Grateful to be alive, residents who escaped the Hong Kong apartment blaze wonder what comes next

Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in 75 years has claimed at least 128 lives and left dozens unaccounted for after a blaze ripped through a housing complex in Tai Po, burning for more than 40 hours before firefighters extinguished it Friday morning.

The fire at Wang Fuk Court began around 3 p.m. Wednesday, quickly spreading up bamboo scaffolding covered with nylon netting that had been erected for construction work. Strong winds helped the flames jump between buildings, engulfing seven of the complex’s eight structures.

For William Li, a 40-year-old office worker at home on his day off, the disaster began with an unusual call from his wife warning about the fire. Finding no immediate signs of danger in his second-floor apartment, Li changed from his pajamas before attempting to leave—a decision that nearly cost him his life.

“When I opened my door eight minutes after my wife called, it was already too late to escape as I was immediately engulfed by thick, black smoke,” Li told The Associated Press. “Everything went black before my eyes. I thought to myself: I’m in serious trouble.”

Authorities are investigating critical safety failures, including whether the scaffolding netting met fire-safety requirements, why windows were covered with flammable foam panels, and why fire alarms failed to sound. Police have already arrested three people—including directors of a construction company and an engineering consultant—while Hong Kong’s anti-corruption authorities have detained eight others connected to the renovation project.

The Wang Fuk Court complex sits in Tai Po, a market town developed as a “new town” in the late 1970s. The district, now home to about 300,000 of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents, features numerous high-rise apartments housing a mix of affluent, middle-class, and lower-income residents.

Ding Chan, 70, and her husband I.N. Kong, also 70, have lived in the complex since it was built in the early 1980s. Like Li, they weren’t home when the fire started. Chan had left for her job as a cleaner just half an hour before the blaze erupted.

“I did not believe it at first,” Chan said after receiving frantic calls from friends. By the time she returned to the complex, flames were already spreading rapidly, and soon reached her building. “I had never seen such a massive fire in my entire lifetime.”

The elderly couple now face the daunting prospect of rebuilding their lives. Their apartment, which took more than a decade to pay off, is likely uninhabitable. Temporarily housed in a local hotel, they worry about both their immediate and long-term future.

“I haven’t slept for two nights,” Chan said. “Where am I going to stay?”

The disaster has particularly affected the neighborhood’s elderly population. According to Midland Realty data based on the 2021 census, more than one-third of Wang Fuk Court’s 4,600 residents are over 65. While the government has provided emergency assistance and donations have poured in, the long-term financial aid for displaced residents remains unclear.

Li’s escape story, which he shared on social media to help the community “heal and rebuild together,” reveals the harrowing experience of those trapped inside. After retreating to his apartment when first encountering the thick smoke, he called police, placed wet towels under his door, and waited for rescue.

When he heard voices in the hallway, Li ventured out again and found two disoriented neighbors whose apartment window had shattered from the heat, allowing fire to enter their home. He brought them back to his unit for safety.

“That was the moment I began to feel death was very close to me,” he recalled. “I was terrified, helpless, because I knew my escape route, the doorway, was no longer safe.”

Firefighters finally reached Li’s apartment around 5 p.m., about two hours after his wife’s warning call. They extended a ladder to the scaffolding outside his window, rescuing his elderly neighbors first before helping Li escape. As he climbed down, firefighters doused him with water to protect him from the flames.

“The cold water drenched my whole body and the emotions were overwhelming, hard to describe,” he said. “But I felt very lucky.”

Less fortunate were residents on higher floors of the 32-story buildings, where many remained trapped as firefighters battled extreme heat conducting door-to-door searches. Li, who had moved from the 29th floor to the second floor just months earlier, said he heard his former neighbors on the higher floor had all perished.

Two hours after his rescue, Li reunited with his wife and children who had been watching the disaster unfold from outside. “My wife cried until her tears were completely dry,” he said. “My daughter immediately rushed over to hug me saying ‘daddy didn’t die, daddy didn’t die.’ My son sat quietly to the side, very calm, but tears kept streaming down his face.”

Despite the trauma and uncertainty, Li expressed gratitude for the community’s response. “Hong Kong people are full of compassion, constantly helping, donating generously,” he said. “At this moment, we haven’t yet seen all the stuff, but I will look around and see what can help us.”