Wang Fuk Court hearing resumed as Fire Services Department staff testified

已複製連結

The public hearing on the Wang Fuk Court fire resumed at the Central Gallery on Wednesday.

Independent Committee Chairman David Lok said he would later explain whether to apply to become a commission of inquiry.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Wong Sze-lut, responsible for operational support and professional development at the Fire Services Department, subsequently testified.

He said that "all personnel were used" that day to answer the 999 hotline. 

He pointed out that currently, 999 calls are answered by the police and then transferred to the fire department, followed by a three-way call.

In the past, addresses had been difficult to locate due to incorrect number in the address, so even information provided by the police could not be fully trusted. Firefighters had to verify the information again, preferring to spend more time rather than rush the process.

Several recordings of 999 emergency calls made on the day of the fire were played at the hearing. Some residents of Wang Cheong House waited 1 minute and 32 seconds before someone answered, while others waited as long as 15 minutes.

On the day of the fire, the fire department deployed an additional 82 people to answer calls, describing it as "using all available personnel."

Wong also said that answering and processing reports generally takes about 5 minutes, with about 2 minutes used for receiving information. Subsequent statistics showed that the average wait time from police referral to the fire department's response was about 58 seconds.

The Fire Services Department has no hard and fast rules regarding call response time, as each caller's communication skills vary; the only requirement is to respond as quickly as possible.

He said the fire at Wang Fuk Court spread rapidly, and some callers were unable to clearly describe the building on fire. The fire services department needed to reassure callers, which may take longer.