An independent committee investigating the Wang Fuk Court inferno heard on Thursday that contractors knew that mesh netting used for major renovations at the Tai Po residential estate was not resistant to fire. That came on the first day of the committee's hearing on the blaze that killed 168 people in November, which was also told that essentially all fire-safety devices had completely failed due to human factors. The committee's senior counsel, Victor Dawes, revealed that it had collected more than a million files, including internal communication records never made public indicated renovation contractors were aware that mesh netting used to cover the estate's eight blocks was substandard. Other records include surveillance camera footage, photographs, video clips, documents such as complaints lodged by residents about the renovation work and government replies to them. Regulations allow fire hydrants and hoses to be turned off for a fortnight, but Dawes said the committee found records of contractors repeatedly applying for suspension extensions. The devices, therefore, were out of commission for months. Dawes said there was evidence to suggest that cigarette butts were found on the scaffolding and the platform near a light well where the fire was suspected to have started. He said multiple complaints from residents about smoking by renovation workers had not been taken seriously. There were many inflammables on scaffolding and windows, Dawes said, while windows in stairwells had been removed, causing smoke and flames to spread quickly into evacuation routes and residents to be trapped. He said the committee had collected sufficient evidence to ascertain the facts related to the inferno and that it would scrutinise the evidence and consider statements made by different parties before drawing conclusions. He said the cause of the fire and its spread were the result of a number of overlapping factors and that the committee would go through the role of each contributory factor. Nearly 40 parties will testify in the first round of hearings, including officials from various government departments, as well as residents and former members of the estate's owners' management corporation. Many Wang Fuk Court homeowners attending the hearing said they want to know what happened. "Who would feel alright when their home had been burnt down?" one of them, Law, said before entering the venue. "I hope I can learn more about what happened, what caused the fire, and which parties have to bear responsibility." Edited by Edmond Fong