A ‘final piano song’ offers closure as residents say goodbye to Wang Fuk Court homes

Playing one last song on a piano that cannot be retrieved from a fire-ravaged home was among the wishes of residents returning to the scene of the deadly Tai Po blaze in Hong Kong, with one man climbing stairs on a fractured leg to try and recover a water boiler linked to his childhood memories. Some of those returning to their homes on Friday had lived in Wang Cheong House, where 81 of the 168 deaths occurred, and 63 per cent of the flats were destroyed. Only five floors of the block are being opened each day over a six-day period that ends on Tuesday. Others are from Wang Yan House, where residents are returning in batches over three days until Saturday. A Wang Cheong House resident surnamed Kwok suffered a fractured foot in the fire but was prepared to hobble up seven floors to his former home. Kwok said he had asked a social worker whether he could return at a later date after his recovery, but was only told that authorities would make proactive arrangements. Fearing he might miss the opportunity, he decided to make the ascent with the help of friends and a folding chair. “What I want to retrieve most is a water boiler, which I have had since I was a teenager,” Kwok said. “My father cleaned it several times with soda and lemon to keep it in good condition.” Kwok’s father died a year ago, and he has been trying to recover items belonging to him. He said he particularly wanted to see the dining room, where his father used to sit and watch television. A Wang Yan House resident surnamed Woo, who lived on a middle floor, expressed deep fear about returning to her flat. “I am so frightened to go back,” she said with tears, adding she would only return if accompanied by friends. “But I hope to go up one more time to play a farewell song on the piano. This is my way of saying goodbye to my home.” Woo added that she doubted she could take the piano with her given its size. She said it was incredibly difficult to pack up almost her entire life’s belongings in just three hours. Earlier, Mandy Wong, a resident of Wang Sun House, told the South China Morning Post that although her flat had blackened walls, scorched window frames and a peeling kitchen ceiling, her piano and sheet music remained intact. The instrument’s red velvet cover retained its sheen and colour, standing out starkly against the charred surroundings, she added. She also managed to retrieve her cello. After packing, Kwok told the SCMP he had filled about 13 bags with belongings, adding he could hardly describe his emotions on returning home. “It was unexpected. When I looked at the window where I used to wait for my father to come home when I was very young, I froze. I didn’t know how to describe my feelings,” he said. He added that the flat was half-empty, as his father had died before the fire. Still, he managed to salvage several keepsakes, including a collection of vinyl records. Kwok also considered taking his father’s old chest freezer. Because his father had mobility issues in his later years, the freezer had been essential for storing food. However, given its size and his lack of storage space, he decided to leave it behind. Ultimately, he could not find the water boiler and believed his father might have discarded it. Instead, he discovered a clock in the house with a carousel at the bottom that was still spinning. “I froze for a moment, but eventually took the ornament with me,” he said. A man surnamed Tse, who lived on the 12th floor of Wang Yan House, said he felt it would be necessary to return to the building again. He said that he currently lived apart from his family, with his wife and son staying at the nearby Kwong Fuk Estate, while he was living in a shared space near Tai Po Market. When asked whether he would let go of the things from his flat, referencing advice from Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing, Tse said: “If his house burned down, would he still be so determined to break ties and let go?” A resident of Flat 601 in Wang Cheong House, who called herself Lee, said that three hours was not enough time to pack up her things, adding that she was unable to retrieve some of the valuables she received as a traditional dowry. “The site was so dark that I had to use a flashlight to look for small items like my gold earrings,” she said, adding she hoped for a few extra hours to search. She said she planned to bring a portable floodlight if given the chance to make a second trip. Lee said her flat had been renovated just four months before the inferno to provide a better environment for her son. A resident of the 18th floor of Wang Yan House, also surnamed Lee, said he and his elder brother lived in the flat, but his brother had to stop and rest eight times while walking up the stairs. “I managed to retrieve the photo of my father’s ancestral tablet, as well as his woodworking hand plane,” he said, adding that he also recovered some important documents, photos of his mother and a saxophone. Lee said he was leaving the place with a heavy heart and had spent his entire life in the flat. “I could not retrieve some of my magazines, and I hope that if I have the chance, I can go back and get them,” he added. A woman who gave her name as Phyllis said her mother had lived at Wang Cheong House and died in the fire. She recalled that her eyes had swollen from crying as she lit candles and arranged silk flowers at the flat before saying: “Mom, it’s time to go home.” As part of her grieving process, she played the piano at the flat for a while before bidding farewell to the musical instrument, which she could not bring to her new home, she said. Under the 15-day programme that began on Monday, Wang Fuk Court residents are allowed three hours in their flats, excluding time spent on the stairs. Over the past few days, residents have been seen carrying suitcases, nylon bags and cardboard boxes as they try to salvage appliances and keepsakes. Each resident is accompanied by a police officer, with up to four people per household allowed to return at a time. However, only one or two may enter severely damaged flats deemed unsafe. The Community Chest of Hong Kong, a non-profit organisation, said on Friday that it would distribute HK$57,000 to each Wang Fuk Court household at the estate next month for the second round of a home settlement assistant grant. The total amount given out under the second round was expected to reach more than HK$113 million, it said. The fund aims to help affected households cover the costs of relocating and refurbishment, as many were expected to move into new homes by the end of the year. Last November’s inferno, which lasted about 43 hours and ravaged all but one block, was the deadliest in Hong Kong since 1948, and displaced nearly 5,000 people.

A ‘final piano song’ offers closure as residents say goodbye to Wang Fuk Court homes

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Residents make emotional return to fire-ravaged flats, salvaging belongings and taking one last look

Residents make emotional return to fire-ravaged flats, salvaging belongings and taking one last look