Associated Press only that “the police will take action according to the actual circumstances and in accordance with the law.”

Authorities have stifled dissent in the city since hundreds of thousands took to the streets in 2019 against government plans to allow extradition to mainland China, and have virtually banned mass protests, as well as barring opposition leaders from running in legislative elections.