People living at Wang Fuk Court in northern Hong Kong had raised concerns over maintenance activity in September 2024, including about the potential flammability of the protective green mesh contractors had used to cover the bamboo scaffolding raised around the buildings, a department spokesperson said in an email.
The department subsequently reviewed safety certification for the mesh, which was used as a net for falling debris, and told residents the material's "flame-retardant performance" met standards, said the agency, which helps enforce construction standards set by the Building Department.
Hong Kong police said on Thursday, however, that the exterior walls of the complex's buildings "had protective nets, membranes, waterproof tarpaulins, and plastic sheets suspected of not meeting fire safety standards." Three people associated with renovation contractor Prestige Construction have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
The exact cause of Wednesday's inferno, which has claimed at least 128 lives, has not been determined. What is clear, however, is that the fire spread rapidly through the exterior scaffolding system, said Jiang Liming, a fire-safety expert at Hong Kong Polytechnic University who reviewed video footage of the blaze.
Prestige, which secured a HK$330 million ($42.4 million) renovation contract for the complex in January 2024, did not respond to repeated calls. The three arrested people, who authorities have not named, could not be reached. Metal shutters were pulled down over the entrance of Prestige's office when a reporter visited on Friday morning.
Asked about the Labour Department's review of the mesh's safety certification, Hong Kong police referred to a Thursday statement in which it said it would "gather evidence and conduct a thorough investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire" once the blaze was fully extinguished.
The Labour Department told Reuters that when it told residents they faced low fire risks as long as processes like welding were avoided, that did not mean that potential hazards were ignored. It also said it had reminded the contractor to implement fire-prevention measures.
The agency added that it had carried out 16 safety inspections at Wang Fuk Court between July 2024 and November 2025. The department issued six improvement notices to the contractor over its work at the complex and initiated three prosecutions, it said, without providing further specifics.
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