Ferocious Blaze in Hong Kong leaves at least 44 dead

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The eight residential blocks in the estate had been undergoing renovations since July 2024, sheathed in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh

Authorities say the rapid spread of fire was “unusual”, with styrofoam material found in buildings

Government will launch investigations, including criminal probes, to find cause of deadly blaze

Blazes in three of the seven buildings were brought under control by early morning, after nearly 10 hours. Four more are still engulfed in flames

Forty-four people have been killed and 279 others are missing after a ferocious blaze ravaged a housing estate in Hong Kong’s Tai Po neighbourhood, with scorching flames ripping through bamboo scaffolding on seven residential blocks.

Hong Kong police arrested the bosses of a construction company on suspicion of manslaughter on Thursday over the city’s worst fire in nearly 80 years, which killed at least 94 people and left hundreds missing.

The government said in the very early hours of Thursday that 279 people were listed as missing, but that figure has not been updated for 24 hours.

By the early hours of Friday, firefighters had mostly contained the blaze raging for more than 24 hours, ripping through the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in the northern district of Tai Po. The estate had been undergoing renovations and was wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh.

Most of the victims were found in two high-rise blocks in the eight-tower complex, Deputy Director of Fire Services Derek Armstrong Chan said.

What caused the Wang Fuk Fire in Hing Kong??

“What Flammable Materials turned a Hong Kong High-Rise Into a CHIMNEY? Jeff Ostroff analyses the catastrophic fire at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Tai Po, Hong Kong, which has resulted in a devastating loss of life, with over 85 people confirmed dead and dozens injured. This tragedy was not just a fire—it was a rapid, uncontrolled disaster caused by suspected fatal negligence involving the materials used for ongoing renovations.

In this video, we break down the basic facts of the fire, examine the materials that allowed it to spread so quickly, and look into the ongoing investigation.

Key Questions Answered:

How did the fire spread across seven 32-story towers?

What is the “external chimney effect” and how did the construction mesh facilitate it?

Why were highly flammable, non-compliant materials like green netting, bamboo scaffolding, and Styrofoam boards used?

Why was the fire designated a Level 5 Alarm, and what was the scale of the emergency response?

The status of the investigation, which has resulted in the arrest of construction company executives on suspicion of manslaughter.

The Hong Kong authorities are currently probing why the fire-retardant safety standards mandated by the Labour Department and Buildings Department were apparently ignored, turning the exterior of the housing blocks into a massive, combustible wick.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXcFFreGwYg

Years ago I worked (as an administrator) in a major hospital's ER.We'd get burn patients flown in from 200 miles away. We had a very famous burn service. The saying we had...which was never spoken within earshot of a patient or a family member...was that when it came to those with *serious* burns "the lucky ones died quickly".

Like I said that was years ago so it's distinctly possible that big advancements may have been achieved so that that's not true anymore.

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