The Fire Services Department fights fires, protects life and property in cases of fires and other calamities, provides emergency ambulance services and gives fire protection advice to the public.

    The department's establishment of staff comprises 8 708 uniformed and 685 civilian members. It is one of the world's finest fire brigades, with well-trained personnel, advanced communication systems, and modern equipment and appliances.

    The department responded to 41 204 fire calls, 20 413 special service calls and 560 666 ambulance calls in 2002, representing an average of 1 705 calls a day.

    To prepare for the implementation of the Dangerous Goods (Amendment) Ordinance 2002, following the bill's passing by the Legislative Council on March 13, a Dangerous Goods Division was set up under the Licensing and Certification Command through redeployment of resources. The ordinance and its subsidiary legislation, which is under preparation, are aimed at improving the control of dangerous goods in line with international standards. The Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance, which seeks to improve the fire safety standards of pre-1987 composite and domestic buildings, was enacted on July 3. Pending implementation of the new law, the Buildings Improvement and Support Division continues to inspect old private composite and domestic buildings with a view to enhancing fire safety and advising owners and occupiers concerned on the improved standards to be required.

    In order to enhance the quality of emergency services, the department has completed a consultancy study on the further development of the paramedic ambulance service. Plans are being implemented to provide paramedic ambulance care on all ambulances by 2005.

Fire Suppression

Of the 41 204 fire calls received in 2002, nine were classified as major fires of No. 3 alarm. Careless handling or disposal of smoking materials was still the major cause of fires, totalling 2 976 cases in all, followed by accidents involving the preparation of foodstuffs and electrical faults, which accounted for 2 689 and 1 007 cases, respectively. Unwanted alarms, caused mainly by faulty automatic alarm systems or poor positioning of such systems, contributed to about 66.9 per cent of the total number of fire calls.

    In 2002, fires claimed 25 lives and 515 persons, including 36 Fire Services members, were injured. Fire Services personnel rescued 3 422 people. There were two notable fires during the year. One was a No. 3 alarm fire on September 15 in an enclosed five-storey pre-war building in Central, which was suppressed by firemen in 32 hours. The other was a No. 3 alarm fire arising from a gas leakage and explosion on October 30 in Wong Tai Sin; three people died and 21 others, including 13 Fire Services members, were injured.

Special Services

The department also provides a wide range of rescue services in incidents such as traffic accidents, people trapped in lifts or locked in rooms, gas leakages, house collapses, flooding, landslides, industrial accidents and attempts by people to jump from a height. The department handled 20 413 emergency special service calls in 2002. Among the major incidents was a collision between two vessels near the Kap Shui Mun Bridge on March 12; one of the vessels sank, and of its crew one was killed, seven were missing and seven were rescued. In another major incident, on March 15, 102 people were injured in an accident involving four coaches travelling on the Tsing Kwai Highway.

Ambulance Services

The demand for emergency ambulance services continued to rise. During the year, ambulances responded to 505 980 emergency calls, representing an increase of 4.4 per cent compared with 2001.

    A 12-minute response time has been adopted as the performance indicator for emergency ambulance services since November 1998. About half of the ambulance fleet has been equipped and manned at the paramedic level. All ambulances and paramedic motorcycles have been equipped with automatic external defibrillators. The department has also strengthened the application of intubation skills and advanced protocols to enhance the pre-hospital resuscitation service for patients in critical condition. An additional light ambulance has been acquired to enhance efficiency in handling injured/sick persons in rural areas that do not have proper access roads.

Communication

The Fire Services Communication Centre, manned round the clock, is responsible for mobilising all fire-fighting and ambulance resources for providing efficient and effective fire and ambulance services to the community. The centre is also responsible for receiving complaints about fire hazards, dangerous goods and services of the department. It acts as an emergency coordinator for other government departments and public utilities in large-scale emergencies or major incidents.

    The centre is equipped with a computerised mobilising system and other telecommunication sub-systems which together form the integrated Second Generation Mobilising System (SGMS). With regular enhancement, the SGMS has been functioning efficiently for more than a decade in meeting the target resource dispatch time.

    In order to meet the projected growth of emergency calls over the next 10 years, a $445 million Third Generation Mobilising System (TGMS) is being developed under a contract awarded in March 2001. The new system, expected to be commissioned by the end of 2003, will adopt state-of-the-art technology and have a capacity that will further enhance the department's current capability and efficiency in mobilisation and communication.

Fire Safety

The Community Relations Division is responsible for enhancing the public's knowledge of fire safety and coordinating actions with other government departments and District Fire Safety Committees in stepping up fire prevention publicity in the community. In 2002, 2 424 fire drills at various locations and 5 299 fire safety talks and seminars were conducted by the division and local fire stations for various community sectors.

    The Commercial Buildings and Premises Division enforces the Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance with the objective of upgrading fire safety measures concerning specified commercial buildings and prescribed commercial premises. The Director of Buildings administers a Building Safety Loan Scheme, which provides non-means tested loans to individual owners who require financial assistance in carrying out building safety (including fire safety) improvement works, either on a voluntary basis or as required by law. Owners are required to pay interest calculated in accordance with the no-gain, no-loss principle. Those facing hardship, such as the elderly or people with very low income, may apply for interest-free loans and longer repayment periods.

