Everything We Know About the Deadly Hong Kong Apartment Block Fire

Screams echoed through the smoke-filled stairwells. Windows shattered from the heat. Trapped residents pounded on walls as flames swallowed their homes.

By the time firefighters arrived, Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po was already a towering inferno, its outer scaffolding ablaze and the fire spreading with terrifying speed.

At least 55 people were killed, including a firefighter, in what is now one of Hong Kong's deadliest residential fires in recent history.

Police have arrested three men, all tied to a construction company believed to be at the center of this unfolding tragedy. But with 279 still missing, the full horror is only beginning to emerge.

Fireball Engulfs Building in Minutes

The Fire Services Department (FSD) received the first call at 2:51 p.m. on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Within five minutes, crews arrived to find scaffolding outside the building already engulfed in flames — a horrifying sign of what was to come.

The blaze spread rapidly into nearby blocks, and by 6:22 p.m., officials had raised the alarm to No. 5 — the highest on the scale. Over 1,200 fire and ambulance workers flooded the site, backed by more than 200 fire engines and 100 ambulances.

With 11 jets and eight turntable ladders, crews battled the fast-moving flames while 26 search and rescue teams hunted for survivors inside the burning complex. One firefighter lost his life amid the chaos — a chilling reminder of the inferno's fury.

Police and Hospitals Mobilize for Mass Casualty Response

The Hong Kong Police launched an emergency command post, deploying over 1,000 officers to help with evacuations, traffic control, and field support. A casualty hotline was set up as desperate families searched for missing loved ones.

Meanwhile, hospitals citywide braced for the worst. Nine public facilities, including North District and Prince of Wales Hospitals, activated disaster protocols. Burn units and hyperbaric oxygen chambers stood ready as waves of injured victims arrived.

By 9:30 p.m., more than 900 survivors had been relocated to eight government shelters. Most had fled with nothing. Some wore only slippers. Others clutched children still shaking from the ordeal.

Civil Aid Service teams and medical social workers scrambled to provide shelter, food, and emotional support as Hong Kong reeled from the shock.

Police wasted no time. By Thursday, three men aged 52 to 68 were arrested for manslaughter in Ngau Tau Kok, Tai Po, and Wong Tai Sin. All are linked to a construction firm involved in recent repairs at the complex.

Authorities now suspect that unauthorized scaffolding materials and flammable foam boards on the windows may have helped fuel the fire’s devastating spread. As investigations intensify, Hong Kong is left grappling with a painful question: Was this tragedy avoidable?