Wang Fuk Court Tragedy : The person responsible for Hong Kong’s deadliest fire is known

Emotions ran high yesterday, Thursday, March 19, 2026, at the opening of the public hearing concerning the devastating fire at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex, a tragedy that claimed the lives of 168 people on November 26 in the Tai Po district.

According to the damning conclusions presented by lead counsel Victor Dawes before the independent committee, virtually all of the safety devices intended to protect the residents failed, not due to isolated technical malfunctions, but because of a critical accumulation of human factors.

This blaze, described as the deadliest residential building fire in the world since 1980, ravaged seven of the complex’s eight towers with terrifying speed, transforming the buildings into veritable infernos.

At the time of the disaster, the towers were shrouded in bamboo scaffolding, protective netting, and flammable foam panels for renovation work—a cocktail of materials that provided ideal fuel for the fire’s rapid vertical spread.

The human toll is all the more devastating because the complex housed a vulnerable population: of the 4,600 residents, more than 1,700 were 60 years of age or older, dramatically complicating evacuation attempts in stairwells filled with toxic fumes.

Armed with a case file containing more than a million documents and poignant eyewitness accounts, Victor Dawes insisted that this legal process, although « difficult and arduous, » is the only way to heal this indelible scar and ensure, through radical reforms, that Hong Kong once again becomes a safe city for its inhabitants.

This hearing marks the beginning of a thorough examination of urban renewal protocols and the responsibility of construction companies in managing fire risks in high-density environments.