Hong Kong high-rise fire incident November 26, 2025
:: Lessons learned from the Great Fire in Hong Kong, 26 Nov 2025
This is the largest and deadliest fire in Hong Kong's decades.
🟠 at the Wang Fuk Court project in Tai Po.
This consists of several high-rise buildings (about 7-8) under maintenance.
This is because the building has a long service life, and must be implemented in accordance with the building safety and maintenance requirements of the Hong Kong Government.
The repair plan chosen amounted to up to HK $330 million, including the renovation of all external walls of the building, and the renovation of the corridor surface.
🟠 The fire started burning on Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 26, 2025, and spread quickly, with officers having to take over the fire all night.
🟠 authorities have declared a level 5 fire alarm, the highest level.
🟠 The initial cause was caused by an initial fire burning from bamboo scaffolding and a green construction net covering the building for maintenance, an easily combustible material, causing the fire to spread quickly to adjacent buildings.
• Authorities are investigating the apparent cause, and ascertaining whether the external walls of the building meet fireproofing standards.
• Impact and Victim Figures Based on Updated Data to the Morning of Nov 27, 2025
At least 44 deaths were reported (including 1 firefighter).
About 279 missing persons have yet to be found.
At least 29 to 45 injured, some with serious symptoms.
Over 900 people were evacuated to temporary shelters.
🔺 main problem is divided into two parts:
1.Material used to repair external wall
❌ instead of foam / plastic ❌
Should be non-combustible material (Non-Combustible)
or Highly Fire-Resistant by Fire Protection Standards
Such as
• Concrete
It is a non-flammable material, especially high-quality concrete, that can remain structured for a long time when a fire occurs.
• Bricks with high heat sintering have excellent fire resistance ability, with heat resistance up to 1200 degrees.
• Cement fiber sheet is a material made of cement and cellulose fiber, classified as a non-combustible material (A1-rated non-combustible). It is commonly used in building exterior wall lining.
• Fire-resistant gypsum plates contain molecular water in the material texture, which evaporates when exposed to high heat, allowing it to absorb heat and slow fire progression. They are often used for internal work, but they are also examples of materials that improve to be fire-resistant.
• Fire insulation. Use types with high refractory properties, such as Mineral Wool or Glass Wool, instead of Polyurethane Foam.
2.Material used for scaffolding / temporary building cladding
❌ instead of bamboo / plastic mesh ❌
The bamboo scaffolding used in Hong Kong, although cheap and highly flexible, is an easily combustible material and a fine fuel when this happens.
Safer replacement materials include
• Scaffolding made of steel or aluminum is the standard used worldwide because it is non-flammable and has much higher structural strength than bamboo.
• Cover / refractory mesh
If a building cover is required to prevent dust or debris falling, a canvas or mesh that has been passed, coated with a flame retardant, or made of non-flammable materials at all, such as coated fiberglass, aluminum mesh should be used.
This incident is a great tragedy, a reminder to all of us to revisit that..
Have we properly valued the safety of ourselves and those around us?
We should choose to move forward with prudence and value safety standards rather than ease in all matters of life.
🔺 In any case, safety comes before cost and convenience reduction.
Think about work, no time or housing problems. Think about it.
"N36 Engineering Co., Ltd."
