The fire was first detected among bamboo scaffolding materials near lower levels of Wang Cheong House (Block F).

The mesh netting may have contributed to a chimney effect, creating strong upward convection that drives extensive, rapid fire growth.

Raging fires destroyed bamboo structures, sending flaming debris crashing to the ground.

Debris can accelerate the spread and intensity of fires.

Fire spreads rapidly to adjacent blocks, ultimately engulfing seven towers.

Wind

Strong winds helped fan the flames and push the fire across the scaffolding, spreading the blaze from the first building to catch fire (Wang Cheong House) to six adjacent residential blocks in the densely packed complex.

Fire alarms

The Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung Yan-kin said fire alarms of all eight buildings did not sound during the department’s tests. The failure of fire alarms during the deadly blaze is believed to have significantly delayed the evacuation of residents. Survivors said they were unaware of the impending danger because they did not hear any alarms when the fire first broke out, highlighting a crucial lapse in the buildings’ safety system.

Use of polystyrene foam

The discovery of highly flammable polystyrene foam will no doubt be closely scrutinised in investigations. The material was used to seal windows on many floors near the lift lobbies. This allowed the fire to spread rapidly within the blocks and prompted window panes to shatter, escalating the fire and spreading it indoors. Some residents also said that the sealed windows made it difficult for them to know what was happening outside.

Wang Fuk Court is a subsidised home-ownership complex in Tai Po. Built in 1983, its eight 31-storey towers are among the tallest buildings in the district, housing around 4,600 people.

Wang Cheong House (Block F), the building where the fire was first reported, is among the highest populated blocks in Wang Fuk Court.

Many people were at home when the fire started as more than 50 per cent of the residents in Wang Fuk Court are considered non-working.

Nearly 40 per cent of residents are aged 65 and above.

2024 New Lucky House in Yau Ma Tei

Five people were killed and 43 others injured after an intense fire broke out in the 60-year-old New Lucky House on Jordan Road in Yau Ma Tei, which had subdivided units and 35 registered guest houses.
One of the five killed was suspected to have jumped off the 16-storey building in a bid to escape the blaze.
Firefighters found plastic boards and electric wiring installed in the first-floor lobby, which were possibly the source of the fire and dense smoke that spread across different floors.

2016 Amoycan Industrial Centre

Two firefighters died in an inferno that engulfed the Amoycan Industrial Centre in Ngau Tau Kok.
The blaze burned for more than 100 hours, making it the longest-running fire in more than 20 years.
A major obstacle for firefighters was the layout of 200 mini-cubicles inside the multiple-floor mini-storage facility where the fire began, each of them separated by metal sheets, and storing unknown goods..
The eight-storey building, which was built in 1961, was also not equipped with sprinklers, a requirement imposed on complexes built since 1973.

2011 Fa Yuen Street

A connection problem with an electrical cable used at a hawker’s stall in Mong Kok triggered an inferno through two adjoining eight-storey buildings at 192 and 194 Fa Yuen Street, leaving nine dead, 34 injured and 118 people homeless.
The danger was compounded by a lack of access to rear staircases in two buildings behind the market because flats had been subdivided.

1997 Top One Karaoke

A fire at Top One Karaoke in Tsim Sha Tsui killed 17 people and injured 15. A criminal trial found the arson was the result of a petty dispute between the Wo Shing Wo and Sun Yee On triad groups.
A coroner’s inquest found Top One Karaoke inspectors overlooked glaring breaches in fire safety equipment that should have been fixed.
These included an illegal system that cut off the water supply to sprinklers if closed off by a valve, an alarm system that should have been installed to warn the building owners if the valve was closed, and an obstructed sprinkler valve.
The fire led to an overall review of fire safety at entertainment venues across the city.

1996 Garley Building

A blaze that raged for 21 hours in the Garley Building on Nathan Road in Jordan claimed 41 lives, including a firefighter, and injured 81.
The fire started when a piece of hot metal fell from the 13th floor to the second, but as ongoing welding work had routinely triggered alarms, no one paid attention at first. Sparks and molten metal started the blaze in the lobby on the second floor where combustible materials, such as newspaper and wood, were stacked.
The Garley Building fire was Hong Kong’s deadliest in decades before the Tai Po tragedy.

1971 Jumbo Floating Restaurant

The Jumbo Floating Restaurant was engulfed in flames before its scheduled opening, killing 34 workers. Hundreds of people leapt from its pagoda-shaped towers to escape. The four-deck palatial establishment was reduced to a charred hulk.
Sparks from a welding machine were the cause of the fire. Six small fires had broken out in the same part of the vessel in the days leading up to the disaster as contractors raced to meet the restaurant’s opening date. The restaurant was rebuilt and opened in 1976.

1948 Wing On godown

One of the worst fires in the history of Hong Kong broke out after an explosion in a Wing On godown on Des Voeux Road West. It killed 176 people and injured 69 others. The five-storey godown contained dangerous goods, including celluloid and crepe rubber on the ground floor, while the upper four storeys comprised 36 tenement flats. That came a year after a fire broke out on the SS Sai On, a steamer ship moored at a wharf at Connaught Road, Central, killing 149 of the 200 passengers on board.

1918 Happy Valley Racecourse

The deadliest fire in Hong Kong’s history dates back to 1918, when a blaze erupted at Happy Valley Racecourse. More than 600 lives were lost after the grandstand collapsed.