Source: Hong Kong Information Services
Multiple departments under three task forces set up following the Tai Po blaze are working tirelessly to push forward support and relief efforts on all fronts.
The three bodies are the Task Force on Investigation & Regulation, the Task Force on Emergency Support & Fundraising, and the Task Force on Emergency Accommodation Arrangements. They are led, respectively, by the Chief Secretary, the Deputy Chief Secretary, and the Deputy Financial Secretary.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government expressed its sincere gratitude to the Hong Kong & Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and to various departments of the Guangdong Provincial Government, for their staunch support and prompt assistance, including their provision of equipment such as drones, exoskeleton devices and protective gear, as well as medical supplies. It said this has significantly assisted the Hong Kong SAR’s emergency response and follow-up efforts.
Mourning victims
The Government mourned the victims of the Wang Fuk Court fire and expressed its profound condolences to the bereaved at the Central Government Offices yesterday morning, 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.
Providing relief
The Government is offering an emergency cash subsidy of $10,000 per affected household to provide immediate relief to affected residents.
As of 3.30pm yesterday, the Government had registered more than 1,800 households for the subsidy and disbursed the emergency cash to 929 households.
In addition, the Government will provide token solidarity payments of $200,000 to the families of each deceased victim, and a living allowance of $50,000 will be provided to each affected household starting from next week.
Welfare assistance
As of yesterday morning, social workers at the Social Welfare Department (SWD) had been in touch with about 1,300 households, and 3,200 affected residents had been registered for support services on a “one social worker per household” basis.
Residents not yet in touch with the SWD are advised to leave their contact information by calling 182 183.
In addition, the Government will further strengthen the “one social worker per household” service by mobilising civil servants. For each household, in addition to assistance from a social worker, two to three civil servants will be assigned to provide voluntary support, such as running errands or collecting supplies.
Fundraising and supplies
On top of a $300 million injection from the Government, as of 3pm yesterday the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po had raised around $800 million, bringing the fund’s total to around $1.1 billion.
The Government will also set up a central supplies station at the Tai Po Community Centre to co-ordinate and properly manage donated materials. Members of the public can also provide their contact information and details of items they wish to donate via WhatsApp, on 9213 2388, for the Government to follow up.
In addition, the Government is working with the information technology sector to expedite the development of an online platform to facilitate registration of donated supplies from organisations and members of the public.
Mortgage arrangements
In order to alleviate financial pressures on affected owners at Wang Fuk Court, the Housing Authority has immediately relaxed the provisions regarding mortgage repayment periods and repayment amounts under the Deed of Guarantee.
Emergency accommodation
As of yesterday afternoon, around 517 residents affected by the fire had been accommodated, under the co-ordination of the Home & 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. Two shelters remain open for residents in need.
To assist those staying at transitional housing units, a residents’ service plying between Good House in Tai Po and MTR Tai Po Market Station began operating yesterday morning.
Meanwhile, the frequency of the service plying between another Tai Po transitional housing project, Trackside Villas, and MTR Tai Po Market Station, has been increased.
Funeral arrangements
The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) will arrange for dedicated staff to assist each bereaved family, allowing them to make funeral arrangements at their preferred time and location. A service counter has been set up at the Fu Shan Public Mortuary to offer assistance to families.
Mental health, school support
The Fire Services Department’s (FSD) Psychological Services Unit is providing emotional support and psychological counselling to family members of deceased fireman Ho Wai-ho, as well as to other frontline firefighters and supporting personnel.
The unit will also conduct post-operational psychological debriefings to help them process their emotions.
Meanwhile, to pool strength in the education sector, the Education Bureau has initiated the establishment of a territory-wide education sector support group for special incidents.
The group comprises representatives of primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, and special schools, as well as school councils and various school heads’ associations.
It will serve as an exchange platform for keeping abreast of the situation in schools, providing affected students with tailored assistance, and garnering and unifying support to help students and teachers overcome trauma.
Visit the dedicated website for the latest updates and information about support services for Wang Fuk Court.
Locating missing persons
The Police Force deployed over 600 officers from its Disaster Victim Identification Unit to conduct searches at two of the buildings yesterday, completing the operation at about 2.30pm. No human remains were found during the search.
Once relevant departments confirm the safety of each building, Police will immediately deploy officers to conduct searches. The force will also continue to follow up on missing persons, so as to confirm their status and the number of casualties as soon as possible.
Investigation work
The FSD-led interdepartmental Fire Investigation Task Force held its first meeting on Friday to investigate the cause of the fire and how it spread, and to determine the factors that led to heavy casualties.
In addition, the FSD conducted functional tests on the fire alarm systems, including fire alarm bells, at all eight blocks of Wang Fuk Court after the fire. It was found that the fire alarm systems were not in effective working order.
The FSD will continue to carry out inspections on other fire service installations and equipment in all blocks of the estate, and will collect evidence. Should any contraventions be found, the FSD will take appropriate enforcement action, or refer the case to law enforcement authorities for follow-up.
Three personnel of a construction company arrested on November 27 have been released on bail. Police are conducting a thorough and in-depth investigation, and gathering evidence through various channels.
Building safety
The Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU), together with Housing Department professionals led by two Deputy Directors and five directorate Chief Structural Engineers, visited Wang Fuk Court yesterday to inspect the overall structural safety of the damaged buildings. By 1pm, the ICU had completed its inspections of the structural safety of Wang Yan House and Wang Tao House, as well as the first two floors of Wang Cheong Court.
Based on its visual inspections, the ICU assessed that Wang Yan House and Wang Tao House should have no imminent risk in terms of structural safety.
Preliminary observations suggested that some units may have more serious structural damage, and that temporary support may be necessary. Contractors have already been mobilised to conduct relevant works.
The ICU continued to deploy manpower to conduct on-site sampling at Wang Fuk Court and four other Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) courts: 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 protective nets have been sent to the Government Laboratory for testing. In the four HOS courts other than Wang Fuk Court, if any flammable material is identified on external walls the ICU will instruct the contractors to remove it immediately.
Meanwhile, the Buildings Department (BD) announced yesterday that it has issued orders under the Buildings Ordinance requiring the immediate temporary suspension of works on 28 private building projects with Prestige Construction & Engineering Company, Limited (PC&E) as the registered contractor.
Suspension orders were also issued on another two private building maintenance projects where plastic sheetings were found to be used. The BD ordered the two registered contractors concerned to remove those sheetings at once, and will seek advice concerning legal penalties.
As of yesterday, 250 buildings undergoing external wall maintenance had been inspected, with samples being been taken for testing from buildings which have scaffold nets.
Follow-up actions will be promptly announced if further buildings are found to be using foam or plastic sheeting to block windows, or if sampling results indicate that scaffold nets fail to meet fire-retardant standards.
Work safety
The Labour Department (LD) launched a territory-wide special enforcement operation on Friday, targeting fire protection facilities and fire emergency preparedness at buildings maintenance work sites where large-scale scaffolding is erected.
Among other checks, the operation is looking at whether protective screens on scaffolds comply with recognised standards for fire-retardant materials.
As of yesterday, the LD had inspected 46 work sites and issued a total of 39 written warnings and two improvement notices.