Residents Return to Hong Kong's Wang Fuk Court After Fire: "It's As If the House is Screaming"
About five months after the devastating Wang Fuk Court fire in Hong Kong, the government allowed residents to return to collect their belongings. A resident named Dorz shared his heartbreak upon seeing his charred home, retrieving a few precious surviving items.
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- 📰 Published: April 22, 2026 at 16:21
- 🔍 Collected: April 22, 2026 at 16:31 (10 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 23, 2026 at 15:25 (22h 53m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(CNA Reporter Chen Kai-yu, Taipei, 22nd) About five months after the Hong Kong Wang Fuk Court fire, the Hong Kong government arranged for the first time for residents to return to their homes to pack up. When resident Dorz saw the moment his house was completely burned and blackened, he pretended to be calm, took a deep breath, and walked around the house, while feelings of sadness and anger welled up in his heart. He took away unburned items such as a family portrait, medals, and his grandfather's physician plaque, sighing: "It's as if I can still hear the house screaming continuously from the moment it was burned."
A massive fire broke out in the Wang Fuk Court community in Tai Po, Hong Kong on November 26, 2025. Seven of the eight buildings were severely burned, resulting in 168 deaths.
About five months after the fire, the Hong Kong government arranged for residents to return to their residences in batches from April 20 to May 4 to pack up. Dorz, who had lived in Wang Sun House of Wang Fuk Court with his 89-year-old grandmother for about 23 years, was arranged to return home on the 21st.
In a telephone interview with the Central News Agency, Dorz said that since early April, as the time to return home approached, his feelings became increasingly complicated. "I couldn't sleep or eat well, had nightmares, and my heart raced. Sometimes I lost my appetite because, after all, I had to face a burned-down house, which caused some panic. Yesterday (the day before returning), I only slept for 3 to 4 hours."
Dorz's grandmother had always insisted on seeing this home for the "last time," but she had been hospitalized for illness over the past two weeks. Having recently been discharged, she had difficulty climbing 14 flights of stairs and had to wait outside the building for Dorz.
Dorz said that when he and his grandmother returned to the Wang Fuk Court site on the morning of the 21st, his eyes were already red. "I told myself to stay calm, but it turned out to be useless."
All returning residents had to first put on safety helmets, masks, and gloves prepared by the government, and then take their own suitcases or large bags to pack what they could carry away.
Dorz stated that upon entering the building, he saw the lobby in total darkness. As he walked up the stairs, he saw that many places were severely charred, and all the windows in the stairwell were shattered. "That's when my tears fell."
He described that seeing his house at first glance was hard to accept. "The place you've lived in for so long has turned into ruins." Dorz first saw the kitchen next to the main door; the dryer and kitchenware had been melted by high temperatures or deformed, and the floor was a mess. The scene was like a wasteland.
Afterwards, Dorz took a deep breath, pretended to be calm, and walked around the house. He could still smell the strong scent of burning. About a quarter of the living room was burned, his room was charred with broken windows, while his grandmother's room suffered less damage. Many things in the house were ruined; for example, burned shoes were like potato chips, shattering at a touch, while jackets and plastic bags were melted together by high heat into a lump.
Fortunately, Dorz found some precious items that had not been burned, including an Apple Watch given to him by his mother as a birthday present, a computer hard drive storing many precious photos, running medals, childhood certificates and report cards, a pair of volleyball shoes, as well as a family photo including his deceased grandfather, his grandfather's Chinese medicine practitioner plaque, and his grandmother's handwritten Bible notes.
"While packing, I was thinking, why did a man-made disaster cause us to be like this?" Dorz said, with a mixture of sadness and anger.
Because the air in the house was poorly ventilated and it was pitch black, Dorz and his friend went outside the house several times during the packing to breathe fresh air, which also served to stabilize their emotions. During this time, he video-called his grandmother waiting outside so she could see the condition inside the house.
The authorities stipulated that each session for packing was only 3 hours. Because Dorz could not bear the environment psychologically, he packed for only about 2 hours and left. In the end, he took away 4 bags of items.
Standing in the completely unrecognizable house, Dorz said, "It's as if I can still hear the house screaming continuously from the moment it was burned." When leaving, he stared blankly at the house for a while and said "goodbye" to it in his heart.
Dorz mentioned that returning home temporarily fulfilled a wish. After the fire, he and his grandmother moved to a transitional housing arranged by the government. Life is slowly getting back on track, but he believes that after personally witnessing their home destroyed by fire, they will need time to settle and adjust psychologically.
