HONG KONG — Hearings by an independent committee investigating the cause of Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades began on March 19, 2026. The committee heard accounts during the hearings about how a series of failures contributed to the 2025 blaze.

The fire broke out on November 26, 2025, at Wang Fuk Court, a residential complex in the suburban district of Tai Po that housed thousands of people. The blaze engulfed seven buildings in the eight-building apartment complex and killed 168 people.

Committee lead lawyer Victor Dawes said that cigarettes that lit other materials on fire on a platform in an air shaft between two low-level units in Wang Cheong House were the most likely cause of the fire. However, Dawes noted that there was no direct proof that smoking cigarettes had caused the blaze.

Multiple safety failures occurred on the day of the fire. Fire alarms and hose systems were shut off at the complex, while non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting was used during maintenance work. Foam boards were used to cover windows, and windows at staircases were boarded up with wooden planks, causing plumes of smoke and fire to enter residents' escape routes.

Government departments had failed to address safety concerns prior to the fire. The labor department had received complaints about construction workers smoking at the maintenance site but found no one smoking on the scaffolding after investigating. When the labor department forwarded the smoking complaint to the fire services department, officials said that handling smoking complaints was not part of its duty.

The housing department notified maintenance contractors of its inspection time, while the labor department failed to notice that a fire retardancy report was outdated. Nearly all fire safety systems meant to protect lives failed due to human factors on the day of the blaze.

Thirty-seven households lost at least two family members in the fire, according to Dawes. According to Dawes, one firefighter killed in the blaze may have fallen to his death while attempting to escape from one of the buildings.