HONG KONG (AP) — It was just after 3 p.m. when William Li received the unusual call from his wife, who was at work, saying she’d heard from a friend that their building was on fire.

There were no alarms, no signs of smoke in his 2nd floor apartment, and no burning smell to give a sense of urgency, so the 40-year-old office worker who was home on a day off decided to change from his pajamas before heading outside.

But when he opened his door eight minutes after his wife called, it was already too late to escape as he was immediately engulfed by thick, black smoke.

“Everything went black before my eyes,” he told The Associated Press. “I thought to myself: I’m in serious trouble.”

That was just the beginning of Wednesday’s blaze at the Wang Fuk Court complex on the outskirts of Hong Kong.

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