Hong Kong
—
White wreaths are piled high at the entrance of a Hong Kong funeral home, a stark reminder of a city still housing its dead more than four weeks after the devastating fire.
Outside Universal Funeral Home, thousands of mourners waited their turn to pay their respects to the firefighters who died battling the scorching sun that burned for nearly two days at a government-subsidized housing complex, killing at least 160 people.
Friends, colleagues and members of the public bowed their heads and offered incense sticks in memory of Ho Wai Ho, 37, who died trying to extinguish a fire that destroyed seven residential towers in the Tai Po district last month.
“He sacrificed himself even though he was so young,” said Clarice Lam, 58, her voice shaking. “I came to express my condolences.”
Mourners at Ho’s funeral on Thursday were presented with Kinder chocolates prepared by Ho’s fiancée, which was Ho’s favorite.
“Despite his muscular appearance, he was childlike and there’s a little sweetness for everyone here,” she wrote on social media
The overall atmosphere at Ho’s funeral was somber, but there were also emotional outbursts.
Ho’s friend Angel Chan, 38, fought back tears as he told CNN how he remembered Ho as a “good brother.”
“He’s very kind and friendly,” said Chan, a female police officer who met Ho through work.
His body was buried on Friday in Gallant Gardens, a cemetery reserved for civil servants killed in the line of duty.
Senior officials, including Hong Kong leader John Lee, and some Beijing government officials also attended the memorial service.
Ho’s funeral was one of dozens held across Hong Kong over the past few weeks as the city has been rocked by fires that have killed, among others, young children, the elderly and foreign domestic helpers hired from Indonesia and the Philippines to care for them.
The fire (the cause of which is still under investigation) shocked Hong Kong, a highly secure city unaccustomed to disasters of this scale.
More than 4,000 people lived in the apartment complex, which was being renovated. City officials and police accused the construction company of using substandard mesh netting to cover the building’s scaffolding, leading to several arrests.
Survivors have seen the homes they had saved up for years to buy burn down and are now stranded in government-assigned temporary housing, struggling to rebuild their lives in densely populated cities with notorious housing shortages.
Firefighters in a city of 7.5 million people found themselves battling the biggest inferno they had ever known. More than 2,300 firefighters and paramedics were called out, along with about 400 fire trucks and 200 ambulances.
Ho was found collapsed at the scene shortly after the fire broke out on the first day. He died at the hospital later that day.
Twelve other firefighters also suffered injuries ranging from broken bones to respiratory illnesses.
Fire officials previously said operations were hampered by unrelenting heat, which reached up to 932 degrees Fahrenheit, and narrow hallways laden with falling debris.
They said rescue operations were further complicated by the inability to fully expand ladder platforms due to lack of road space in space-starved cities, and limited firefighting efficiency on upper floors.
Last week, on Ho’s birthday, the fire department posthumously awarded him the honorary title of senior firefighter.
On Friday morning, a fire engine converted into a hearse took his body to the Shatin fire station where he had previously worked.
There he was honored with a salute and a requiem. Before his body was taken to the cemetery for burial, a bell was rung symbolizing the end of his service.
