The Final Stairwell: Xu Yixiang’s Account of the Wang Fuk Court Fire

This account documents an interview with Xu Yixiang, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. This testimony reflects upon the tragic fire at Wang Fuk Court in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong, which occurred in the recent past. This interview was recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on December 2, 2025.

Practitioner Su speaks:

"In the Western Dharma-Nature Land, we have Xu Yixiang, who was a victim of the fire at 3821 Tai Po Road, Yuen Chau Tsai, Hong Kong. You were there at the Wang Fuk Court when the fire broke out, and you lost your life in that tragedy. You are now in the Western Dharma-Nature Land of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. By the compassion of the Buddha, I invite you, Xu Yixiang, to recount the events of that disaster exactly as they happened. We invite your family to come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre to communicate with you. I respectfully invite Xu Yixiang of the Western Dharma-Nature Land to speak."

Xu Yixiang speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. It is finally my turn. I have been watching the others being interviewed, and I have been waiting, hoping that my turn would come. I heard that if family members come to look for the deceased, they can speak with them. I do not have any family, so I wondered if I would even have the chance to be interviewed. It seems I can speak after all.

A Quiet Day Turned to Ash

It was a holiday, so I did not have to work. I was home alone. At noon, I was in the middle of eating my meal. Halfway through, I noticed a flicker of light outside my window from the adjacent building. I looked out of curiosity and discovered that there was smoke and fire coming from the next block. 'Wow, a fire next door,' I thought. But looking at the intensity of the flames, I figured it was not particularly serious. I have seen fires in my life before, and they are often reported on the news. I did not think it was anything to be alarmed about; I assumed it would be extinguished quickly. I thought, 'It should be fine, I had better finish my meal first.' Think about it—if I had only taken a moment to confirm the severity of the disaster, or gone downstairs to check if my own building was already at risk, I would not have died in that stairwell.

Oh, I have not even mentioned my age yet. I am fifty-four. I was too anxious to get the story of my suffering out that I skipped the basics. I am a manual labourer, a delivery worker, but that day I was off, so I was just at home eating. It was such a coincidence to encounter such a massive fire. Perhaps it was destined by fate; it was written that I would die there. Although I feel a sense of regret, I am not overly sentimental. Life is just like that. To describe it as 'suffering' is perhaps too simple, but as someone from the grassroots, I know that one must work hard, but when faced with such a life-and-death crisis, one must accept one's destiny.

The Escalation of Terror

At that time, I thought, 'Oh, it is nothing, no need to rush to escape.' My personality has always been a bit careless; unless the fire is literally burning my backside, I do not get nervous. But this time, it seems my own personality is what killed me. So, I continued to eat. Later, when I finished and was preparing to wash the dishes, I heard screams. I thought, 'The screaming from next door is so loud, it must be quite serious.' But something felt wrong; it did not sound like it was coming from the next building. I decided to go and check on the fire next door. Wow, the entire building was burning! The fire was so massive—it was absolutely terrifying! I wondered if it would spread to my building. I decided I had better go downstairs to check, just in case.

In short, the building next door was already engulfed in flames. I started to worry that it might spread to mine, so I left my apartment. As soon as I opened the door, I saw smoke. It was not very thick, but it was enough to make the ceiling lights look like they were covered in a grey haze. I was alert. 'Oh, this is not good,' I thought. 'If there is smoke, it might already be on fire. I must escape immediately.' I initially wanted to take the lift, but I suddenly remembered that one should not use the lift during a fire. So, I did not dare to use it and chose to take the stairs instead. Although I lived on the thirteenth floor, I am a fast walker. My regular work makes me quite strong, and I believed that taking the stairs would be quick. I thought I could reach the ground floor and escape before the fire spread. Even if there were small flames, I thought it would not be a major problem.

Trapped in the Stairwell

I lived in unit 2, so I began to head down. Along the way, many people were running with me. At first, I felt a bit of warmth above my head. As I went lower, the smell became stronger. I suddenly remembered that I should stay low, so I bent over to continue down the stairs. Later, the thick smoke became overwhelming; I could not even see the path ahead. The air was scorching hot, and everyone began to hesitate. We reached a floor—I do not know which one—where we simply could not go any further. The temperature was too high, and we could see the flames. Everyone decided to run back up. We did not dare to exit onto any floor, even though it might have temporarily avoided the flames, because the stairwell was our only exit. If the fire sealed off the stairwell, there would be no way out.

The stairwell was full of clutter, which made it difficult to run even before the fire. If the fire ignited all that debris, escape would be impossible. The only chance to reach the rooftop was right then; a moment later would be too late. I had already missed my chance to escape earlier because I was eating, and I was not going to make the same mistake again. We had no choice but to keep climbing toward the rooftop. But not long after we started climbing, I began to gasp for air. Bending over while climbing stairs is difficult enough, but adding the thick smoke, the constant coughing, the nausea, and the exhaustion—even someone as strong as me could not keep running. The others were even worse off. I climbed until I truly could not go any further. I wanted to rest for a moment, but I did not dare to stop. Then, I lost consciousness.

Deliverance to the Dharma-Nature Land

After that, I felt a bit of pain, and then a force seemed to pull me out of my body. I felt very strange. I looked around, and everything was black. I thought it must be the thick smoke, so dense that I could see nothing. I did not know where to go, but I could no longer feel the heat. I thought, 'There should be fire, right? If there is fire, I would know that is the direction of the ground, and I could run in the opposite direction.' But I really did not see any fire. Since I did not know how to run, I just waited for rescue in that dark space. I waited for a long time, but no rescue came. However, at least I could breathe; I was no longer gasping for air.

I heard crying and screaming around me, but I could not determine the direction. Then, suddenly, a light appeared. I was overjoyed! I thought the fire department had finally arrived. I ran toward it, but I did not see any firefighters. Instead, the place was very bright, and many other victims had arrived there as well. I guessed it must be a shelter, but why were there no firefighters? I felt at ease. I did not have to keep climbing anymore. This was a wonderful place—no fire, no thick smoke. I started to try to understand the whole situation. I asked the other victims, but it seemed they could not hear me; they just kept crying. Suddenly, a voice told me, 'This is the Dharma-Nature Land,' and the Buddha-name 'Namo Amituofo' kept echoing. I later learned that this is the Western Dharma-Nature Land of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. Sitting here on the Dharma-Nature Land, I remembered hearing about the Buddha before. I knew the Buddha would protect everyone, and when I went to pray, I would ask the Buddha for help. But only now, having arrived here, have I truly encountered the Buddha. I now know that the Buddha is very bright, emitting light—it is truly miraculous.

I have just been sitting here. I now know this is a lotus seat; I learned that during the Dharma assembly and from listening to the interviews. The Dharma assembly is presided over by Practitioner Su, who allows Namo Amituofo to receive beings into the Western Dharma-Nature Land. I finally understood that this is how I arrived at this place. I heard that this place is very far from Hong Kong. If only moving things in my work had been this convenient! My parents passed away a long time ago, and I have no children, so no one will come looking for me. But that is alright. At least I have explained the process of how I died clearly."

Xu Yixiang

Namo Amituofo.