- Less than 40 per cent of locations with similar problems had fulfilled the orders
- Lawmakers call for speeding up a legal amendment to give authorities the power to carry out fire safety improvement work on old buildings
The Hong Kong building at the site of a deadly blaze on Wednesday failed to comply with fire safety orders made 16 years ago. Photo: Facebook/Biohacker KetoA building in Hong Kong where five people died in a fire on Wednesday did not abide by the fire safety orders that were issued more than 16 years ago. Latest official data indicates that less than 40 per cent of locations with similar problems had fulfilled such demands.
The low compliance rate sparked calls from lawmakers to speed up a legal amendment to give authorities the power to carry out fire safety improvement work on old buildings.
An intense fire erupted in the 60-year-old 16-storey New Lucky House in Jordan, which had 35 registered guest houses, 100 subdivided flats and many commercial premises. Five people died and 43 others were injured, some seriously.
The Buildings Department said it had issued fire safety orders to the owners’ corporation in 2008, requiring them to upgrade fire protection measures to meet modern requirements.
These included replacing fire doors, enclosing non-emergency facilities with fire-resistant materials and providing fixed windows with fire-resistant capabilities.
A spokesman said the owners’ corporation had engaged consulting companies in 2015 and 2020 to handle the orders. The department had also followed up and sent advisory letters. However, the orders had not been complied with to date.
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The department added that clearance orders were issued on March 19 to the owners of two flats found with violations, requiring them to restore some fire doors and fire-resistant walls. But it said the orders were not complied with by the deadline and follow-up actions would be taken, including possible prosecution.
The Fire Services Department said the building was last inspected on February 9 but no fire hazards were found.
It added it had received 10 fire hazard complaints about New Lucky House from April 2021 to Wednesday, and issued three fire hazard abatement notices after conducting 30 inspections. All notices were complied with.
The department also added five prosecutions were filed against the building owners in the past 10 years, including charges of obstructing escape routes, failure to maintain fire fighting equipment in effective operational condition and failure to undergo annual inspections for the gear.
The government submitted a proposal to amend the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance to the legislature last December.
The change would allow the Fire Services Department and the Buildings Department to carry out fire safety improvement work on buildings where the owners failed to comply with orders and recover the costs from them, with a surcharge of no more than 20 per cent, when completed.
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The two departments are at present only entitled to inspect buildings and issue owners or occupiers with fire safety compliance orders which list improvements required.
But the compliance rate is low because it is up to the owners to deliberate and reach a consensus among people living in the buildings.
Of the 347,715 orders issued by the departments after inspections of 10,761 buildings, only 128,351 – 36.9 per cent – had been tackled or discharged by June last year.
Legislator Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, who represents the Kowloon West geographical constituency, on Wednesday called for a review of fire safety in old buildings.
She emphasised the urgency of the need to amend the fire safety ordinance for buildings, a process which had dragged on for years.
“Although it is kind of late, I hope the government will not delay the amendment this time,” Leung said. “I still remember the sad memories of the fire that happened in Fa Yuen Street that killed nine people.”
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A fire broke out in Fa Yuen Street, Mong Kok, in 2011, which engulfed two neighbouring eight-storey buildings. The blaze was caused by a faulty electric cable used at a hawker’s stall.
The fire cost the lives of nine people, injured 34 more, and left 118 homeless.
The Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance, which came in force in 2007, mandates upgrades to about 13,500 buildings, including mixed-use and residential blocks built before 1987, to bring them into line with modern fire safety standards.
The latest proposals also suggested an increase in penalties for non-compliance with fire safety orders from a maximum of HK$50,000 (US$6,382) to HK$200,000.
The amendments also proposed further fines for every day offences continue from HK$5,000 to HK$20,000 to maintain a strong deterrent effect.
The sole owner of a 58-year-old mixed-use building on Ha Heung Road, To Kwa Wan, who failed to comply with fire safety orders to provide fireproof doors at some unit entrances and exits, was fined HK$37,175 in November last year.
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Lawmaker Scott Leung Man-kwong said the compliance rate in affected buildings had remained consistently low, despite continuous enhancement of Fire Services Department enforcement.
“There are many cases where the owners’ corporations are willing to proceed with the necessary improvements, but individual owners are uncooperative and unwilling to chip in,” he said.
“It is crucial to expedite the process of amending and passing the legislation.”
A fire at the Amoycan Industrial Centre in Ngau Tau Kok killed two firefighters in 2016.
The blaze lasted for more than 100 hours and started in a mini-storage unit in the building.
The building, constructed in 1961, lacked automatic sprinkler systems, which were not mandatory for industrial buildings put up before 1973.
Then security chief Lai Tung-kwok said at the time that fire safety standards had improved but there was no legal requirement for old industrial buildings to meet modern safety standards. However, he did not rule out potential amendments to legislation.
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The Fire Services Department inspected 1,166 mini-storage premises and issued 3,154 fire hazard abatement notices to 927 operators between June 2016 and April 2021.
A total of 247 failed to comply with the notices, which led to 37 convictions and combined fines of HK$572,600.
Lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said authorities should strengthen their awareness of safety, not only of fire prevention, but also the regulation of subdivided flats and the issuing of licences for guest houses.
“There are way too many guest houses and subdivided flats at New Lucky House,” Kong said. “I believe that, in today’s society, such situations should not be allowed.
“Every building has a maximum capacity limit and if licences are issued without proper consideration, rescue operations during emergencies can become extremely challenging.”
She said New Lucky House was L-shaped, which allowed for the use of telescopic ladders for rescue.
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But Kong warned if a similar situation were to happen in Tsim Sha Tsui’s Chungking Mansions, which is densely populated and includes guest houses and hostels, the consequences could be catastrophic.
The Security Bureau said it was working on drafting amendments to the fire regulations and planned to submit them to the Legislative Council for review later this year.
A bureau spokesman added the government would continue its efforts to promote fire safety through financial and technical support, as well as enforcement action, to create a safer environment.