HONG KONG: THE FACTS
Fire Services
The Fire Services Department is an emergency service responsible for fire-fighting and rescue on land and at sea. It also provides an emergency ambulance service for the sick and the injured, and gives fire protection advice to the public.
Organisation: The Department has 9 443 uniformed and 720 civilian members. It is organised into seven commands － three Operational Commands, a Licensing and Certification Command, a Fire Safety Command, an Ambulance Command, a Headquarters Command and an Administration Division. Commanding the Department is the Director of Fire Services.
Fire and Special Services: Fire-fighting, rescue and other emergency services are undertaken by the three Operational Commands － Hong Kong (including marine and off-shore islands), Kowloon and the New Territories. In 2014, they responded to 36 335 fire calls and 33 420 special service calls. In 2014, accidents occurring during the preparation of foodstuffs contributed to the major cause of fires, followed by accidents involving careless handling or disposal of lighted materials, such as cigarette ends, matches and candles and electrical faults. Fires claimed 24 lives and 309 injuries.
Special service calls cover a wide range of incidents, including traffic and industrial accidents, gas leakages, landslides, flooding, house collapses, attempts by people to jump from heights and malfunctioning lifts.
The Department has 590 operational appliances and vehicles fitted with up-to-date fire-fighting and rescue equipment. The frontline appliances, basically comprising hydraulic platforms, major pumps, light rescue units and turntable ladders/snorkels, are supported where necessary by other special appliances/equipment. A fleet of 21 vessels provides firefighting and rescue services within Hong Kong waters.
Ambulance Services: The Ambulance Command operates 369 ambulances, four Mobile Casualty Treatment Centres, 35 Emergency Medical Assistant Motorcycles, three Rapid Response Vehicles and other supporting vehicles. All ambulances and motorcycles are equipped with paramedic facilities.
In 2014, the Command responded to 747 437 calls, representing an average of 2 048 calls a day, and conveying a total of 671 886 patients or casualties to hospitals/clinics.
To enhance the emergency ambulance service, the Department provides simple Post-dispatch Advice (PDA) by phone on some easily identified emergency conditions (general bleeding, bone fractures/dislocation to limbs, burns, convulsion, heat exposure and hypothermia) after dispatching ambulances to scenes. The PDA includes simple first-aid and time-saving advice to facilitate the provision of prompt medical assistance to patients.
Frontline firemen are also trained as first responders to provide basic life support to casualties and patients before the arrivals of ambulance crews. First responders are now available in all fire stations throughout the territory. In 2014, the first responders turned out for 44 676 cases.
Communications: The Fire Services Communications Centre (FSCC) is equipped with a computerised mobilising system for the efficient and effective mobilising of fire-fighting and ambulance resources for fires and emergencies. It is linked to all fire stations, ambulance depots and fireboat stations for despatch of resources.
The FSCC, manned round the clock, also caters for receipt of complaints and enquiries of fire hazards and dangerous goods. During major incidents, it acts as a coordinator for Government departments and public utilities. The Department has five Mobile Command Units which serve as on-scene command and control centres in major incidents. The FSCC has adopted a sophisticated telecommunication and computer integrated mobilising system － the Third Generation Mobilising System － to improve the efficiency of fire-fighting and rescue operations by enhancing the identification, location and mobilisation of resources.
The use of Digital Trunked Radio System ensures effective and efficient radio communication at incident scenes.
Licensing and Certification: The Licensing and Certification Command formulates and enforces fire safety regulations and policies, and processes the registration of fire service installations contractors.
The Policy Division formulates procedural instructions and guidelines on fire protection matters, researches and approves fire service installations, portable fire-fighting equipment and gas cylinders. It also handles legal and prosecution matters.
The Dangerous Goods Division is responsible for the licensing of dangerous goods stores and vehicles, and timber stores.
The Fire Service Installations Task Force inspects fire service installations in buildings; handles complaints regarding building fire service installations and monitors the performance of registered fire service installations contractors.
The Fire Service Installations Division and the Ventilation Division are responsible for inspecting fire service installations and ventilation systems in buildings respectively. The latter also approves fusible links and electrostatic precipitators used in ventilation systems and assists the Buildings Department in processing the registration of Specialist Contractors (Ventilation Works).
The two Regional Offices (namely the Hong Kong and Kowloon West, and the New Territories and Kowloon East) are responsible for advising other government authorities on the fire safety measures for the purposes of licensing/registering various types of premises.
