The Feelings of the Relative by Marriage of the Dead Twin Sisters in the Tai Po Fire: Although Life can be Tough, We will Still Look Forward

2025-12-05 18:48 Last Updated At：18:48

A week has passed since the No.5 Alarm fire broke out in Tai Po. Among the eight buildings of Wang Fuk Court, only Wang Chi House has not been affected by the fire. From this Wednesday, the authorities have arranged for the residents of Wang Chi House to return to their homes to retrieve their belongings. Ms Wong, a resident of the building, has gone back home to retrieve her belongings and her children's supplies. She said that her family lived in several units in Wang Fuk Court separately. One of the twin sisters surnamed Yam who died in the fire, was her sister-in-law, which has made her family feel extremely heartbroken.

Ms Wong describes herself as "born and raised in Tai Po" and has lived in the area for over 30 years. Her parents, younger brother, elder sister, and mother-in-law all live in Wang Fuk Court. The family owns a total of five properties, located in Wang Kin House and Wang Tai House. Currently, the two units in Wang Tai House have been severely burned down. During these days, her family members are temporarily staying in the homes of relatives and friends. All of their life and work have been significantly affected by the fire. As for the future, she and her family hope to continue living in Tai Po without planning to move away from the area. Considering this, she hoped her family could have enough luck to be arranged to stay in Tai Po by the authorities in the following days.

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Ms Wong has gone back home to retrieve her belongings and her children's supplies. Photo by Bastille Post

Ms Wong, Photo by Bastille Post

Mr Mak, Photo by Bastille Post

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Ms Wong has gone back home to retrieve her belongings and her children's supplies. Photo by Bastille Post

Ms Wong, Photo by Bastille Post

Mr Mak, Photo by Bastille Post

When asked whether she would return to her previous unit to live, she admitted that she had not yet decided. "If I come back to live, I will face a lot of sadness; but if I don't come back to live, my assets will be a problem." Moreover, she emphasized that at this stage, "everything cannot be 100% decided yet." Regarding the future arrangements of the properties, she believed that "the residents would want to rebuild the whole Wang Fuk Court. We don't want to see merely Wang Chi House will be left here."

In the fire, a pair of 30-year-old twin women surnamed Yam, unfortunately lost their lives. One of them was the sister-in-law of Ms Wong. She said that her family was extremely heartbroken about the news, but they would face it bravely and deal with the related procedures together. "There may be many difficult things in the following days, but we still have to move forward. No one could help us get rid of the sadness. The one that can help us would merely be ourselves." She also hoped that "her children would return to their normal life pace soon."

Another resident, Mr. Mak, also returned to his residence to pack up his belongings. He said that he and his parents, a family of three, were temporarily staying at a relative's home. He admitted that he did not want to return to live in the unit in Wang Fuk Court, but he still had no specific plans for future arrangements yet.

Wang Fuk Court Residents Allowed Upstairs to Collect Belongings Starting Today

Residents from seven fire-affected blocks at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po can return in phases from today until May 4th to retrieve their belongings. This morning, Mr. Cheuk Wing Hing, Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, along with Mr. Chris Sun, Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr. Tang Ping Keung, Secretary for Security, Ms. Winnie Ho, Secretary for Housing, and Miss Alice Mak, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, inspected the site and visited Kwong Fuk Community Hall to review the registration centre and supply collection process. They then proceeded to Wang Sun House to assess staffing and response arrangements, and checked the joint command centre and the general information centre. Mr. Cheuk Wing Hing said all personnel on site are ready and in position.

Today, 78 households from Wang Sun House, totalling 269 residents, registered to go upstairs to collect their belongings. Mr. Cheuk stressed that arranging for residents of the seven blocks to go upstairs required extensive preparation and manpower. More than 1,000 staff were deployed today, including 500 from the Police Force, Civil Aid Service, Fire Services Department, and Auxiliary Medical Service; 260 from the Home Affairs Department (including members from Care Teams); 150 from the Social Welfare Department; around 40 from Housing Department and Housing Bureau; and dozens of other departmental colleagues.

To ensure residents' safety and protect their belongings while entering and exiting the fire-affected buildings, the government has conducted several measures: residents are provided with helmets, masks, gloves, and other protective gear, and are accompanied by the Police Force or Civil Aid Service personnel when entering and leaving their units. The police officers are also stationed in the ground-floor lobbies of each building to prevent unauthorised entry. Furthermore, police officers are present on all accessible floors to guide residents and prevent them from wandering into unsafe areas.

Mr. Cheuk added that if residents feel unwell during their upstairs process, the Police Force and Civil Aid Service personnel will provide immediate assistance. For every ten floors opened, four dedicated teams, including social workers from Social Welfare Department and clinical psychologists, will be deployed to support residents in need. The Fire Services Department and Auxiliary Medical Service personnel will also stay on-site to offer emergency and medical services. Residents who remain distressed or unwell after leaving the building can reach out to social workers for psychological counselling.

He noted that since announcing the upstairs belongings collection arrangements at the end of March, the government has been considering how to meet residents' needs better and has made several adjustments to facilitate access: If circumstances and order permit, residents may be allowed to return to their units more than once within three hours; to help residents carry their belongings more easily, pick-up points for free shuttle buses and taxis have been moved inside the police cordon and positioned as close as possible to the building position to reduce walking distances; and, considering that residents may stay inside the building for several hours and need restroom access, Housing Bureau has added temporary non-flush toilets in electrical meter rooms on every other floor; cleaning staff will replace the waste bags when full, sparing elderly and other residents the strain of repeatedly climbing stairs.

Mr. Cheuk further pointed out that recent hot and rainy weather could lead to a rise in mosquito activity. Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has conducted mosquito prevention work in each building before residents go upstairs. He urged residents to stay aware of their surroundings and their own health conditions while going upstairs to ensure safety. In addition, Mr. Cheuk said he has recently received feedback from residents that some reporters have contacted them requesting to accompany them upstairs. He understood that for many residents, retrieving belongings or saying goodbye to their units is a private and emotional matter, and they wish to do so quietly. He therefore appealed to reporters not to seek permission to go upstairs for interviews, adding that the government would not approve such requests.

Mr. Tang Ping Keung also said the Police Force or Civil Aid Service personnel will be stationed on each floor to provide immediate assistance, including handling residents’ unwell problems, as these colleagues have taken professional training. Auxiliary Medical Service personnel are also on-site to offer further medical help if needed.

Mr. Tang also noted that Fire Services Department personnel, including ambulancemen, are stationed on-site, and the government has positioned several ambulances ready to transport residents to the hospital if necessary. Regarding residents in need of assistance, he expressed confidence that the Police Force or Civil Aid Service personnel would respond in a humanized approach and do their utmost to help anyone they see requiring support.

Mr. Chris Sun said today’s arrangements are primarily designed to help residents with their belongings collection. Each household may send up to four people upstairs, which may be limited depending on the condition of the unit. He pointed out that, as previously explained, as long as the homeowner registers, a social worker will assist each household with the registration process, which means that, in addition to family members and friends, if social workers are needed, they can also be arranged through the registration system.

Mr. Sun further emphasized that the top priority today is to ensure a smooth process, allowing residents to return to their units, collect belongings, and then safely return to their current homes. He reassured residents that social workers will listen to their opinions, and if there is a need to include non-family social workers as helpers within the four-person limit, the government will assist as much as possible.

The Feelings of the Relative by Marriage of the Dead Twin Sisters in the Tai Po Fire: Although Life can be Tough, We will Still Look Forward

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