Hong Kong’s fire services chief has acknowledged that better communication with building authorities is essential, as an independent inquiry into the city’s deadliest fire in decades reveals systemic regulatory gaps. Director Andy Yeung Yan-kin told the evidential hearing on Friday that while clear divisions of responsibility existed for supervising renovation projects, the use of flammable materials at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po had escaped oversight. The November blaze killed 168 people, the vast majority in Wang Cheong House, where 63 per cent of flats were destroyed.

Viewed from Hong Kong, the testimony underscores a troubling disconnect between agencies tasked with preventing such disasters. Earlier, Assistant Director Tang Wing-wah, a commander on site, recounted how water pressure could only reach the 20th floor of the 40-storey block, forcing firefighters to grapple with falling debris that blocked the building’s entrance. The combination of inadequate pressure and physical obstructions critically delayed rescue efforts.

Yet the fire chief insisted that his department acted appropriately within its mandate, deflecting broader questions about why renovation works using dangerous materials went unchallenged. Analysts in London note that similar tragedies in other global cities have prompted cross-departmental fire safety task forces, a model Hong Kong has so far resisted. As the inquiry reaches its 19th day, residents are being allowed brief, emotional returns to their fire-ravaged homes.

One man climbed stairs on a fractured leg to retrieve a childhood water boiler; another played a final piano song in a flat that cannot be salvaged. These acts of private closure occur against a backdrop of public demands for accountability. The coming weeks will test whether Mr Yeung’s concession leads to tangible reforms or remains a polite regret in a city where bureaucratic silos have long proved resistant to change.