The smell of smoke filled the flat as Mr and Mrs Wong brought home eight red-white-blue and IKEA bags filled with their belongings, retrieved from their old home, now charred and damaged by the fire.
Their daughter should have been overjoyed to have been reunited with her collection of storybooks, but all she could do was recoil from the smell of ash still lingering on the paperbacks six months after the fire at Wang Fuk Court last November. Books and toys that Mrs Wong retrieved from her Wang Fuk Court flat on May 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The Wongs were among residents who returned to their fire-scorched flats to retrieve their belongings from mid-April to early May. On their allocated day, Wang Fuk Court residents made their way up the estate’s stairwells, racing against a three-hour time limit to retrieve what they could, reminisce in their former homes, and pay respects to the dead.
It was also a cathartic experience for some, as they struggled to pick up the pieces – literally and figuratively – in the wake of the deadly tragedy.
The inferno at the government-subsidised estate in Tai Po in November last year killed 168 people and has since displaced thousands of others. An inquiry hearing is under way to identify the cause of the fire – the city’s deadliest in decades – and hear testimony from residents, government officers, and others.
The Wong family was able to salvage some keepsakes and belongings, including the daughter’s books and birthday cards from friends, an old photo album, and a hard drive containing pictures and videos from the past decade. Mrs Wong at Wang Fuk Court on May 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. [Table]
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[/Table] “Some of the books were gifts from friends, and some of them she bought with her own pocket money. When she saw that the things in Wang Fuk Court had come back, she was so happy. But at the same time, all of those things smelled of smoke,” said Mrs Wong, who declined to disclose her full name for privacy reasons.
She recalled that her daughter, unable to withstand the stench, retreated to her room. “She said, ‘I have to hide in my room, the living room smells so bad!’”
Nearly six months after the fire, the nine-year-old girl is still reeling from the trauma. She “has become quite sensitive to certain smells and sounds, even the school bell,” Mrs Wong told HKFP in a phone interview this month. Mrs Wong’s flat at Wang Fuk Court, on May 4, 2026. Photo: Supplied. Mrs Wong salvages a handprint painting from her flat at Wang Fuk Court, on May 4, 2026. Photo: Supplied. Mrs Wong’s flat at Wang Fuk Court, on May 4, 2026. Photo: Supplied. The 38-year-old mother was worried that the smell of smoke – if it continued to linger – might bring up her daughter’s memories of the escape from the burning complex. Both she and her daughter have started seeing a psychologist to process the emotional fallout.
On the fateful day in late November, Mrs Wong was working at a local nursery when a neighbour called to tell her the estate was on fire. Her daughter and father-in-law were at home. Both Mr and Mrs Wong tried to call the grandfather multiple times, and luckily, the husband’s call went through.
The girl and her grandfather made their way down the 27 floors and exited the building through the back entrance – some 20 minutes after the fire broke out.
The Wongs are now living in a rented flat in Tai Po, the same district as their old home. Smoke from incense at a nearby traditional temple and sirens from a fire depot have also become triggers for the young girl. A photo album Mrs Wong retrieved from her Wang Fuk Court flat on May 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Belongings that Mrs Wong retrieved from her Wang Fuk Court flat. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. For herself, Mrs Wong recovered some clothes that her mother-in-law had tailored to fit her. The family is still searching for an SD card containing 10 years’ worth of photos, including those of her daughter’s birth, hoping it will still be intact in the wreckage.
Mrs Wong told HKFP that she wept as she climbed all the way up to the 27th-floor flat at Wang Tai House, the second block at Wang Fuk Court that caught fire, earlier this month. To her surprise, their flat appeared to be largely untouched by the flames, though the intense heat from above and below her flat had mangled the ceiling and floor.
Before heading back to their old flat, she had resigned herself to the possibility that it might also be her last chance for a farewell. “What I wanted was to properly say goodbye to the flat,” Mrs Wong said.
