Inquiry Traces Hong Kong Fire to Cigarette

A judge-led inquiry in Hong Kong has found that a lit cigarette most likely started the fire at Wang Fuk Court that killed 168 people, while also concluding that government departments failed to properly supervise the renovation works that made the blaze so deadly.

The fire began on 26 November 2025 at the housing estate in Tai Po and spread through seven of its eight blocks while renovation was under way. Seventy-nine people were injured and thousands were left homeless. For a housing story, the most important detail is not just ignition but route: the inquiry found residents were trapped in a building site wrapped around occupied homes.

According to the findings announced by chief executive John Lee, workers had substantial evidence against them of smoking on site, including on scaffolding. But the cigarette alone does not explain the scale of the disaster. The inquiry found that foam boards, scaffolding nets and canvases used in the works were not fire-retardant, that staircase windows had been replaced with panels or boards for workers’ convenience, that foam boards blocked residents’ views from their flats and delayed evacuation, and that the fire alarm system had been shut down.

That is how maintenance work becomes a housing failure. Escape routes filled with smoke, sightlines disappeared and a routine refurbishment appears to have stripped away layers of protection that ordinary residents would assume were still there.

The inquiry placed primary blame on the renovation consultant, Will Power Architects Company, and the main contractor, Prestige Construction & Engineering Co, saying they cut corners. It also found that some registered contractors and building professionals effectively lent their names to statutory forms for payment rather than doing real work.

The report did not stop at private contractors. It said the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit and the Buildings Department failed in their supervisory duties, and criticised the checking unit for informing consultants and contractors in advance of inspections. Lee also said the Fire Services Department and Labour Department had shortcomings in overseeing fire hazards.

Lee apologised alongside seven other senior officials. Housing secretary Winnie Ho stepped down, with Lee saying no personal wrongdoing had been found but that political accountability rested with her bureau because the Independent Checking Unit falls under it.

The government has ordered a three-month investigation into four departments to determine whether staff neglected their duties. It has also proposed measures including criminalising bid rigging. The full inquiry report will be published after criminal proceedings finish. Seven people and the two companies have been charged with offences including manslaughter and conspiracy to defraud, in proceedings separate from the inquiry.