Tai Po fire inquiry submits final report, singles out 4 gov depts

The Independent Committee looking into the deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court has submitted its final report to Chief Executive John Lee. The city leader says the government will study the report carefully, and pursue accountability. Regarding government culpability, sources say the report named four departments -- with the Housing Bureau's Independent Checking Unit or ICU bearing the greatest responsibility. Apart from ICU, the report also singled out the Fire Services Department, the Buildings Department and the Labour Department for their neglect of duties.

Lee says authorities will study the two-volume report, announce plans for comprehensive reforms and pursue accountability. The document reportedly comes in two volumes, spanning 1,000 pages with more than 10 chapters detailing the committee's findings on the causes of the fire. The ICU was said to have conducted inspections over non-flame-retardant scaffolding netting with advance notice to the contractor, leaving room for malpractice. When residents complained against styrofoam window sealing, the ICU was unclear about the contractor's measures and even replied to residents that there are no laws regulating the matter.

Another named entity is the Buildings Department, which was said to have never followed its mechanism to randomly inspect mandatory building works. The Fire Services Department, meanwhile. conducted 26 on-site inspections without entering the fire pump room. The power switch at the Wang Fuk Court fire pump room was turned off by an electrician from the property management company, leading to the failed alarm system when the blaze erupted. After complaints from residents that workers allegedly smoked, the Labour Department conducted 17 inspections without finding any irregularities, marking all complaints as unsubstantiated. Its inspection methods were questioned as ineffective. The department also failed to notice it had repeatedly received the exact same flame retardant certificate for scaffolding netting.