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

The owners’ corporation of a Hong Kong housing complex devastated in the city’s deadliest fire in decades failed to convince renovation workers to use fire-resistant materials due to the absence of statutory requirements, a public inquiry heard on Friday.Tony Tsui Moon-come, chairman of the management committee of the incorporated owners of Wang Fuk Court at the time of the fire, said on Friday he and other residents were “helpless” when trying to compel contractor Prestige Construction and Engineering to replace flammable polyfoam boards with corrugated plastic sheets after the estate’s exterior overhaul began in July 2024.Tsui, who became chairman in September that year, said Prestige had insisted that the law did not prohibit the use of flammable materials, nor did it require any fire-retardant items to be certified before use.