45% of fire safety shutdowns run past new 2-month cap after Tai Po blaze

New rules are part of measures imposed or proposed after November inferno at Wang Fuk Court exposed a raft of fire safety and building management problems

Almost half of notices filed to deactivate fire-fighting systems over the past two years for maintenance involved renovation projects that lasted longer than the maximum two months allowed under new rules introduced after the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire, official data has shown.

A spokesman for the Fire Services Department told the South China Morning Post that the new rules would also apply to ongoing projects which had their notices to shut down the fire-fighting system before the recent enactment of the tightened regulations.

The department figures obtained by the SCMP showed that 5,674, or 45 per cent, of the 12,558 shutdown notices issued in 2024 and 2025 lasted more than two months.

Of these, 2,663, or 20 per cent of the total, extended beyond six months, while 44 lasted more than a year. It is unclear how many of these projects are still ongoing.

The new rules were part of measures imposed or proposed after the November inferno at a Tai Po estate exposed a raft of fire safety and building management problems.

At present, contractors are only required to notify the department by submitting a shutdown notice after deactivating fire-fighting systems, for example, for maintenance or renovation work.