Tai Po probe: fire department to propose law changes, tougher penalties to boost safety

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.An independent committee examining the causes of Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades held its 10th day of evidential hearings on Friday.The Fire Services Department’s handling of shutdown notices for the fire safety systems of the devastated Tai Po housing estate where 168 people lost their lives in November is expected to be the focus of the session.Keung Sai-ming, an assistant director for the department on licensing and certification, has testified before the judge-led panel. He is the first official to appear before the committee investigating the Wang Fuk Court inferno.Two of six “human factors” identified by the committee’s lead counsel, Victor Dawes, as leading to the high death toll involved empty fire services tanks and deactivated fire alarms across the eight blocks of the estate, which was being renovated when the blaze started.Keung Sai-ming (centre) is expected to testify on Friday. Photo: Elson LiThe committee had previously heard that a technician from the estate’s then property management firm, ISS EastPoint, had turned off the main switches controlling the power supply to both the firefighting pump and fire alarm systems. This was to help the estate’s renovation contractor, Prestige Construction and Engineering Company, drain the fire services tanks, effectively deactivating both systems.Fire services installation contractor China Status Development and Engineering acted as a “rubber stamp” by issuing shutdown notices for the systems to authorities on behalf of Prestige without inspecting the site, potentially breaching fire safety regulations, the committee also heard.Follow our live updates on the 10th day of the hearings. coverage: