************************************************************
Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, to a question by the Hon Tam Yiu-chung in the Legislative Council today (May 29):
Question:
In January this year, a fireboat took as long as 40 minutes to arrive at the fire scene after receipt of reports of a fire which broke out and spread to several fishing vessels at the typhoon shelter opposite Sam Shing Estate, Tuen Mun. On May 2 this year, a Number 3 alarm fire broke out in Tai O, Lantau Island, burning down a number of stilted houses, and some residents queried that the fire-fighting efforts had been hindered by the inadequate fire service facilities there. Besides, the fireboat "Elite", which is berthed at Central, had earlier encountered mechanical failure in the course of providing service. Given the aforesaid incidents, quite a number of people in the community have told me that at present on the outlying islands, in remote areas and at typhoon shelters in New Territories West, the fire service facilities are inadequate, roadside fire hydrants are ageing, fireboats are inadequate, etc. They are worried that when fire breaks out in those areas, it will be difficult to put it out expeditiously. They therefore hope that the authorities will enhance the fire service facilities in such areas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the authorities have regularly (i) reviewed if there are adequate fire service facilities on outlying islands and in remote areas such as Tai O, Tong Fuk and Peng Chau, and (ii) checked if such facilities have ageing problems; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(b) given that the existing Fireboat 7 will be replaced by a new fireboat at the end of 2014, and the berthing place will be changed from the Hong Kong International Airport to Tuen Mun, whether the authorities will consider procuring an additional fireboat to be berthed at the airport, so as to provide service in the waters near the airport and North Lantau; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) whether the authorities will conduct a comprehensive review to see if the existing marine fire service facilities in the territory are adequate, and allocate additional resources to procure fire service facilities (e.g. fireboats) so as to ensure that there are adequate fire service facilities to cope with fire occurring along the shore or at sea; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
For the two fire incidents mentioned in the question, we provide the relevant information as follows:
Regarding the fishing vessel fire which broke out at the typhoon shelter opposite to Sam Shing Estate in Tuen Mun on January 19, 2013, the Fire Services Communication Centre received the fire call at 10.50am and immediately despatched two fire speedboats and three fireboats, which were nearest to the incident scene, for fire-fighting and rescue operation.
The first speedboat arrived at the scene at 11.09am [i.e. 19 minutes (Note) after the receipt of the call]. It activated the water monitor on the board for fire-fighting and commenced rescue and search operation. In the meantime, a marine police launch and a customs launch equipped with fire-fighting equipment also discharged water to assist in extinguishing the fire. At that time, Fireboat No. 5 was carrying out fire service duties in other parts of its service area. After receiving the fire call, it headed towards the scene immediately and arrived 40 minutes afterwards.
Regarding the No. 3 alarm fire which broke out at the stilted houses in Tai O, Lantau Island on May 2, 2013, the Fire Services Department (FSD) deployed a total of 26 fire appliances, five fireboats, two ambulances, and more than 120 fire and ambulance personnel for the fire-fighting and rescue operation. There was no shortage of staff resources. The first batch of fire appliances arrived at the scene three minutes after the receipt of the call, which met the pledged response time. Upon arrival, the fire personnel secured water supply from the nearest fire hydrant (about 10 metres from the scene) within a short period of time. The first jet was activated four minutes after the arrival of the fire personnel. The water supply and hydraulic pressure were adequate for fire-fighting and there was no problem with the availability of fire appliances or fire service facilities.
My reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:
(a) FSD conducts detailed risk assessment, taking into account various factors including population density, land use and number and types of buildings in the adjacent areas, etc, in determining the location, the establishment of fire personnel as well as the number and types of fire appliances for each fire station. Currently, there are a total of 13 fire stations in the Islands District, 10 of which are located on Lantau Island, including Tung Chung, Chek Lap Kok, Penny's Bay, Discovery Bay, Mui Wo, Cheung Sha, Tai O (Sub-division), Tai O (Old Station) and the two fire stations at the Hong Kong International Airport. The other three fire stations are located on Cheung Chau, Lamma Island and Peng Chau respectively. In addition, there are two rescue boat berths at the Airport and one fireboat station on Cheung Chau.
In light of the geographical features of the offshore islands, some fire stations such as Peng Chau, Cheung Chau and Lamma fire stations are equipped with mini fire engines and village ambulances to facilitate their travelling on the narrow roads of those islands, and to ensure that the fire personnel can arrive at the incident scene promptly for fire-fighting and rescue operations.
FSD will, base on the actual circumstances of the Islands District and the operational needs, request the Water Supplies Department (WSD) to install fire hydrants on the street to provide sufficient and steady water supply for fire-fighting operations. FSD conducts regular inspections of street fire hydrants and WSD is responsible for their repair and maintenance. FSD will also request the provision of additional fire hydrants in light of the actual needs and the changes in the risk assessment (e.g. latest district developments). Since 2000, the total number of fire hydrants in the Islands District has increased by 73% from 685 to 1,186. FSD also arranges regular maintenance of fire appliances, fireboats and related equipment, and replaces them at appropriate times to ensure their reliability and performance can meet the operational requirements. FSD considers that the existing fire stations and related facilities for the Islands District are adequate to meet the demand of emergency services of the District. The Department will review the demand of emergency services of various areas from time to time and make appropriate arrangements in the light of district developments to ensure their fire safety.
(b) At present, the marine fire-fighting and rescue services in the waters around the Airport and North Lantau are mainly provided by the two command boats and various fire speedboats at the Airport as well as Fireboat No. 5 at Tuen Mun. For Fireboat No. 7, its main function is to provide rescue services in large-scale marine incidents. Although currently deployed at the Airport Rescue Boat Berth, Fireboat No. 7 does not have specific service areas. FSD would deploy it to different areas of Hong Kong waters for fire-fighting and rescue operation according to operational needs. Therefore, when the new Fireboat No. 7 commences operation in end 2014, the change of its berthing place from the Airport to Tuen Mun will not affect the concerned services in the waters near the Airport and North Lantau.
(c) FSD's fire-fighting and rescue equipment for handling marine incidents are of similar standards to those used by other advanced cities (e.g. New York and Tokyo). The fire stations and fireboat berths are also located at strategic locations in order to achieve optimal operational efficiency. FSD conducts overall review on its marine fire-fighting and rescue strategies in Hong Kong and the related equipment from time to time, and makes appropriate arrangement in the light of the needs of individual areas or specific periods to ensure the department's ability to deal with marine emergency.
In addition, FSD replaces and enhances fire services facilities in a timely manner according to the actual needs. For example, the new Fireboat No. 7, which is under procurement currently, will have a higher speed power with enhanced fire-fighting and rescue equipment.
FSD will continue to closely monitor various developments in Hong Kong waters and assess the fire risk from time to time. When necessary, FSD will seek resources according to the established procedures for procuring appropriate fire services facilities, so as to ensure prompt and reliable fire-fighting and rescue services for the public.
(Note: The concerned fire speedboat took a longer time to arrive at the Tuen Mun Typhoon Shelter than what is normally required as there were more vessels in the sea than usual.)
Ends/Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:33
NNNN
