Hong Kong Construction Under Scrutiny After Deadly Fire

The deadly fire at a Hong Kong residential building was allegedly made worse by unsafe materials used by contractors.

Some of the scaffolding netting used at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex was replaced with cheaper, non-fire-safe material after a typhoon this summer, according to findings by Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption reported by the New York Times. Contractors reportedly skirted oversight by installing standard-compliant netting at the base of the scaffolding where inspectors usually take samples.

The latest discovery comes after authorities previously said that the protective netting at Wang Fuk Court did meet fire safety standards from preliminary testing. Previous samples were taken from the ground floor of a building at the complex that had been untouched by the fire, but Hong Kong Security Chief Chris Tang acknowledged that official test results were far-off from “the observations of our colleagues on-site and from numerous experts and citizens afterward.”

To replace typhoon-damaged netting over the summer, contractors reportedly bought 2,300 rolls from a local supplier for about $7 per roll. A separate fire involving scaffolding netting in October raised concerns about other sites. Inspectors believe Wang Fuk Court officials installed compliant netting costing about $13 per roll at the base of each building’s scaffolding to try to distract from the unsafe material above.

Of the 20 samples taken from Wang Fuk Court, seven failed to meet fire safety standards. In addition to the unsafe netting, the fire was able to spread through the scaffolding so quickly because of flammable polystyrene foam boards.

Some contractors reportedly sprang into action to cover up their tracks as inspections increased in recent days, working to remove netting used at sites. “You can see the mesh being removed in Hong Kong because they are avoiding punishment,” civil engineer and activist Jason Poon Chuk-hung said. “If you remove it, you can escape from the requirements.”

So far, 14 people have been arrested in connection with the fatal blazes, including engineering consultants, contractors and scaffolding subcontractors. The death toll sits at 151 as police continue to search the towers for bodies and pieces of identification; more than 40 residents were still missing, per the Times. It will take another three weeks to find and identify the remains of everyone left, according to officials.

— Chris Malone Méndez