Deadly Hong Kong blaze prompts authorities to switch fire safety focus to buildings with single staircase, guest houses and subdivided flats
- Development chief Bernadette Linn reveals plan after city leader pledges to review enforcement priorities for buildings failing to comply with fire safety orders
- She says government will also target buildings that have not complied with mandatory inspection orders
Hong Kong authorities will step up fire safety enforcement by switching their focus to buildings with a single staircase and those occupied by guest houses and subdivided flats after a deadly blaze last week, the development minister has said.
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho revealed the plan on Wednesday, a day after the city leader pledged to review enforcement priorities for buildings that failed to comply with fire safety orders.
“We will [reprioritise] enforcement and focus resources for handling high-risk buildings such as single-staircase buildings, [and] those with more guest houses or subdivided units,” Linn told a Legislative Council Finance Committee meeting.
She said the government would also target buildings that had not complied with mandatory inspection orders and had yet to appoint a professional to conduct check-ups.
Authorities would internally deploy manpower to step up prosecutions as well, she said.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday said the government would table legal amendments to the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance in two to three months, to increase the penalty for non-compliance with orders from a maximum of HK$50,000 (US$6,382) to HK$200,000.
