Members of the Disaster Victims Identification Unit enter Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po,WhatsApp%E3%80%90+86%2015855158769%E3%80%91university%20of%20houston%20football%20jersey Hong Kong, Nov 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

As a deadly fire raged through a Tai Po housing estate in Hong Kong on Nov 26, firefighters immediately rushed to the front, risking their lives for the benefit of their fellow citizens. Shadow Li speaks with the heroes who faced the city's most ferocious blaze.

Fireman Lee Ho-wah knew he had a decision to make. He made it, took a deep breath and charged into a sea of fire engulfing Wang Cheong House. It appeared to be an impossible mission, with burning bamboo and other debris falling constantly from high above – a picture of doomsday.

Carefully, Lee tried to drag clear an injured man who had collapsed while trying to escape the inferno, shielding him from the shower of burning debris. Lee kept talking to the man, trying to prevent him from falling into unconsciousness.

"Hang in there. They are coming for us," Lee said again and again, perhaps to himself as well as the victim.

Eventually, help arrived and, with the aid of another firefighter, Lee was able to get the man out of the burning building.

Stationed in Tai Po Fire Station, Lee was one of the first on the scene when the fire broke out and was responsible for firefighting on the ground.

When he arrived at Wang Cheong House – the epicenter – Lee soon noticed the entire block and its surround was embroiled in a pillar of fire. Looking up, the sky was blurred by mounting plumes of smoke, and sharp burning bamboo scaffolding along with other debris such as concrete and stones were crumbling from a high-level.

The conditions posed grave threats to the firefighters and their rescue efforts. Lee found himself under great strain in what was an ever-deteriorating situation.

Rescuers work at a residential area fire site in Hong Kong, Nov 27, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

United in saving lives

Lee, who also lives in Tai Po district, was devastated by the sight that confronted him, "But there was no time for sadness or mourning.

"I believed every firefighter at the scene shared a common belief: to save as many lives as possible," he recalled.

Lee successfully rescued two men during the operation at Tai Po. One of the injured, who was still conscious, had almost all of his skin burnt off when he was thrust out of the sea of fire to land beyond the block. Lee immediately went to his aid and shielded him from falling objects as he escorted him to a safer place.

The blaze, the deadliest Hong Kong had witnessed for decades, broke out at around 2:50pm on Nov 26 at the eight-towered residential estate Wang Fuk Court, which was under renovation, in the Tai Po district. The fire, which raged for 43 hours, is believed to have started on mesh netting on Wang Cheong House around the first and second floors. The fire quickly engulfed seven of the towers, leaving at least 159 dead, 79 injured and thousands of families homeless.

In total, 2,311 firefighters and other rescue workers using 391 fire engines and 185 ambulances were dispatched to Tai Po. One thousand police officers were also deployed during the operation.

Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung Yan-kin said the fire was escalated to a No 3 alarm within six minutes of the department being alerted. The Fire Services Department activated the Director's Command Post inside 18 minutes, which quickly decided to send an extra 10 rescue teams in 20 firetrucks to the fire-ravaged housing estate.

With calls of distress mounting quickly, the department deployed another 80 staff to keep in vital contact with those in distress through 18 hotlines, attempting to ascertain exact locations.

"Once we ascertained anyone trapped was in great peril, we swooped in right away to rescue them," Yeung said.

By the time the fire was raised to a No 5 alarm, around 600 firefighters were already scattered around the seven burning buildings, with about 70-80 firemen to each block. This was maximum capacity for deployment given the limited space on staircases and the need to leave a route for people being rescued.

Firefighters head towards the rescue site in Wang Fuk Court, a residential area in Tai Po of Hong Kong, Nov 27, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Hard calls

In the face of an ever-changing situation on the ground, with temperatures running as high as 700 Celsius and the possibility of flare-ups, working out how to get those trapped out alive was the most challenging part of the operation, according to Yeung.

Extra support was needed and firefighters, trucks and other resources were called in from surrounding areas.

Lee Kwok-chun, a senior station officer at Fanling Fire Staion, was one of many firefighters from neighboring regions to be called to assist at Tai Po when the fire escalated quickly. Arriving at the scene at 3:10 pm, Lee Kwok-chun was initially detailed to help with firefighting and rescues at Wang Cheong House.

As soon as he entered the building, his vision was severely limited, with raging thick smoke filling the lobby. Coming across a number of injured people lying on the ground, he and his comrades took them outside and handed them over to paramedics.

Before making a second attempt to barge into the inferno, Lee Kwok-chun was informed that his colleague Ho Wai-ho had suffered an injury while fighting the fire at Wang Tai House. Lee Kwok-chun and his colleagues rushed to the scene, but it was too late to prevent Ho from succumbing to his injuries.

The firefighters handed Ho over to other rescue workers and turned around and entered Wang Tai House.

Lee Kwok-chun had no time to mourn his colleague, or think too much about his feelings, as he described it.

"Many difficult decisions were made," Andy Yeung Yan-kin said.

One of these decisions involved a distress call from two survivors who were stranded on the rooftop of Wang Tai House.

When the call for help was received, Lee Kwok-chun had just learned of the death of Ho Wai-ho.

