Chief Executive John Lee said the government will establish three working groups to follow up on the deadly inferno at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.

At least 55 people have died in the tragedy and dozens more injured.

Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, Lee said he is highly concerned about the case, adding that apart from providing immediate assistance, his administration will focus on remedial and investigative work.

He said three working groups will be set up.

The first group, led by Chief Secretary Eric Chan, will focus on investigating the cause of the fire and ensuring that those found to be at fault are held accountable.

The group will also look into ways to step up monitoring and regulatory work to prevent a repeat of the tragedy.

Chan said all buildings undergoing construction work with scaffolding will be inspected.

He also said bamboo scaffolding will be phased out and replaced with metal scaffolding for safety reasons.

"In terms of fire resistance, they cannot match metal scaffolding. For safety reasons, the government believes that, under a suitable work environment, full adoption of metal scaffolding is necessary," Chan said.

"We will work with the industry to prepare and help train workers to transition to other job types.”

The second group, headed by Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk, will follow up on emergency assistance work and donation-collection activities.

The third group, which deals with the emergency rehousing of affected residents, will be overseen by Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong.

"I know everyone feels extremely painful and heartbroken about the incident. We are together experiencing this collective pain," Lee said.

"I hope members of the public can turn this sorrow and love into a constructive force so that we can maintain the normal operation of the society and help society heal as soon as possible."