Tai Po fire probe: Ban combustibles on external building works, expert says

A fire expert has said that combustible materials should not be used on apartment complex exterior walls, in spite of cost concerns from the construction industry, to prevent a repeat of the massive Wang Fuk Court fire.</p><p>Testifying at a public hearing on Thursday, Asif Sohail Usmani, a fire engineering expert appointed by the independent committee presiding over the hearings, said that such a move was necessary as fire-rated scaffolding nets alone could not be relied on to stave off fires.</p><p>Usmani, Associate Head of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, recommended a ban on combustible materials from the outer walls of buildings and lower floors, including wooden planks and cardboard.</p><p>Other measures should be taken if such an arrangement was not practicable, such as installing fireproof windows.</p><p>He added that he was aware a complete ban on combustible materials would incur extra costs for the industry, but maintained that such a move was necessary.</p><p>However, Usmani added that his suggestion did not entail replacing bamboo scaffolding poles.</p><p>Pointing to London’s Grenfell Tower fire, Usmani said that fires could still break out if individual materials were up to standard.</p><p>The initial fire warped aluminium sheets in the building’s cladding, exposing combustible plastic that acted as fuel, he said.</p><p>Usmani also said the recessed lightwells at Wang Fuk Court intensified the “chimney effect”, whereby fire is accelerated upwards in a vertical space.</p><p>He also said the “leapfrog effect” was apparent, referring to the movement of fire from one flat to the one above it.</p><p>The fire spread at an “unprecedented” rate, some 10 metres in a matter of seconds, primarily due to the configuration of the recessed lightwell which acted as a vertical shaft, Usmani told the committee.</p><p>He also pointed to the presence of combustible materials in the lightwell, which also exacerbated the rapid spread.</p><p>When evaluating fire risks, factors other than the scaffolding net should be considered holistically, such as the building’s structure and the presence of other materials, he said.</p><p>Usmani also made a series of other recommendations including a ban on combustible materials on the outer walls of neighbouring buildings, which was how the blaze spread to seven of the eight towers at the estate.</p><p>Lightwells at housing complexes like Wang Fuk Court should also be considered as vertical shafts that could intensify the spread of a fire, he said.</p><p>Usmani also put forward heightened regulatory checks, especially for renovation works in buildings where residents are living.

A fire expert has said that combustible materials should not be used on apartment complex exterior walls during building works, in order to prevent a repeat of last November’s deadly Wang Fuk Court fire.

Testifying at a public hearing on Thursday, Asif Sohail Usmani, a fire engineering expert appointed by the independent committee presiding over […]

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