The spirit of mutual aid, ingrained in the bone marrow of Hong Kong citizens, has accompanied us through hardships. Mr. Lee, a resident of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, experienced a life-and-death situation during the fire. He recalled being unable to escape due to thick smoke outside the door, and later, with the mutual support of a neighboring couple, he was rescued by firefighters with the help of an aerial ladder.
However, he felt deeply guilty for not being able to save the neighbor who had cried for help in the fire, hoping that the residents of Wang Fuk Court could overcome the pain and strive to live on.
Burnt congee? No, disaster had struck
Mr. Lee, who lives on the second floor of Wang Cheong House, was one of the first residents affected. During an interview, he mentioned that about 10 minutes after the fire started, he was still resting at home when he suddenly received a call from his wife urging him to leave, only then realizing he was trapped in the fire.
"At first, I didn't realize the severity of the situation. I thought someone had burnt their congee, and I didn't hear any fire alarms. There was no smoke in my home, and I didn't notice the noise outside. Only when I opened the door did I realize disaster had struck." As soon as he opened the door, thick smoke rushed in, causing him to cough.
He told his wife on the other end of the phone, "I can't escape!" The wife immediately became emotional and burst into tears. After the call ended, he used a wet towel to seal the door gap to block the smoke. Soon, he heard cries for help in the hallway, so he covered his mouth and nose with a wet towel and opened the door again. Amid the strong, pungent smoke, his eyes watered continuously, and he coughed incessantly.
Later, he encountered a couple in their fifties in the hallway. The glass windows of their home had shattered due to the high heat, forcing them to leave their unit. He immediately brought them back to his home for temporary refuge.
"The windows in my home were also on the verge of shattering. At that moment, it was the first time I felt death was so close to me."
Seeing the fierce flames outside the window and hearing explosions one after another, he began leaving farewell messages to his friends: "I can't escape…", "If something happens to me, please take care of my children", "Take care, everyone." During this time, his mother called, and he forced himself to remain calm, lying that he had already been rescued by firefighters.
"The moment I hung up, my tears started flowing. I felt I was going to die, that I couldn't escape."
Just as he felt suffocated and dizzy, firefighters appeared outside the window, ready to rescue them with an aerial ladder. Mr. Lee said the neighbor's wife offered to let him go first. "I was deeply moved at that moment. After waiting so long, anyone would want to be rescued first, (but) she said, 'You go first.'" Mr. Lee still let her board the ladder first, staying alone in the room to wait.
Looking at his familiar home, he was overwhelmed with mixed emotions. The room was filled with beloved photography equipment, models, limited-edition collectibles, and items cherished by his wife and children, but he couldn't take any of them.
"The fire told me, 'You can't take them. You have no right, no ability to stop me from devouring them, and you have no chance to argue back.'"
Mr. Lee waited until the firefighters rescued him and, under police guidance, left the fire scene, urgently searching for his wife and children. When his 7-year-old daughter saw him return safely, she immediately rushed forward and hugged him tightly.
"The first thing she said to me was, 'Daddy didn't die, daddy doesn't have to die.'" His 10-year-old son cried bitterly, sadly saying, "All my toys are gone, so is our home." Witnessing his home destroyed and his son emotionally traumatized, even crying until he developed a fever, was truly heartbreaking, Mr. Lee said.
Mr. Lee was physically unharmed but needed to stay in the hospital overnight for observation. By the time he was admitted to the ward, it was already 3 a.m. "I finally entered the ward, breathed a sigh of relief, and felt completely drained."
"Regret may haunt me for life"
What troubled him most was hearing a foreign domestic helper crying "grandma" in the hallway, after which there was silence. Mr. Lee wanted to give a hand, but couldn't determine her direction, so he had to give up. He hoped to learn about the whereabouts of the two, the helper and the elderly woman.
"If there is no news about them, I think this will haunt me for the rest of my life. Every time someone calls me a 'hero,' my heart aches because there was a grandmother I couldn't save."
The day after being discharged, Mr. Lee returned to the scene at Wang Fuk Court. He frankly expressed his hope that the cause of the fire would be identified as soon as possible and that residents could overcome their pain quickly.
"Residents of Wang Fuk Court, whether you are here now or not, whether your family is here or not, strive to live on!"
(Source: Wen Wei Po; Journalist: Li Qianxun; English Editor: Darius)
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