FSD conducts special fire safety inspection and enforcement operation
The fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po has drawn widespread public attention to building fire safety. With the Christmas holiday approaching, the Fire Services Department (FSD) conducted a territory-wide special fire safety inspection and enforcement operation against commercial buildings with higher fire risks for two consecutive days starting yesterday (December 23) to ensure public safety.
In regulating the fire safety of licensed premises such as restaurants, the FSD specifies relevant fire safety requirements to licence applicants and conducts inspections to ensure that the premises comply with applicable fire safety standards. Nevertheless, inadequate management of buildings and individual premises may give rise to potential fire hazards, for example, smoke stop doors being wedged open, means of escape (MoE) being obstructed or locked, the depositing of combustible articles in MoE, or fire service installation or equipment (FSIs) not being kept in efficient working order. In addition, commercial buildings housing a large number of licensed premises have higher fire risks than ordinary buildings, as these establishments are more crowded.
Anticipating a significant increase in the number of people visiting commercial buildings with a higher number of licensed premises, the FSD targeted 132 such commercial buildings and conducted a territory-wide special fire safety inspection and enforcement operation. A total of 376 Fire Hazard Abatement Notices were issued for various fire hazards, and 53 prosecutions were initiated. Among the 132 buildings, 57 were suspected of lacking annual inspections for FSIs. The FSD has followed up in a serious manner and will implement enforcement action for any irregularities identified.
In addition to inspections and enforcement, the fire personnel also carried out fire prevention publicity and education during the operation to raise the fire safety awareness among property owners and the public, with a view to preventing fire incidents.
To further strengthen fire safety management of these types of commercial buildings and enhance fire safety awareness among property owners and the public, the FSD will enhance communication with the Property Management Services Authority, the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies Limited and other relevant stakeholders to introduce targeted regulatory and publicity measures. This collaboration aims to reinforce the partnership between the Government and the property management sector, ensuring that the FSIs in commercial buildings are properly kept in efficient working order. It also encourages building owners, tenants and property management agents to uphold sound building management practices and eliminate fire hazards.
Through concerted efforts and information sharing, the department aims to jointly foster a robust fire safety culture with all parties and contribute to a safer and more reliable community.
The Fire Services Department (FSD)
Online pre-registration for public observation for third round of evidential hearings of Independent Committee in relation to fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po
The following is issued on behalf of the Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po:
The Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po announced today (April 2) that members of the public may pre-register for selected hearings of the third round of seven evidential hearings that they wish to observe via the online system from 10am on April 8 to 10am on April 11.
The Committee will hear evidence in the evidential hearings on matters in accordance with its terms of reference. The Committee aims to clarify the relevant facts through oral evidence, written submissions, and other forms of evidence presented by witnesses. This will provide an important basis for the preparation of its report and recommendations.
The evidential hearings will be conducted in Cantonese from 10am to 1pm and from 2.15pm to 4.30pm at the Multi-purpose Hall, 3/F, City Gallery, 3 Edinburgh Place, Central. Simultaneous interpretation in Putonghua and English will be provided in the City Gallery.
The schedule for the third round of seven evidential hearings as announced earlier is as follows:
Date |
1. |
April 20 (Monday) |
2. |
April 21 (Tuesday) |
3. |
April 22 (Wednesday) |
4. |
April 23 (Thursday) |
5. |
April 24 (Friday) |
6. |
April 27 (Monday) |
7. |
April 30 (Thursday) |
In the third round of evidential hearings, the Committee will continue to receive oral evidence from witnesses. The Committee will release the list of exact witnesses who will be giving evidence at each date of hearing on its website (www.ic-wangfukcourtfire.gov.hk/eng/timetable.html) nearer the time.
Some seats for the hearings will be reserved for the involved parties, and some seats will be open to the public to observe the proceedings. To allow more members of the public to attend the hearings, the proceedings will be broadcast simultaneously in transmission areas set up on the ground floor of the City Gallery and in the Lecture Theatre of the Hong Kong Central Library. Arrangements will be made for some members of the public to observe the hearings in these two areas. A total of about 360 seats will be available for public observation in the main venue and the two transmission areas. About half of the seats will be set aside for residents of Wang Fuk Court on a priority basis. Separate arrangements will be made for the media.
To avoid members of the public queuing outside the venue for a long time, and to allow those who wish to observe the hearings to have certainty of whether seats have been secured before the day of the hearings, for the third round of hearings, individuals (including Wang Fuk Court residents) are required to pre-register online (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ic-hearing/en/) from 10am on April 8 to 10am on April 11. Registrants should select on the online registration form the dates they wish to observe (one or more sessions can be selected) and submit the duly completed form. The Secretariat of the Committee will allocate seats on a first-come, first-served basis according to the system's record of the time the pre-registration forms are received.
Successful registrants will receive a "Confirmation of Successful Registration" for the third round of hearings issued by the Secretariat of the Committee by April 16. An SMS notification will be sent from the sender name "#IC-hearing". If an email address is also provided during pre-registration, an email notification will be sent from hearing@ic-wangfukcourtfire.gov.hk. Pre-registration will be considered unsuccessful for those who have not received a notification by that date. Each person can only pre-register for each day of hearing once. Duplicate registrations will not be processed.
According to the current plan, the Committee will continue to hold evidential hearings in May. Details (including the specific dates of the hearings, the witnesses who will be giving evidence, and the pre-registration arrangements for public observation) will be announced separately on a later date.
The Chief Executive established the Committee to review the causes of the fire at Wang Fuk Court and related issues, and to make recommendations to prevent similar incidents from occurring again. The Committee formally commenced its work on December 19, 2025, and the evidential hearings on March 19 to hear oral evidence from witnesses (including oral evidence from Wang Fuk Court residents and the involved parties).
Source: AI-found images
