The government said on Wednesday that an emergency phone alert was not sent out over the Tai Po blaze last November because it was only a district-level incident.

The system, introduced in 2020, was used once during the Covid pandemic, when the administration announced that Queen Elizabeth Hospital had been designated as treating patients infected with the coronavirus.

In response to a written question from lawmaker William Wong, commerce minister Algernon Yau said firefighters arrived at Wang Fuk Court within five minutes.

Sirens from fire engines and police vehicles, he said, also served as an immediate alert to residents.

However, Yau noted that technically speaking, it is possible for phone alerts to be sent out to a specific district through mobile networks.

"The government has been actively reviewing and enhancing the configuration and application of [the system], including the issuance of territory-wide or district-specific emergency alerts according to different circumstances," the minister said.

He also stressed that the alert system is only one of the channels the authorities have available to send out information, and said officials will carefully assess each case to see whether to issue phone alerts in specific areas in future.