Hong Kong fire victims long for home as Lunar New Year stirs painful
memories
[February 10, 2026]
By KANIS LEUNG
HONG KONG (AP) — When Hong Kong was hit by its deadliest fire in decades
last November, it left thousands of residents without some of their
friends, family or the place they called home.
Months later, the former occupants of the Wang Fuk Court — now a largely
burnt-out apartment complex in the suburban district of Tai Po — are
waiting not just for answers about what happened, but also a new place
to live.
They are in temporary housing and authorities have yet to unveil plans
for long-term resettlement after carrying out a survey of their
preferences. Also, the government has offered rental grants to help
homeowners pay for the short-term homes.
The upcoming Lunar New Year on Feb. 17, is stirring memories of
celebrating the festival in happier times.
The massive blaze engulfed seven apartment buildings and killed 168
people on Nov. 26, 2025, shattering a close-knit community. Authorities
blamed substandard scaffold netting and foam boards used in a
maintenance project for rapidly spreading the fire. Although some
arrests were made, an independent committee is still investigating the
cause.
The Associated Press talked to four families who lived in the complex or
lost loved ones there. Here’s what they said:
No place to call home
When flames devoured the towers of the Wang Fuk Court complex, Pearl
Chow, 87, fled her apartment with essential documents like her title
deed. Her grandson, Dorz Cheung, 33, rushed from his office to find her
safe nearby while the fire was still raging.
That night, Chow went to a friend’s home and didn’t sleep, while Cheung
watched the flames for hours, crying while clutching a friend. They both
miss old photos lost in the fire.
Now they are separated into two temporary housing units on separate
floors, each around 100 square feet (9.2 square meters). Chow says she's
satisfied, but Cheung says it's not a home.
“Only a permanent residence can be a home,” he said.
Chow still regularly returns to Tai Po for church and grocery shopping,
despite the hourlong journey. They want to be resettled in Tai Po, where
they lived for decades, in a unit about the same size as their old
apartment.
“I am an elderly person. When they finish building, I may have gone to
my heavenly home,” she said with a laugh.
Data from the 2021 population census showed over one-third of the
complex's approximately 4,600 residents were aged 65 or above.
Cheung said he lost his sense of security with the authorities after the
blaze. The government proposed measures to combat bid-rigging in
building maintenance and enhance fire safety in January, but Cheung says
it still hasn't addressed resettlement.
“We can only wait, being tossed around like a ball,” he said.
A temporary refuge
Kit Chan, 74, lived with her husband in a 460-square-foot
(43-square-meter) apartment for over 40 years, raising their family in a
community where neighbors helped look after each other’s children.
Chan planned to spend the rest of her life there, but the blaze forced
the couple into a studio unit at a youth hostel half the size of their
apartment. Weeks ago, they heard that other fire victims were being
asked to move out of the hostel.
She hasn’t been asked to leave, but is worried about what comes next.
“It’s like being unable to get by in my final years,” she said.
Chan initially wanted to be resettled in a new home built on the fire
site, but the government estimates that rebuilding will take about a
decade. Now she says she could accept a similar-sized apartment in
another district with good transport.
Her husband, Keung Mak, 78, hopes they can return to their old home just
to have a look.
“Many people hope they can at least see how badly it was burned,” he
said.
Weighing time against place
During past Lunar New Year celebrations, Isaac Tam’s family used to
visit neighbors on their floor with gifts. Now, the familiar faces he
has known for years are scattered across the city.
[to top of second column]
|
A pedestrian walks past the fire-ravaged residential towers of the
Wang Fuk Court apartment complex, in the Tai Po district of Hong
Kong, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
The loss of their two apartments in the fire was heartbreaking. His
parents cried, and his 92-year-old grandfather grew thinner. But Tam,
23, said at least all his family members were alive.
Last weekend, they were preparing to move into temporary homes, smaller
than their old apartments and farther from the city center. They shelled
out money to renovate them.
While he says the government’s handling is not as bad as some say, he
worries about how his grandfather will adjust to temporary housing in a
new district. Back in Tai Po, the grandfather used to have a morning dim
sum routine with his friends.
While awaiting the government's resettlement plans, they are mulling
apartments in another district that could be ready sooner than units in
Tai Po, which he prefers because he grew up there.
Time is their priority, given his grandfather's age, Tam said.
“I fear he can’t wait until we secure an apartment of about 400 square
feet (about 37 square meters),” he said, regardless of the district.
Grieving for a mother, hanging on to memories
Phyllis Lo’s mother called her after seeing thick smoke outside her door
when the blaze started. On the call, knowing she might not survive, her
74-year-old mother asked Lo, 48, and her brother to live well.
Lo immediately rushed to her childhood home and called again minutes
later. No one answered. The next morning, police told her they had found
her mother's body.
After learning that a mix of issues including substandard materials were
used in the building maintenance project and failed fire alarms, Lo
wondered if the tragedy could have been avoided if government
departments had done a better job. While she doesn't know who should
bear responsibility, she blames herself for not looking into the
building maintenance for her mother more closely.
What bothers her most is the lack of transparency — when will she be
allowed to go see her burnt apartment, how will authorities use the $589
million relief fund. She hopes the nine-month investigation will release
what was found.
She wants her childhood home rebuilt at the fire site, but considers the
proposed timeline — about a decade — unreasonably long.
As the Lunar New Year nears, Lo made turnip cakes, a tradition she
inherited from her mother. “Maybe she is still everywhere and still
seeing us now. I really want to be with her,” she said in tears.
Rebuilding a community isn't easy
Hong Kong leader John Lee said the city is working hard on a
resettlement plan, but it’s a complicated matter. He added that a
significant proportion of homeowners have indicated that they’d be
willing to consider selling their ownership rights to the government.
“This is no easy time for families of Wang Fuk Court. The government
will work tirelessly to finalize the plan as soon as possible,” he said
at Tuesday's news conference.
Jack Rozdilsky, professor of disaster and emergency management at York
University in Canada, said that concrete plans for continuous mental
health and trauma coping assistance will be key to a successful
resettlement plan.
Rozdilsky saw the community survey on resettlement as a good sign
because a one-size-fits-all proposal will not satisfy every household.
While rebuilding living spaces is complicated, he said, reconstructing a
community is much harder. He said understanding what promoted a sense of
community at the housing complex before the fire and incorporating those
features — be it a bus stop or a gathering point in a park — would help.
“Very small things matter,” he said.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
