Tai Po fire: owners’ group repeatedly protested use of flammable materials

Residents' pleas for fire-resistant materials went unheeded due to lack of legal mandate, inquiry into Hong Kong's deadliest blaze in decades hears. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Tai Po fire: owners’ group repeatedly protested use of flammable materials

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A public inquiry into Hong Kong's deadliest residential fire in decades heard on Friday that the owners' corporation of the devastated Tai Po housing complex was powerless to compel renovation contractors to use fire-resistant materials, citing a critical absence of statutory requirements. Tony Tsui Moon-come, who chaired the management committee for Wang Fuk Court's incorporated owners at the time of the blaze, testified that he and fellow residents felt "helpless" in their repeated protests to contractor Prestige Construction and other parties involved in the building's external renovation work. The fire, which tore through the complex last year, claimed multiple lives and injured dozens, casting a harsh spotlight on the city's building safety regulations. The testimony revealed a systemic failure where clear warnings from residents were effectively nullified by a legal void. Despite organized protests and formal complaints from the owners' group, the contractors were under no legal obligation to switch from standard, and often more flammable, materials to safer, fire-resistant alternatives for the cladding and scaffolding netting. This gap in the building code meant that cost and convenience for the contractors could legally trump direct safety concerns raised by the people who lived in the building, creating a scenario Tsui described as one of profound frustration and impotence for the community. The tragedy at Wang Fuk Court is not an isolated incident but rather a catastrophic symptom of a broader regulatory lag that has haunted Hong Kong's densely packed urban landscape for years. Following high-profile fires around the world linked to combustible cladding, such as the Grenfell Tower disaster in London, questions have repeatedly been raised about the adequacy of local fire safety standards, particularly for aging housing estates undergoing renovation. The inquiry has underscored how, in the absence of proactive legislation, the responsibility for enforcing best practices falls onto residents' groups, which often lack the technical expertise and legal authority to challenge professional contractors. The role of Prestige Construction and the specifics of...

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Categoria: cronaca