Fire Services Department officer says most Wang Fuk Court complaints not their responsibilities
發佈日期: 2026-04-23 00:10
TVB News
A Fire Services Department officer on Wednesday stated that many complaints about the Wang Fuk Court renovation project were outside their remit.
The public hearing resumed at Central City Gallery. Michael Yung, an assistant director of the Fire Services Department, first testified in the morning session.
Victor Dawes, the committee's senior counsel, listed issues that had been discussed in the previous hearings, including movable boards installed at the emergency backstairs, foam boards, scaffolding mesh and workers' smoke habits.
He asked Yung which government departments should have handled those issues-related complaints. The FSD officer said the first three belonged to the Buildings Department's Independent Checking Unit, whereas the fourth one was the Labour Department's responsibility.
When Dawes said "it seems no complaints fall within the scope of the FSD's responsibility?" Yung agreed.
An audio recording that shows a complaint of a Wang Fuk Court resident to the FSD about foam boards on windows was played. The department said the application of foam boards to shield windows wasn't under any regulation, but the FSD could send someone over to inspect the situation if the resident had concerns.
Asked if the most ideal handling of such a complaint was to transfer it to the Independent Checking Unit,which the FSD didn't do back then, Yung said yes.
Yung said the FSD had become more proactive after the blaze -- officers would directly contact other departments to forward relevant complaints or inquiries.
Dawes pointed out that the FSD "definitely has the capability to handle the movable board problem" even when it involved the practice of division of labour between the department and the building authorities, as stated by Yung. The officer agreed.
The barrister said that he had lost count of how many times the committee had heard "not ideal" in the hearings.
Ng Wing-kwong, a senior station officer of Tai Po fire station, admitted that the FSD had relied on information submitted by the fire services contractor on equipment defects instead of verifying the defects itself.
The hearing is adjourned until 10 am on Thursday.