Hong Kong authorities are set on a plan to buy out seven blocks at Wang Fuk Court for HK$6.8 billion and one tower largely unaffected by the blaze for another HK$1 billion, as well as to tear down the estate and turn it into a park or community facility. The Wongs return to Wang Fuk Court on May 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The Wongs return to Wang Fuk Court on May 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. “Every time I thought of going back, I would cry. I would worry about crying so hard that I wouldn’t have time to pack,” she said. “But I couldn’t let myself do that. I had to steel my nerves and pack up.”
Mrs Wong also brought flowers to pay her respects to her neighbour who died in the fire. “Looking at the other badly burnt units, I was reminded of all the people who left us,” she said.
Unfortunately, she did not have time to say proper goodbyes because she had to get back to packing. The 27-storey slog up and down the building left the Wongs pressed for time. They were told to leave almost 30 minutes before their three hours were up to account for the time it would take to move all their things downstairs.
“I had hoped I would have some time to sit down and let things sink in, but I couldn’t even have that,” she said. To the family’s relief, the government has said residents will have a second chance to return to the estate. “Given a choice, I would pack up the entire place with me,” she said. Wang Fuk Court residents return to the estate on May 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Carbon Yip, who lived in a sixth-floor flat in the neighbouring Wang Cheong House, the first block that caught fire, is planning his second trip back to the estate.
“I’ll take every single opportunity to go back,” said Yip, who spent almost three decades of his life at the estate. “The last time I was home was when I left for work that day, and now we’re back.”
Yip and his wife, Karen, moved into their flat after they got married, in the block neighbouring the tower where his childhood home was. “It wasn’t just property, it was the place where I grew up,” he said about Wang Fuk Court. Wang Fuk Court on May 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. “Even if we’re done packing up, if we are allowed back, I’d still want to go back, even if it’s just to sit.”
The couple, along with his older brother and father, returned to Wang Fuk Court last month, donning hard hats and name tags. They packed up their lives at the estate into about 30-odd bags, most of which have been placed into a storage unit in a nearby industrial district.
The family first went to Carbon Yip’s home and days later to his father’s flat in Wang Tai House.
They returned to the flats weeks after the father, Yip Ka-kui, also known as Sdanni Yip, gave a moving testimony before an independent committee investigating the cause of the fire and its rapid spread. At the hearing, Sdanni Yip, who repeatedly reported potential fire hazards at the estate to authorities, accused the government of “evading responsibility.” He also gave a heartfelt tribute to his late wife, Pak Shui-lin, who spent her final moments knocking on doors to notify other residents of the fire. Wang Fuk Court resident Carbon Yip in Tai Po on May 12, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The Yip family’s designated social worker showed them photos of the flat before they returned so they would have a better idea of what to look for. However, even then, Carbon Yip couldn’t prepare himself for the weight of stepping back into his home.
“I had to collect myself before I could start packing, because the emotions were overwhelming,” he said, recalling the trip back to Wang Cheong House. “I don’t think anyone could accept seeing their home looking that way.”
Carbon Yip, 36, lost much of his Gundam and Digimon figurine collection to the fire. He discovered the models had melted and fused into a single unrecognisable lump of plastic. He had to throw out a large part of his Pokémon card collection, including limited anniversary-edition cases that warped and melted in the fire. A collage of photos showing Carbon Yip’s Gundam and Digimon figurine collection damaged in the fire. Photo: Supplied. However, he managed to salvage a commemorative crystal block made to remember their pet dog, who died early last year after about 16 years with the family. The memento was stashed away in a box, which shielded it from the worst of the fire.
Returning home reminded him of his late mother. Pak took care of their late dog, whom she called her “granddaughter,” while he and his wife worked.
“’Your daughter isn’t eating again!’ – she used to tell me whenever [the dog] was being a picky eater,” Carbon Yip said. A photo taken on May 12, 2026, shows the commemorative crystal block of Carbon Yip’s dog, retrieved from his Wang Fuk Court flat. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Carbon Yip, his wife, and his father have moved in with the elder brother. Seven family members are crammed into a three-bedroom flat, just a 15-minute walk from Wang Fuk Court.
“Being able to get these things back, our home can now feel a little bit more complete,” Carbon Yip said.