Graphics and video show how inferno engulfed Wang Fuk Court

Hong Kong investigators reveal how the city’s worst fire in years quickly ripped through seven high-rise buildings, leaving at least 159 people dead, dozens injured and more than 30 still missing.

Inspectors found that the protective green mesh installed around the Wang Fuk Court complex, which is undergoing extensive renovations, did not meet flame retardant standards.

Amid calls for transparency and accountability, Hong Kong’s leader John Lee ordered a judge-led committee to investigate the fire and review oversight of building renovations. Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency has also launched its own investigation.

Here’s what we know about the fire and how it spread so quickly.

How did the fire start?

This is not yet known, but some residents have reportedly complained that construction workers involved in the renovation project are smoking on site.

The fire broke out at Wang Cheong House, one of eight identical 31-story residential towers in the Wang Fuk complex built in the 1980s.

The first call to the fire brigade came in at 14.30 Hong Kong time (AEDT) at 14.51 on Wednesday 26 November.

Social media images captured the early stages of the fire as the green netting and bamboo scaffolding covering the building quickly caught fire.

The fire quickly spread to the side of the building and within minutes the entire block was ablaze.

As it caught fire, the burning debris began to fall to the ground. Within minutes, the fire had spread to seven of the eight buildings, forming a V shape that extended towards many other skyscrapers.

Approximately 750 firefighters tried to extinguish the flames and rescue hundreds of residents trapped inside. Hong Kong deputy fire chief Derek Armstrong said high temperatures prevented firefighters from entering buildings.

A married couple in their 70s who lost their home in the fire told Reuters that their daughter warned them about the fire while they were having afternoon tea at a nearby restaurant.

“It all happened in just an hour or two. I stood there watching block after block go up in flames; my legs were so weak I couldn’t stand,” said Ms. Leung, choking on tears.

“When I saw this, I felt completely helpless. I still do not understand how the fire could spread so fiercely and destroy one building after another.”

“The bamboo scaffolding cracked and a sound like windows exploding was heard; the flames went completely out of control.”

One man told this masthead that no alarm went off and that he was alerted to the emergency by neighbors knocking on his apartment door.

What caused it to spread so quickly?

Hong Kong police said the exterior walls of the complex’s buildings “contained protective nets, membranes, waterproof tarpaulins and plastic sheets suspected of not meeting fire safety standards.”

Investigators also suspect that other materials, such as Styrofoam-type panels used to protect windows from damage during renovations, are not fully fire resistant.

Lau Yu Hung, 78, a resident of Wang Fuk Court, said: New York Times He said most of the windows on his block were covered with a thin layer of polystyrene foam.

He explained that the material blocks most light and prevents residents from seeing outside. He said he could only see a neighboring building on fire and escaped in time through a small gap in the foam covering the bathroom window.

Strong winds also fanned the flames and may have prevented helicopters from being used in firefighting efforts.

According to Bloomberg, inspections had flagged risks long before the disaster. According to Hong Kong’s Department of Works, regulators conducted 16 checks on the renovation project and issued repeated written warnings urging the contractor to implement appropriate fire prevention measures, including last week.

Hong Kong Police said at least 15 people, including two managers of a construction company and an engineering consultant, were arrested on charges of manslaughter while the fire investigation continued.

On December 2, authorities said they had completed their search for bodies inside the buildings and would now focus on other areas.

The search could take weeks due to dangerous conditions and the difficulty of collecting bodies and human remains, some of which were found on rooftops and staircases.

What kind of buildings were these?

Wang Fuk Court is a complex of privately owned, government-subsidized housing in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong’s New Territories, near the northern border with mainland China.

Built in the 1980s, basic apartments measure 40 to 45 square meters, according to online real estate listings. Like most of Hong Kong’s high-density housing, they do not appear to be equipped with smoke detectors or sprinkler systems.

The buildings were also built before revisions to the city’s fire codes requiring mandatory fire shelter floors.

Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents live mostly crammed on scarce flat land or in cramped apartments perched on steep mountain slopes. Many of these tall buildings are located together.

How does this fire compare to Grenfell Tower?

The 2017 Grenfell Tower fire was one of the UK’s worst modern-day disasters.

73 people died when a fire that started in a faulty refrigerator engulfed the 23-storey West London skyscraper, fueled by flammable metal cladding added to the exterior during renovations.

A six-year public inquiry has uncovered a series of regulatory failures on building standards and fire safety dating back decades. Criminal investigations are ongoing into numerous organizations, companies and individuals linked to the disaster.

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In both disasters, graphic images quickly captured news feeds around the world. However, although there appear to be superficial similarities, there are also important differences.

At Grenfell Tower, the main cause appeared to be the building’s own fabric (polyethylene-filled aluminum composite cladding added during renovations) rather than external scaffolding or temporary cladding.

In many high-rise buildings, including Grenfell Tower, sheltering in place (or “staying in place”) is a common fire safety standard. However, an uncontrolled fire becomes ineffective when it spreads outside the building. This happened at Grenfell Tower and in Hong Kong.

In another possible parallel with Hong Kong, flammable foam insulation added to Grenfell Tower’s window frames was found to be a key factor in helping the fire spread.

helping survivors

More than 2,600 residents were placed in temporary accommodation and 1,013 residents were staying in hostels, camps or hotel rooms, the government said. Another 1,607 residents were moved into temporary housing units.

“I can’t sleep at night thinking about my home. Everything I earned over the decades is gone,” Ms. Leung said.

His daughter, Bonnie Leung, 41, said it was “incomprehensible that such a tragedy and so many deaths could occur in Hong Kong.”

The blaze was deadlier than the November 1996 blaze at a commercial building in Kowloon, when 41 people died in a blaze that lasted nearly 20 hours. 176 people died in a warehouse fire in 1948 South China Morning Post.

AP via Reuters

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