Firefighter Ho Wai Ho, 37, who died while responding to the massive blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong last month, was accorded the highest level of funeral honours by the Fire Services Department on 19 Dec.
The official ceremony, held at the World Funeral Parlour in Hung Hom, was attended by senior government officials, Fire Services Department personnel, community leaders, colleagues, family members, and members of the public.
Source: Hong Kong Fire Services Department on Facebook
After the service, a fire engine converted into a hearse carried Mr Ho’s coffin, draped with the Hong Kong SAR flag as part of the highest-honour funeral rites.
Source: Hong Kong Fire Services Department on Facebook
The convoy travelled to Wang Fuk Court, where a roadside tribute was held at the scene of the blaze, before proceeding to Sha Tin Fire Station, where Mr Ho had served.
At the station, firefighters lined up to give a final salute.
The station bell was rung three short times and once long, a traditional signal marking the completion of a firefighter’s final duty.
Source: Hong Kong Fire Services Department on Facebook
The hearse then travelled to Gallant Garden at Wo Hop Shek Public Cemetery, the burial ground for civil servants who die in the line of duty. Mr Ho was laid to rest there in the afternoon.
During the burial, fellow firefighters carried the coffin as his family held his portrait.
Source: HK01
Mr Ho’s helmet was placed on top of the coffin before it was lowered into the grave, and a moment of silence was observed before flowers were laid.
Source: Hong Kong Fire Services Department on Facebook
Ho is survived by his parents, two brothers, and his fiancée Kiki, whom he had planned to marry this month.
Following the funeral, Kiki shared a post on social media platform Threads, bidding farewell to Ho and expressing hope of being reunited with him in the next life.
Source: Threads via HK01
Sharing photos of the couple and images of their wedding rings, she wrote that she had helped him complete his “graduation ceremony” in this life, adding:
I’ll leave our wedding to you in the next life.
Mr Ho’s elder brother and younger brother also posted tributes online, writing that they hoped the three of them would be reunited as brothers in another life.
Source: Threads via HK01
The fire broke out in late November at Wang Fuk Court, a public housing estate in Tai Po, and rapidly spread across the complex, engulfing seven of its eight residential blocks.
Source: HK01
Mr Ho was critically injured while carrying out firefighting and rescue operations and later died in hospital.
He had joined the Fire Services Department in 2016 and was posthumously promoted.
The blaze has become one of Hong Kong’s deadliest residential fires in recent decades.
According to an update from Hong Kong Free Press on 22 Dec, the confirmed death toll has risen to 161, after forensic testing established that remains initially believed to belong to one person contained DNA from two individuals.
Police have so far arrested 15 people linked to construction companies, with some detained on suspicion of manslaughter and others for alleged fraud.
Also read: What made the Hong Kong fire so deadly & how construction firms can prevent future disasters
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Featured image adapted from HK01 and Hong Kong Fire Services Department on Facebook.