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Following is a reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, to a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-hing on obstruction in passages in supermarkets in the Legislative Council today (March 14):
Question:
Some organisations have found that during the Lunar New Year last month, goods in a number of supermarkets were stacked very high. Goods were also placed at entrances and exits, in the space between goods shelves and along passages, and they obstructed fire escapes. Some goods even blocked the sprinklers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has stipulated standards for the width of passages in supermarkets; if so, of such standards; if not, whether it will stipulate such standards;
(b) whether the Fire Services Department and other government departments concerned had carried out inspections in the past three years to ascertain if the passages and fire escapes in supermarkets complied with the safety standards; if so, of the respective numbers of inspections made and prosecutions instituted; and
(c) whether it has assessed if placing goods along passages and stacking goods excessively high violate the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance; if it has, of the assessment results; and whether the Labour Department had carried out inspections in the past three years to ascertain if supermarkets complied with the requirements of the Ordinance; if so, of the respective numbers of inspections made and prosecutions instituted?
Reply:
Madam President,
My reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:
(a) According to the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123), new buildings or buildings under alteration should be provided with such means of escape in case of emergency as may be required by the intended use of the building. The Buildings Department (BD) also regulates the number and width of exits and exit routes of buildings according to the capacity of the room or storey. Separately, the Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance (Cap. 502) defines supermarkets with a total floor area exceeding 230 square meters as "Prescribed Commercial Premises" and requires the relevant owners / occupiers to comply with the fire safety standards as laid down in the Ordinance.
The existing legislation has placed no specific controls on the width of passages between goods shelves in supermarkets. However, the Fire Services Ordinance (Cap. 95) stipulates that it is an offence for any person to obstruct the means of escape (for example, specified exit doors and routes, and common corridors and common staircases outside supermarkets). Therefore, the Fire Services Department (FSD) can initiate prosecution against the persons concerned if the goods of supermarkets have obstructed the means of escape.
(b) In the past three years, FSD and BD carried out a total of 2,851 inspections in supermarkets. Among these inspections, FSD initiated 14 prosecutions against the obstruction of means of escape, while BD did not notice any unauthorised construction work which made the width of exits below the requirements.
(c) To ensure the employees' safety and health at work, the Occupational Safety Officers of the Labour Department (LD) regularly inspect supermarkets, convenience stores and relevant retailing business workplaces, and enforce the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (Cap. 509) and its subsidiary legislation, the Occupational Safety and Health Regulation.
According to section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance concerning the requirement to ensure the safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage or transport of plant or substances, supermarkets' employers should assess the height and the relevant condition of the stacked goods within the premises to ensure that the stacked goods will not fall down easily and pose immediate danger to the employees.
Supermarkets' employers should also ensure that passageways leading directly to exit doors are kept free from obstruction in accordance with regulation 8(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulation. If passageways leading directly to exit doors are obstructed by the stacked goods which may cause employees working in the supermarkets unable to escape safely from the scene in the case of fire or other emergency, LD will consider initiating prosecution.
LD does not have independent statistical figures relating to the inspection and prosecution of supermarkets. In the past three years (i.e. from 2004 to 2006), LD conducted a total of 1,435 inspections to supermarkets, convenience stores and relevant retailing business workplaces. There were 70 prosecutions arising from the obstruction of means of escape in contravention of regulation 8(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulation discovered during inspection. As regards section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance concerning the requirement to ensure the safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage or transport of plant or substances, there was no prosecution in the past three years.
Ends/Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:48
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