Substandard work and evasion of oversight helped fuel deadly Hong Kong fire, investigators told

An independent committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades heard improper practices evading regulatory oversight turned fire into a tragedy.

An independent committee investigating the cause of Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades heard arguments on how improper practices that evaded regulatory oversight turned a small fire into a tragedy as the investigation neared its conclusion Friday.

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The November blaze spread through seven buildings of an apartment complex, killing 168 people and displacing thousands of residents at Wang Fuk Court in the suburban Tai Po district. Many of the residents now live in temporary housing.

Committee lead lawyer Victor Dawes said the use of non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting was very likely a key reason for the fire’s rapid spread at the complex, which was undergoing a major renovation project when the blaze started. Having wooden planks boarding up staircase windows caused plumes of smoke in residents’ escape routes, he said.