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On a sweltering Sunday, the city said its last goodbyes to senior fire officer Thomas Cheung, who died battling the Ngau Tau Kok industrial building blaze last month.
Bagpipes played funereal tunes as six of Cheung’s colleagues carried his coffin to Gallant Garden at Wo Hop Shek Cemetery for a burial fit for a hero.
Cheung’s widow led the crowd in laying flowers on the coffin. Their four-month-old son was held by another family member and also laid a lily to send off his father.
Relatives, friends and fellow firefighters became emotional and openly wept during the half-hour ceremony. Cheung’s instructor carried his helmet all the way, until it was permanently buried with its master.
Cheung, 30, was one of two firemen killed while battling the inferno that engulfed a mini-storage facility at the Amoycan Industrial Centre on June 21. The fire raged for 108 hours, making it one of the longest in the city’s history.
While the official ceremonies were not open to the public, ordinary people were able to pay their respects at the Universal Funeral Parlour in Hung Hom in the morning.
“I missed his vigil on Saturday night, so I came to say goodbye to the brave hero. We should all learn from his selflessness and gallantry,” said a 68-year-old man waiting outside the funeral parlour.
Some of the fallen firefighter’s colleagues turned up immediately after their overnight shifts.
“I came here after my duty was finished at 8am. I want to pay my last respects. He is truly our role model,” a senior fireman said.
Government officials, including Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Director of Fire Services David Lai Man-hin, were among those who laid wreaths in the funeral hall, with ministers, lawmakers, executive councillors and the heads of the disciplinary forces attending.
The hearse, a refitted fire truck, left the parlour and stopped at the Amoycan building for another formal ceremony. More than 100 members of the public watched from a nearby footbridge or behind a cordon.
Before the burial services, Cheung’s colleagues held a solemn farewell parade for him at the Fire and Ambulance Services Academy in Tseung Kwan O, where the fallen firefighter last served.
Senior station officer Yip Yiu-chung, a training instructor at the academy, said he had met Cheung on many occasions and found him to be an energetic and determined young man.
“Cheung always tried his best and put every effort into his work,” he said. “We will continue that legacy.”
After joining the Fire Services Department as a station officer in 2010, Cheung was promoted to senior station officer in 2015 and started serving as a technical rescue instructor at the academy earlier this year.
A vigil for his colleague, 37-year-old senior fireman Samuel Hui Chi-kit, will be held on Thursday evening, followed by a ceremony with full honours the next morning.
The government earlier awarded the duo posthumous gold medals for bravery. It also granted HK$4.86 million to Cheung’s family and HK$4.5 million to Hui’s in recognition of their sacrifice.
(SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST)
