Fire risks not spotted due to old inspection guidelines, Tai Po blaze inquiry told

Outdated inspection guidelines kept government surveyors from spotting illegal alterations that fueled Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades, inquiry hears. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Fire risks not spotted due to old inspection guidelines, Tai Po blaze inquiry told

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Government surveyors failed to detect major fire risks at a housing complex destroyed in Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in decades because they were following outdated guidelines that did not require in-person inspections of renovation works, a public inquiry has heard. The independent committee investigating the blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po was told on Monday that illegal alterations to emergency passages during a HK$336 million (US$42.9 million) overhaul of the estate’s exterior could have been discovered sooner had inspectors been required to physically check the works. Instead, surveyors relied on paper-based approvals and remote checks, missing critical safety violations that turned the building into a death trap. The fire, which broke out in April, claimed the lives of 42 residents and injured dozens more, making it the deadliest such disaster in Hong Kong since the 1996 Garley Building fire. The tragedy has sparked widespread public outrage and demands for accountability, as survivors and families of victims question how such a catastrophic oversight could occur in a city known for its stringent building codes. At the heart of the inquiry is the revelation that the government’s inspection protocols for major renovation projects had not been updated in over a decade. The guidelines did not mandate on-site visits for alterations that were classified as “minor” or “cosmetic,” even when such work involved structural changes to fire escapes, corridor widths, and emergency exits. In the case of Wang Fuk Court, contractors illegally narrowed escape routes and blocked access to stairwells, violations that went unnoticed because no surveyor ever stepped foot on the premises during the renovation. Legal experts and fire safety advocates have condemned the system as a recipe for disaster. “This is a systemic failure,” said one witness who testified before the committee. “When you rely on self-reporting and paperwork alone, you are essentially trusting the same people who profit from cutting corners to police themselves.” The inquiry also heard that the Housing Department had received anonymous complaints about the alterations months before the fire but did not...

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Categoria: cronaca