"As an onsite commander of the breathing apparatus team, I had to make many decisions. All tough ones," Lee Kwok-chun said.

On one hand, Lee Kwok-chun couldn't ensure the safety of the firefighting teams. On the other hand, rescue operations had to continue.

A follow-up call to the trapped residents made the decision easier, smoke was already climbing to the rooftop and the heat was encroaching.

Breathing apparatus teams were sent up, while drones were flown close to check the conditions. The climb up for the rescue teams was relatively smooth, though they had to stop now and then to assess the fires ravaging different floors. With the clock ticking down for the stranded residents on the roof, the breathing apparatus teams, with no time to put out the fire floor by floor, decided to brave it and charged into the inferno to get to the rooftop as quickly as possible.

When they reached the trapped residents, the situation had worsened, with smoke already blocking vision and flare-ups happening all around them. Making their way back down would be fraught with danger. In the end, they used the front and back stairs alternately to give themselves the best possible chance of survival.

During the operation, Lee Kwok-chun used a walkie-talkie, phone calls and other means to stay in contact with the trapped residents and their rescuers. In total, it took four breathing apparatus teams to get the two residents safely from the rooftop to the ground.

A memorial service is held for victims of the residential building fire in Hong Kong, South China, Nov. 29, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Mainland solidarity

Technology support from the mainland was also crucial to the success of the rescue operation. The residents on the roof, for example, were located with thermal imaging drones sent from the mainland.

Ten drones and 20 exoskeleton assistive robots were provided by the Guangdong fire service a day after the fire broke out. The additional drones were deployed onsite to monitor the fire in real-time and quickly locate survivors.

Andy Yeung Yan-kin thanked central government, the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management and the Guangdong fire service for what he says was the enormous support the Hong Kong firefighters received.

The timely aid from authorities and fire services across the nation had greatly enhanced the efficiency of the frontline firefighting and rescue efforts, he added.

The exoskeleton robots played a pivotal role in transporting large amounts of equipment used in firefighting and rescue operations to the ground from high floors and in shipping investigation tools to the scene.

"The exoskeleton could save up the energy of the firemen during the shipping of the equipment by 60 percent, sparing them sufficient energy to handle other tasks," Yeung said.

He noted the mammoth effort made by people employed across the fire department – from firefighters and rescue teams on the frontline, to those in control and call centers.

"During the operation, the firefighters were facing a very challenging and difficult situation," Yeung said.

"With a formidable belief in rescuing those in distress, we strive to save every life. During this process, we have often risked our lives."

As well as the danger presented by the fire, the long battle had taken its toll on the physical strength of the firefighters – a total of 12 were injured during the blaze, with one being knocked unconscious by bamboo scaffolding falling on his head.

"It was beyond my imagination, as a firefighter for almost 20 years, to see an inferno that had engulfed an entire housing estate," Lee Kwok-chun said.

"This time, thousands of flats were burned, unlike in normal cases where only one flat was on fire."

Seeing the flames ripping through the homes of thousands of residents, Lee Kwok-chun knew they had to act quicker than they ever had done if they were to locate those in peril and save as many lives as possible.

Workers take down the scaffolding mesh from a building at Sui Wo Court in Sha Tin on Dec 4, 2025. [Photo/Agencies]

Aftermath

With the investigation having begun into the source of the fire, Yeung revealed his department is working on a computer simulation to probe the source by building a 1:1 model and testing it under the real environment and in a computer simulation.

In the wake of the tragic blaze, the department also met with stakeholders, asking them to run a quick check on the fire system in residential buildings – including the fire alarms. Alarms in seven towers of Wang Chuk Court failed to function during the blaze.

To address the concerns of the public, Yeung said the department has requested reports be submitted after prompt tests of fire safety systems. By law, these systems are required to be tested annually, with reports submitted.

Yeung has said that counselling support has been put in place for those involved in fighting the fire, with psychiatrics seconded from other departments.

Making the call to inform his family when he had a short break from the life-and-death operation, Lee Ho-wah said the city at that time felt like it was blanketed by a sense of helplessness and grievance.

But the young firefighter encouraged Hong Kong to persevere, "After all, life must go on," he said.

Noting many Hong Kong residents had rushed to aid the disaster relief efforts and sent sympathy cards to the firefighters, Lee Kwok-chun thanked them for the outpouring of support.

Lee Kwok-chun used to pass Wang Fuk Court on his way to work. He could never imagine the decimation of what had been thought a safe haven for families, but he has to carry on. As a firefighter, he knew his duty when he joined the force.

During the battle to save Wang Fuk Court, with the skyline shrouded by smoke, he rang up his family, told them he was safe and said he would call them again when his shift ended the next day, and he returned to work.

November's fire not only incinerated many people's lives and tore apart homes, it also left scars on firefighters like Lee Kwok-chun, who remember the scene as simply "shocking".

Yet, the senior fireman, left hurting by the devastation, found solace in the sight of rescued survivors being reunited with their families on the ground.

The memory of the many firefighters who gave their boots to those who fled the fire barefoot or who took off their breathing apparatus for injured residents will help him mend in the time ahead.