The fire that tore through the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po and killed at least 159 may have started on scaffolding between the first and second floors of one of the blocks, according to preliminary investigations by Hong Kong fire services.
The city’s fire services director also said a life-size replica of the floors in question might be built to help determine the exact ignition point.
Andy Yeung Yan-kin revealed the preliminary findings in a group interview with mainland Chinese media on Saturday.
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“Based on records collected on-site that have been reviewed, as well as assessments by firefighters at the scene, the initial assessment is that the cause of the fire was somewhere on the scaffolding between the first floor and second floor of Wang Cheong House,” Yeung said in the interview.
The assessment also appeared to confirm media reports on the day of the fire that the flames began near the lower floors of Wang Cheong House, one of the eight blocks at Wang Fuk Court.
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But Yeung was quick to add that further investigation would be needed to identify the exact ignition zone.
“We will continue to conduct an in-depth investigation,” he said. “This will include the use of computer simulations and creating a one-to-one scale model to simulate the fire to see whether it was really the fire’s starting point, upon taking into account both computer and real-world perspectives.”