Tai Po blaze probe: No standard operation protocols for failed alarms during fire, senior firefighter says

A fire station officer deployed to the fatal Wang Fuk Court fire has told an independent committee that the Fire Services Department (FSD) has no standard operating procedures to deal with non-functioning alarm systems during a blaze.

A fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on the morning of November 27, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Tai Po Fire Station’s Senior Station Officer Ho Kin-on gave testimony on Monday, the 11th day of the hearings investigating the fire in Tai Po that killed 168 people, including a firefighter.

“Would it be a much greater help if there were clear instructions?” asked Lee Shu-wan, a lawyer representing the independent committee.

“Agree,” Ho replied, adding that the operational response would depend on the commanding officer’s orders, based on the actual situation at the scene.

See also: 7-month water tank works that disabled fire safety systems acceptable, official tells Tai Po blaze probe

The probe into the Wang Fuk Court fire previously heard testimony from an electrician for estate management firm ISS Eastpoint, who unknowingly switched off all the fire alarms months before the tragedy, and from residents who did not hear the fire alarms go off during the blaze.

Priorities

Ho, who led firefighters in the first 30 minutes of the blaze, said on Monday that the firefighters had loudhailers they could have used to urge residents to evacuate, but they instead prioritised deploying water jets to combat the fire.

Senior Station Officer of Tai Po Fire Station Ho Kin-on (third from left) and Station Commander of Tai Po Fire Station Cheung Lok-hang (first from left) leave the Wang Fuk Court fire hearing on April 13, 2026. Photo: James Lee/HKFP.

Lam Ho-chun, the police force’s deputy divisional commander for New Territories East, said that officers on the scene were tasked with using their own loudhailers to notify residents of the fire.

Tai Po Fire Station Commander Cheung Lok-hang, who took over as incident commander from Ho on November 26, said on Monday that he deployed firefighters to suppress the fire so residents would have a chance to evacuate.

The blaze “was spreading too quickly. I wanted to make sure our brothers suppressed the fire to buy time for the residents to escape,” he said.

Tai Po Fire Station Commander Cheung Lok-hang leaves the Wang Fuk Court fire hearing on April 13, 2026. Photo: James Lee/HKFP.

Cheung also told the hearing that his fire station did not inspect Wang Fuk Court’s fire systems, although the FSD received notices before the blaze that the fire hydrant and hose systems had been shut down, saying that doing so was not within their remit.