Firefighter says FSD should improve on commmunication after Tai Po fire
發佈日期: 2026-04-15 21:23
TVB News
The independent committee investigating the Tai Po Fire questioned officials from the Fire Services Department and the Police at a public hearing today.
The public hearing continued at the City Gallery in Central. The first witness to testify was Sunny Wong, the deputy chief fire officer of the Fire Services Department, who handles the bureau's emergency call centre.
The committee heard that the centre works closely with the police's 999 call team: the police operator would first manage the emergency calls before transferring them to the FSD once confirming that the incident is a fire.
Victor Dawes, the committee's lead counsel, pointed out that the practice would mean callers need to repeat information to the FSD.
Referring to the practice as long-standing, Wong said the department could improve manpower efficiency.
Wong said the FSD's call centre had 30 phone lines, while the police had more than 200 lines.
A standing order of the FSD states that the process of obtaining information from callers shouldn't exceed a minute, but Wong said the average time spent on a call was between five and six minutes on the day of the blaze.
The committee played a phone recording on the day of the blaze, which was from a trapped resident on the 17th floor of Wang Cheong House.
In the call, the woman said she was inside the toilet and saw thick smoke outside the block.
The 999 operator asked if she needed help from the FSD, and the conversation ended with "Call us back if you need." The FSD never received that call.
The woman died in the fire.
Dawes said the handling of that call wasn't ideal. Wong agreed.
Tsang Shuk-yin, the officer-in-command of the police's casualty enquiry unit, which answered calls from families and friends of Wang Fuk Court residents after the blaze, told the committee that the unit consisted of six teams.
She said the force had deployed 50 staff for the occasion.
Cheng Ka-chun, officer-in-charge of the police's disaster victim identification unit, or DVIU, recalled his work process of recovering human remains inside the seven burnt-out Wang Fuk blocks.
Cheng said the unit's goal was to locate all the reported missing residents.
Asked for his replies to speculation the DVIU could have missed bodies in the buildings, Cheng said it would be "nearly impossible" because members had searched "every inch of the scene."
He added that the team had once conducted five searches to locate one victim.
Responding to comments that the committee should be granted statutory powers after some individuals have refused to testify at the hearing, the committee chairman, David Lok, said they would announce their decision to the public in due time.
