Tai Po fire probe: Ban combustibles on external building works, expert says

A fire expert has said that combustible materials should not be used on apartment complex exterior walls during building works, in order to prevent a repeat of last November’s deadly Wang Fuk Court fire. Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on December 10, 2025. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP. Testifying at a public hearing on Thursday, Asif Sohail Usmani, a fire engineering expert appointed by the independent committee presiding over the hearings, said that such a move was necessary as fire-rated scaffolding nets alone could not be relied on to stave off fires. On November 26, 2025, a blaze engulfed seven residential towers at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, killing 168 people and displacing thousands. On Thursday, Usmani, associate head of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, recommended a ban on combustible materials on the outer walls of buildings undergoing work. It would include a ban on wooden planks and cardboard. Other measures should be taken if such arrangements were not practicable, such as installing fireproof windows. See also: Simulation finds substandard scaffold nets caused rapid spread of blaze, inquiry hears He said that he was aware a complete ban on combustible materials would incur extra costs for the industry, but he maintained that such a move was necessary and would not entail replacing bamboo scaffolding poles. Pointing to London’s Grenfell Tower fire, Usmani said that fires could still break out if individual materials were up to standard. The initial fire warped aluminium sheets in the building’s cladding, exposing combustible plastic that acted as fuel, he said. On Wednesday, the inquiry heard that non-fire-retardant scaffolding nets could have caused “secondary ignitions” that exacerbated the spread of the blaze as wooden planks, foam boards, and bamboo poles caught fire. Blaze climbed through lightwells During Thursday’s hearing, Usmani also said that recessed lightwells at Wang Fuk Court intensified the “chimney effect,” whereby fire is accelerated upwards in a vertical space. He also said the “leapfrog effect” was apparent, referring to the movement of fire from one flat to the one above it. The fire spread at an “unprecedented” rate, some 10 metres in a matter of seconds, primarily due to the configuration of the recessed lightwells which acted as a vertical shaft, Usmani told the committee. Wang Fuk Court on April 22, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. He also pointed to the presence of combustible materials in the lightwell, which exacerbated the fire’s rapid spread. When evaluating fire risks, factors other than the scaffold netting should be considered holistically, such as the building’s structure and the presence of other materials, he said. Usmani also made a series of other recommendations including a ban on combustible materials on the outer walls of neighbouring buildings, which was how the blaze spread to seven of the eight towers at the estate. Lightwells at housing complexes like Wang Fuk Court should also be considered as vertical shafts that could intensify the spread of a fire, he said. Usmani also put forward heightened regulatory checks, especially for renovation works in buildings where residents are living. Closing submissions will be made on July 15.