The November 26 fire at Wang Fuk Court, a high-rise complex in the financial hub's Tai Po district, was the world's deadliest residential building fire since 1980 and Hong Kong's worst since 1948.

The inferno swept through seven of the estate's eight towers, which were under renovation and wrapped in bamboo scaffolding, netting and foam boards -- materials that may have accelerated the spread of flames.

Three residents delivered emotional testimonies before an independent committee of investigators, saying they did not hear any fire alarms that day.

Tse Yuk-wa, who lived on the third floor near where the fire is believed to have started, said smoke wafted into her kitchen but she initially assumed it was dust from the construction.

A member of the building's management staff knocked on her door to warn her.

"I thought that it can't be," she said. "I didn't hear the fire alarm."

She managed to flee with her two cats, but when she turned back she saw smoke rising above the complex. "The roof was like a stove," she said.

"I blame myself because I wasn't able to go back up and warn (my neighbours)," she added, breaking into tears. "I could only stay there and watch the fire burn."

Tse's account moved reporters to tears, with some wiping their faces as she spoke.

Fire alarms in seven of the estate's eight blocks had been turned off, the committee's counsel said in opening remarks.

Another resident, Ko Yee?lui, said she escaped by lift after spotting smoke in her building.

Ko said she felt "lucky" she was able to escape.

"I can't imagine how helpless people must have been," she said between heavy sighs, adding: "I really regret that I didn't knock on a single door."

And resident Leung Ho-hin said he saw two neighbours try to use a fire hose, but "no water" came out.

Judge David Lok, the committee's chair, urged the survivors not to "overly blame yourself". "A lot of things happened in an instant," he said.

The government's counsel, Jenkin Suen, told the inquiry that authorities would not shirk responsibility and pledged "systemic reforms".

Evidence presented at hearings last week showed that government departments failed to effectively address residents' complaints about construction workers smoking on site and the use of combustible building materials during renovations.