Independent committee stresses FSD responsibility for fire safety

Ahead of the release of the report submitted by the Independent Committee in relation to the Wang Fuk Court fire, the body's counsel notes besides three government departments, the Fire Services Department must bear responsibility for the tragedy's fire protection regulatory loopholes.

This as the chairman of the committee emphasises fire protection and firefighting incidents should be dealt with separately.

Key factors that led to the deaths of 168 people in the Wang Fuk Court fire last year include the lack of water in the estate's fire water tanks and the fire alarms that failed to work.

Testimonies provided during the hearings of the Independent Committee in relation to the Wang Fuk Court fire accused the Fire Services Department of failing to notice the fire alarms had been turned off.

The FSD was also blamed for approving 85 consecutive applications to drain the fire water tanks, resulting in the lack of water in the tanks for up to seven months.

A total of 14 FSD personnel including Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung attended the hearings -- the highest figure among the government departments involved in the incident.

FSD Assistant Director for Licensing and Certification Keung Sai-ming said during the hearing his department was notified on several occasions that individuals had been following up on the empty water tanks.

He added he witnessed repair works conducted on the tanks, and was not suspicious of the situation.

Addressing scepticism about the FSD only conducting one voluntary patrol out of a total of 26 at Wang Fuk Court, Keung said patrols are only conducted once every three to four years at most housing estates, but admitted estates under renovation are at higher risk.

As for why the department only approved the inspection certificate three months after it was submitted by Wang Fuk Court's fire safety contractor Victory Fire Engineering, which also delivered the document eight months behind schedule, Keung said his department needed time to handle large amounts of certificates.

Meanwhile, FSD Assistant Director Michael Yung noted while his department should be responsible for the fire alarm system, the issues with netting, foam boards and stairwell openings lie with other departments.

Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung, however, believed such a view was overly narrow.

Responding to why the fire was only raised to the maximum level 5 from level 4 after three hours, the FSD said the number of personnel deployed on site when the fire was still at level 4 was already double that of a normal level 5 blaze.

The department also said it did not seek for mainland assistance owing to cooperation mechanisms at the time not covering fire safety incidents.