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Following is a reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, to a question by the Hon Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung in the Legislative Council today (June 30):
Question:
Shops in Hong Kong which specifically serve tour groups from the Mainland, such as jewellery and audio/visual shops, often receive a large number of visitors at the same time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the types of licenses required for establishing such shops, and whether first aid facilities are required to be provided in those shops for use by customers when they do not feel well; and
(b) whether the licensing conditions of such shops have stipulated the maximum number of customers allowed in the shop at any one time, and whether such shops are required to install adequate fire safety and fire escape facilities for evacuating a large number of customers from the shops in case of fire ?
Reply:
President,
(a) Generally speaking, there are no specific licensing requirements for operating a retail shop. According to the information provided by the Labour Department, employers are required by existing legislation on occupational safety and health to provide first aid facilities in the work place for their employees. These facilities are available for use in case of emergencies.
In view of the increasing prevalence of heart disease with signs of early occurrence among the public, apart from encouraging people to receive first aid training so that they can assist patients suffering from heart attack, the Government has been actively promoting automated external defibrillation in the community. Automated external defibrillation refers to the use of automatic external defibrillators to perform cardiac resuscitation on patients. To this end, the Fire Services Department (FSD) has implemented a Public Access Defibrillation Scheme since 2006. Under the Scheme, free cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated defibrillation training is provided with the aim of encouraging organisations to install automatic external defibrillators in public places. So far, more than 3,900 individuals, including staff of property management companies, airport security personnel, staff of residential care homes for the elderly, government staff, staff of hotel operators, staff of the MTR Corporation, fire safety ambassadors and civilian staff of the FSD, have received such training and acquired the basic knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated defibrillation, as well as the basic skills on operating an automatic external defibrillator.
(b) While the Administration has not imposed any restrictions on the maximum number of customers allowed in retails shops in general, existing laws are in place to ensure that the buildings in which shops are located meet relevant fire safety standards. In addition, certain types of shops are required to implement additional fire safety measures.
Pursuant to the Buildings Ordinance (Cap 123), all buildings must, having regard to their intended use, provide fire safety measures in building structural construction, including means of escape and fire-resisting construction, in order to protect the safety of occupiers. In addition, under section 16(1)(b) of the Buildings Ordinance, all plans of building works must be endorsed with a certificate from the Director of Fire Services in order to ensure that there are adequate fire service installations and equipment to cope with the potential fire risks having regard to the intended use of the buildings.
With respect to fire service installations and equipment, pursuant to Regulation 8 of the Fire Service (Installations and Equipment) Regulations (Cap 95B), owners of fire service installations or equipment shall keep such installations or equipment in efficient working order at all times and have such installations or equipment inspected by a registered contractor at least once in every 12 months.
With respect to the arrangement of means of escape, the Buildings Department will calculate the potential number of persons according to the floor area of the shops concerned in accordance with Table 1 of "the Code of Practice for the Provision of Means Of Escape In Case Of Fire 1996", in order to assess whether the means of escape is adequate. In addition, according to the Fire Services (Fire Hazard Abatement) Regulation (Cap 95F), the means of escape of all the shops should be free of any obstructions. If the regulation is violated because the means of escape is obstructed, the owner will be liable on conviction to a fine or imprisonment.
Moreover, owners of any shops falling within the scope of "prescribed commercial premises" as defined under the Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance (Cap 502), namely banks, off-course betting centres, supermarkets, department stores, shopping arcades, and jewellery/goldsmith stores with a security area, are required to take additional safety measures prescribed by the Ordinance (e.g. provision of fire service installations and equipment as well as adequate means of escape) due to the unique fire risks of such shops. The additional requirements are intended to provide better fire protection for the shops' occupiers, users and visitors.
Ends/Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:55
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