High-rise scaffolding turns Hong Kong housing estate fire into towering crisis

High-rise towers at Wang Fuk Court damaged in level five Hong Kong fire

The Hong Kong government has confirmed that four people have died after a major fire at high-rise residential towers in the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po.

According to government updates reported by the BBC, nine people were taken to two hospitals by early evening local time.

Of these patients, four were certified dead, three were in a critical condition, one was in a serious condition and one was stable.

The BBC reported that the Fire Services Department later confirmed that one of those who died was a firefighter.

Earlier reporting from The Guardian and Reuters noted that several fire services staff were injured while attempting to suppress the flames.

The Fire Services Department said it first received reports of the fire at 14.51 local time.

The incident was upgraded to level three at 15.02, to level four at 15.34 and to level five at 18.22, which is the most serious category in Hong Kong’s grading system.

Wang Fuk Court is an eight-block housing complex in the Tai Po area of the New Territories, containing 1,984 flats and accommodating about 4,000 residents, according to BBC Chinese coverage.

Casualty figures and people still trapped

BBC live reporting stated that some people were reportedly still trapped in the burning high-rise buildings, although that information had not been confirmed by the authorities.

Reuters, citing public broadcaster RTHK and police sources, also reported that several people remained trapped inside the towers during the firefighting operation.

Former district councillor Herman Yiu Kwan-ho told the South China Morning Post that at least 13 people were still trapped, including eight elderly residents and two babies, the BBC reported.

Kwan-ho also reported that about 14 cats were trapped inside the affected buildings, according to the same coverage.

The BBC noted that it had not independently verified these figures.

The fire department told Reuters that it did not yet know how many people might still be inside the complex.

The Hong Kong government said police had set up a casualty hotline on 1878 999 for members of the public seeking information.

Officials added that a help desk was established at Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, with a hotline on 2658 4040 for assistance and enquiries.

Evacuations, shelters and road closures

The Hong Kong government reported that temporary shelters had been opened at Kwong Fuk Community Hall and the Tung Cheong Street Leisure Building in response to the Wang Fuk Court fire.

It said the Tai Po District Office was closely monitoring the situation and would open additional shelters if required.

BBC Chinese correspondent Gemini Cheng reported from Hong Kong that elderly residents, some using walking sticks or wheelchairs, had been moved to a nearby designated temporary shelter.

Coaches were due to transfer these residents to community halls that would remain open overnight for people displaced by the fire, according to the BBC.

The government said that police had started evacuating two blocks at the nearby Kwong Fuk Estate, Kwong Lai House and Kwong Yau House.

Hong Kong’s Transport Department announced that a section of Tai Po Road, one of the territory’s main highways, had been closed because of the incident.

Buses were diverted away from the area while firefighting and rescue operations continued, the department said.

Witnesses told Reuters that scores of fire engines and ambulances lined the road below the estate as crews worked at height from ladder trucks to tackle the flames and smoke.

Renovation work, scaffolding and unknown cause

BBC Chinese reported that Wang Fuk Court is currently undergoing renovation, with scaffolding in place around the blocks.

Images carried by the BBC and The Guardian showed the high-rise towers covered in bamboo scaffolding as the fire spread.

BBC coverage stated that pictures from the scene appeared to show flames travelling on the bamboo scaffolding installed on the exterior of the buildings.

BBC reporting, citing Hong Kong media from March, noted that the government’s Development Bureau has been seeking to phase out bamboo scaffolding from public projects because of safety concerns.

The BBC emphasised that the authorities had not given any information about the cause of the fire or the reason for its spread.

Tai Po is a suburban district in the New Territories, in the northern part of Hong Kong near the border with Shenzhen, as reported by The Guardian.

Incident planning insights from Hong Kong high-rise fire

For fire and rescue chiefs and senior officers, this incident shows how a high-rise residential fire can escalate to a level five classification in a densely populated public housing estate undergoing renovation.

The timeline from the first report at 14.51 to the highest grading at 18.22 highlights the speed at which incident commanders may need to revise tactics, resources and cordons as conditions change.

Emergency and disaster response managers can examine how the Hong Kong government combined building evacuations, casualty hotlines and the opening of temporary shelters to support residents displaced at short notice.

The use of coaches to move elderly residents using walking aids or wheelchairs to overnight community halls demonstrates the practical transport and accessibility issues that must be factored into high-rise evacuation plans.

For architects, building services engineers and facility managers responsible for high-rise housing under renovation, the presence of extensive bamboo scaffolding around occupied blocks raises questions about external fire spread pathways and access for ladder trucks and hose lines during an active incident.

Mass transit and highway facility managers may also note that the closure of a section of Tai Po Road, a main route for buses and other traffic, required diversions while multiple fire engines and ambulances occupied the carriageway near the estate.