    In order to enlist more people to assist in reporting fire hazards and disseminating fire prevention messages, the Fire Safety Ambassador Scheme has been extended to 164 organisations, including schools, public transport companies, major property management companies, government departments, homes for the elderly and hotels. A total of 10 383 people were trained as Fire Safety Ambassadors during the year.

    A major fire prevention publicity programme was launched on November 17, focusing on enhancing community fire safety. A series of publicity activities, including broadcasting fire safety messages on television and radio, and fire station open days was organised. In addition, a new mobile publicity unit was commissioned for promoting fire safety and conducting roving exhibitions at schools and public housing estates.

    To improve building fire safety and the public's awareness of maintenance of fire service installations and equipment in buildings, the Fire Service Installation Task Force stepped up monitoring efforts. A total of 44 261 inspections were carried out. The Task Force also monitors the performance of registered fire service installation contractors, with 441 random checks carried out. Legal action was taken against five contractors who had contravened the Fire Service (Installation Contractors) Regulation or the Fire Service (Installation and Equipment) Regulation.

    The Licensing and Certification Command sets fire services requirements for buildings to ensure proper protection of the public. Some 10 374 submissions of building plans were processed during the year. Fire Services personnel conducted 195 744 fire safety inspections of all types of premises and issued 10 812 fire hazard abatement notices requiring the removal of fire hazards. These helped to ensure that fire prevention measures met the required standards and public awareness of fire safety was enhanced. There were 463 prosecutions for contravention of the Fire Services Ordinance, the Dangerous Goods Ordinance and the Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance, with fines amounting to $929,665. Direct prosecutions for obstructing the means of escape in buildings resulted in 45 convictions, with fines totalling $193,230.

Appliances and Equipment

In 2002, the department operated 792 fire appliances and supporting vehicles fitted with up-to-date fire-fighting and rescue equipment. Appliances procured during the year included eight hydraulic platforms, nine major pumps, four foam tenders, four light rescue units, two rescue tenders, one jackless snorkel, two light fire appliances, two diving tenders, one large hydraulic platform, one 37-metre turntable ladder, one canteen van, three fire motorcycles and five mini fire trucks.

    A high-performance fireboat, the Elite, was commissioned in May to replace the Alexander Grantham as the flagship of the fleet. A new diving support vessel was under construction and will come into service in 2003, enhancing the department's maritime search and rescue capability.

Staff Training

The Fire Services Training School organises initial training courses for new recruits. The training programme for new recruits covers basic fire-fighting techniques, compartment fire behaviour training, operation of fire appliances and equipment, breathing apparatus, ambulance aid and physical training. Subjects covering fire protection, legislation, physics and science of combustion are included. The school also provides initial training to Senior Firemen/Firewomen(Control) and induction training courses to in-service appointed officers.

    Altogether, 116 recruits, including 39 Station Officers, 29 Senior Firemen/Firewomen (Control) and 48 Firemen, completed the initial/induction training during the year. Moreover, a total of 3 742 in-service members attended the continuation training courses organised by the school.

    Apart from providing basic initial training for recruits, the school has provided courses for 636 staff of other government departments and private organisations on basic fire-fighting techniques and the use of breathing apparatus. Besides this, 7 344 members of the public have visited the school.

    The Ambulance Command Training School provides a 26-week basic training programme for recruit ambulancemen on ambulance aid, anatomy and physiology, mountain rescue and physical training; cardiac-pulmonary resuscitation training for the staff of homes for the elderly, schools, community organisations and other government departments; and paramedic training at Emergency Medical Assistant (EMA) II level to ambulance personnel. Paramedic training covers patient assessment, intravenous fluid therapy, defibrillation, intubation and administration of selected drugs. By year-end, 509 ambulance personnel had been qualified at EMA II level. To cope with the increase in demand for emergency ambulance services, the school trained 132 new recruits and ran 72 refresher and re-certification courses for 806 ambulance personnel during the year.

    In-service training was provided to 3 742 fire and 2 357 ambulance personnel, while 50 officers were selected to attend various training programmes in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, Finland and the Mainland. The department recruited and appointed 36 Station Officers, 16 Ambulance Officers, 148 Firemen/Firewomen and 95 Ambulancemen/ Ambulancewomen during the year.

Buildings and Quarters

In line with the Government's policy to provide an emergency response to all areas within minimum set times according to the category of risk, the department continued to plan and build fire stations and ambulance depots at strategic locations to cope with local development.

    During the year, the Ma Wan Fire Station and the Tai Chik Sha Fire Station cum Ambulance Depot were commissioned. Lau Fau Shan Fire Station cum Ambulance Depot, Sha Tau Kok Fire Station with Ambulance Facilities and Braemar Hill Fire Station cum Ambulance Depot were under construction and scheduled for completion between 2003 and 2004.

Public Liaison Group

The Public Liaison Group was set up to encourage public participation in monitoring and improving the delivery of emergency fire and ambulance services. Thirty members of the public from all walks of life were randomly selected from among 125 applicants in 2002 to form the group's ninth-term membership.