He has applied to the authorities to return home again to pack, hoping to bring his grandmother next time so she can bid farewell to the house in person.
(Editor: Chiu Kuo-chiang) 1150422
(CNA Reporter Chen Kai-yu, Taipei, 22nd) About five months after the Hong Kong Wang Fuk Court fire, the Hong Kong government arranged for the first time for residents to return to their homes to pack up. When resident Dorz saw the moment his house was completely burned and blackened, he pretended to be calm, took a deep breath, and walked around the house, while feelings of sadness and anger welled up in his heart. He took away unburned items such as a family portrait, medals, and his grandfather's physician plaque, sighing: "It's as if I can still hear the house screaming continuously from the moment it was burned."
A massive fire broke out in the Wang Fuk Court community in Tai Po, Hong Kong on November 26, 2025. Seven of the eight buildings were severely burned, resulting in 168 deaths.
About five months after the fire, the Hong Kong government arranged for residents to return to their residences in batches from April 20 to May 4 to pack up. Dorz, who had lived in Wang Sun House of Wang Fuk Court with his 89-year-old grandmother for about 23 years, was arranged to return home on the 21st.
In a telephone interview with the Central News Agency, Dorz said that since early April, as the time to return home approached, his feelings became increasingly complicated. "I couldn't sleep or eat well, had nightmares, and my heart raced. Sometimes I lost my appetite because, after all, I had to face a burned-down house, which caused some panic. Yesterday (the day before returning), I only slept for 3 to 4 hours."
Dorz's grandmother had always insisted on seeing this home for the "last time," but she had been hospitalized for illness over the past two weeks. Having recently been discharged, she had difficulty climbing 14 flights of stairs and had to wait outside the building for Dorz.
Dorz said that when he and his grandmother returned to the Wang Fuk Court site on the morning of the 21st, his eyes were already red. "I told myself to stay calm, but it turned out to be useless."
All returning residents had to first put on safety helmets, masks, and gloves prepared by the government, and then take their own suitcases or large bags to pack what they could carry away.
Dorz stated that upon entering the building, he saw the lobby in total darkness. As he walked up the stairs, he saw that many places were severely charred, and all the windows in the stairwell were shattered. "That's when my tears fell."
He described that seeing his house at first glance was hard to accept. "The place you've lived in for so long has turned into ruins." Dorz first saw the kitchen next to the main door; the dryer and kitchenware had been melted by high temperatures or deformed, and the floor was a mess. The scene was like a wasteland.
Afterwards, Dorz took a deep breath, pretended to be calm, and walked around the house. He could still smell the strong scent of burning. About a quarter of the living room was burned, his room was charred with broken windows, while his grandmother's room suffered less damage. Many things in the house were ruined; for example, burned shoes were like potato chips, shattering at a touch, while jackets and plastic bags were melted together by high heat into a lump.
Fortunately, Dorz found some precious items that had not been burned, including an Apple Watch given to him by his mother as a birthday present, a computer hard drive storing many precious photos, running medals, childhood certificates and report cards, a pair of volleyball shoes, as well as a family photo including his deceased grandfather, his grandfather's Chinese medicine practitioner plaque, and his grandmother's handwritten Bible notes.
"While packing, I was thinking, why did a man-made disaster cause us to be like this?" Dorz said, with a mixture of sadness and anger.
Because the air in the house was poorly ventilated and it was pitch black, Dorz and his friend went outside the house several times during the packing to breathe fresh air, which also served to stabilize their emotions. During this time, he video-called his grandmother waiting outside so she could see the condition inside the house.
The authorities stipulated that each session for packing was only 3 hours. Because Dorz could not bear the environment psychologically, he packed for only about 2 hours and left. In the end, he took away 4 bags of items.
Standing in the completely unrecognizable house, Dorz said, "It's as if I can still hear the house screaming continuously from the moment it was burned." When leaving, he stared blankly at the house for a while and said "goodbye" to it in his heart.
Dorz mentioned that returning home temporarily fulfilled a wish. After the fire, he and his grandmother moved to a transitional housing arranged by the government. Life is slowly getting back on track, but he believes that after personally witnessing their home destroyed by fire, they will need time to settle and adjust psychologically.
He has applied to the authorities to return home again to pack, hoping to bring his grandmother next time so she can bid farewell to the house in person.
(Editor: Chiu Kuo-chiang) 1150422