Fire alarm, pump systems switched off before tragedy, Tai Po blaze panel told
Electrical worker Wong Kin-wa says Wang Fuk Court office staff told him the switches were shut off for water tank repair work
An independent committee investigating the Tai Po blaze, which broke out on November 26 last year and killed 168 people, on Monday also called on the public to provide information on whether systemic problems – such as collusion – had occurred in building maintenance works elsewhere and whether the tendering process involved bid rigging.
The judge-led panel, which was earlier told that at least two bid-rigging syndicates could be linked to the HK$336 million (US$43 million) renovation contract at the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court, continued to hear more irregularities concerning the troubled project on the fifth day of the public hearing.
Electrical worker Wong Kin-wa of the estate’s fire services equipment contractor, Victory Fire Engineering, said he had found that the main power switches for both the fire alarms and firefighting pumps for all eight of Wang Fuk Court’s blocks were turned off during a maintenance visit on November 19 last year.
Wong said he found the situation surprising. “We believed it was necessary to study the reason behind it,” he said.
He recalled inquiring at the estate’s management office and asking for the shutdown notice, which must be submitted to the Fire Services Department, but staff failed to show it to him.