Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Government mourned the victims of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po and expressed profound condolences at the Central Government Offices yesterday morning (November 29), with national and regional flags at all government buildings flying at half-mast. Members of the public also visited condolence points in various districts to sign condolence books and mourn the victims.
Meanwhile, multiple government departments under the Task Force on Investigation and Regulation, the Task Force on Emergency Support and Fund-Raising, and the Task Force on Emergency Accommodation Arrangements, led respectively by the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, and the Deputy Financial Secretary; continue to work tirelessly, pushing forward follow-up support and relief efforts on all fronts. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government wishes to express its sincere gratitude to the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and all relevant departments of Guangdong Province for their staunch support and prompt assistance, including the provision of numerous pieces of necessary equipment to the HKSAR, such as drones, exoskeleton devices, protective gear, and medical supplies. This significantly assisted the relevant departments in their emergency response and the follow-up efforts.
On emergency accommodation support for residents affected by the fire, as of this afternoon, around 517 residents have been accommodated, through the co-ordination of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels/camps or hotel rooms. Another 1 038 residents have moved into transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or the Housing Society. Furthermore, two shelters remain open for residents in need.
The ICU has continued to deploy manpower to conduct on-site sampling at Wang Fuk Court and four other Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) courts that have been issued notices under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme, including Sui Wo Court in Sha Tin, Ching Lai Court in Sham Shui Po, Yee Kok Court in Sham Shui Po, and On Kay Court in Kwun Tong. Samples collected from different positions of the protective nets have been sent to the Government Laboratory for testing yesterday. In the four HOS courts other than Wang Fuk Court, in case any flammable material is identified on the external walls, the ICU would instruct the contractors to remove it immediately.
The Labour Department (LD) launched a territory-wide special enforcement operation since November 28, targeting the fire protection facilities and fire emergency preparedness of building maintenance work sites with large-scale scaffolding erected. This includes checking if protective screens (also known as scaffold nets) on scaffolds are in compliance with recognised standards for fire-retardant materials to ensure occupational safety of workers. As of November 29, the LD inspected 46 work sites, with a total of 39 written warnings and two improvement notices issued.