2025年11月26日下午，香港大埔宏福苑突發嚴重火災，火勢一路升至五級，成為近年最嚴重的住宅火災之一。截至目前，這場大火已造成65人不幸遇難、75人受傷，傷亡規模震動全港。隨著救援和調查同步進行，事件背後的安全隱患也逐漸浮上檯面。

警方在初步調查中發現，多座起火與受波及的大廈外牆上，被覆有保護網、防水帆布與塑料布等物料，這些本應用於外牆工程的材料卻疑似不符合防火標準，具有高度可燃性，更可能在火災中充當助燃與導火的作用。特別是其中一座未受火災直接波及的大廈，其每層電梯大堂外的窗戶都被發泡膠包封，而發泡膠屬於極易燃物料，極可能在短時間內加速火勢的垂直蔓延。這些可疑的工程處理手法，使外界普遍質疑火勢迅速擴散與外牆材料的關聯。

警方進一步調查後指出，相關外牆材料均由同一間工程公司負責安裝。調查結果顯示該公司在工程中出現嚴重疏忽，使用不當、欠缺安全標準的物料，導致火勢在短時間內遍布多個樓層，引發重大傷亡。警方隨後拘捕三名工程公司負責人，包括兩名董事與一名工程顧問，年齡介於52至68歲，並以涉嫌嚴重疏忽、危害公共安全等罪名將他們帶返警署調查。

火場方面，宏福苑共有八座大廈，其中一座未受火警波及，另外四座的火勢則已被成功控制，但仍有三座大廈仍處於積極滅火與搜救狀態。消防員目前已深入部分大樓的13至23樓進行地毯式搜索，滅火行動亦推進至5至18樓。儘管現場環境惡劣，濃煙與高溫交錯，消防隊仍持續在困難環境下尋找生還者，並成功於多個區域救出受困居民。

這場災難暴露住宅工程外牆安全管理的巨大漏洞，也引發社會對承建商監管不足、消防安全制度缺口等問題的強烈批評。事件後續如何追究責任、如何改善外牆工序與物料標準，成為香港社會密切關注的焦點。

On the afternoon of November 26, 2025, a massive fire broke out at Hong Fu Court in Tai Po, Hong Kong. The blaze rapidly escalated to a level-five alarm—one of the most severe residential fires the city has seen in recent years. As of now, the disaster has claimed the lives of 65 people and injured 75 others, sending shockwaves throughout Hong Kong. While rescue operations continue, early findings from the investigation have begun to reveal alarming safety hazards behind the tragedy.

During the initial investigation, police discovered that multiple buildings involved in or affected by the fire had their exterior walls covered with materials such as protective mesh, waterproof tarpaulin, and plastic sheeting. These materials, originally intended for exterior renovation work, appear to have failed to meet fire-safety standards. Their high flammability may have not only fueled the fire but also accelerated its spread. In one building that was not directly engulfed by flames, investigators found that every elevator lobby window on each floor had been sealed with foam board—an extremely combustible material capable of causing rapid vertical fire spread. These suspicious construction practices have led to widespread concerns that improper external wall treatments played a major role in the fire’s unusually fast expansion.

Further investigation revealed that all the problematic exterior materials were installed by the same engineering company. Police stated that the company had committed serious negligence, using inappropriate and unsafe materials that allowed the flames to sweep through multiple floors within a short period, resulting in catastrophic casualties. Three individuals associated with the company—including two directors and one engineering consultant, aged between 52 and 68—were subsequently arrested on suspicion of gross negligence and endangering public safety.

At the scene, Hong Fu Court comprises eight residential blocks. One remains untouched by the fire; four have had their fires brought under control; but three blocks are still undergoing active firefighting and rescue operations. Firefighters have already entered floors 13 to 23 of certain buildings for intensive search efforts, while extinguishing operations have pushed through floors 5 to 18. Despite suffocating smoke, high temperatures, and extremely hazardous conditions, rescue teams continue to comb through the buildings and have successfully located and saved survivors from several areas.

The disaster has exposed serious loopholes in the management of external wall safety in residential projects and has triggered intense public criticism about inadequate contractor oversight and deficiencies in Hong Kong’s fire-safety regulations. How accountability will be pursued and how construction standards—especially regarding exterior materials—will be improved has now become one of the city’s most closely watched issues.