Hero's farewell for fireman at Gallant Garden
Wong Ka-hei, the firefighter killed in the Tsuen Wan blaze last month, was laid to rest in Gallant Garden yesterday following tributes from senior officials at a service at the Universal Funeral Parlour in Hung Hom.
Decorated with white lilies and daisies, a photograph of Wong in a fireman's uniform was placed in the middle of the altar at the traditional Taoist ceremony. A Chinese poem lauding his spirit of sacrifice was hung over the frame.
Mourners lining the street outside the funeral home included Secretary for Security Ambrose Li Siu-kwong, Director of Fire Services Joe Kwok Jing-keung, Commissioner of Police Tang King-shing and executive councillors Leong Che-hung and Ronald Arculli.
The hearse passed the 23-storey QPL Industrial Building where Wong died in a blaze in an electroplating factory just before midnight on May 21. It then went to the cemetery, where he was buried with public servants who died in the line of duty.
The hearse also stopped at the Tsuen Wan fire station, to which Wong had been attached since he joined the force in 1999, to allow his colleagues to bid a final farewell.
Among them was veteran firefighter Chin Kwok-ming, who was critically injured in the blaze.
With other firefighters, they were leaving the factory when a flashover - an explosive ignition of super-heated gases accumulating above the fire - occurred. Wong was the last in line, and Mr Chin was in front of him.
'I'm okay,' said Mr Chin, choking back tears. 'Thank you very much,'
The sound of bagpipes playing a lament drifted through the streets and the fire station bell was rung as the funeral car passed.
Wong is the only fireman to have been killed attending a fire in the past 10 years. He was unmarried and lived with his parents and two sisters in Lok Fu Estate.
Toxic chemicals, including cyanide, were illegally stored inside the factory, and the water supply to the auto-sprinkler system had been disconnected, investigations showed.
A fire department spokesman said that an inquest might be opened into Wong's death.
