Hong Kong International Airport has staged a large-scale emergency drill to test its ability to respond to a major aircraft accident, with more than 1,000 personnel and hundreds of volunteers taking part. The annual aircraft crash and rescue exercise was held on the airport’s centre runway in the early hours of Tuesday, starting at 2.15am…
Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department has launched an internal review to improve its strategies for tackling large-scale blazes following the deadly Wang Fuk Court inferno, with officers set to examine operational effectiveness and equipment use. Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung Yan-kin said on Tuesday that his deputy for operations, Derek Armstrong Chan, would lead…
Hundreds of residents at a Hong Kong public housing estate were evacuated in the early hours of the second day of Lunar New Year over a suspected fire, only to discover that white smoke billowing from a flat had come from a cooking mishap. The Fire Services Department received a fire alarm report at about…
Firefighters evacuated 30 people at the Hong Kong airport after a fire broke out in an electrical engineering device room near a boarding gate on Tuesday afternoon. The Fire Services Department said it received a report at 3.03pm about the emergency at the Hong Kong International Airport. The fire was extinguished by 4.01pm, the Fire…
Hong Kong authorities will submit a draft law by the end of this year to strengthen enforcement against fire safety violations, including issuing fixed penalties alongside existing prosecution options that can take months to carry out. Responding to questions from the South China Morning Post, a Security Bureau spokeswoman said that a fixed penalty system…
Hong Kong’s CLP Power said it was investigating a voltage dip in the New Territories that left dozens of residents trapped in lifts on Friday evening. More than 50 reports of people trapped in lifts were received by the Fire Services Department between 6.30pm and 8pm. Most reports came from Sha Tin and Ma On…
A barge carrying recycled metal caught fire at the New Yau Ma Tei Public Cargo Working Area in Hong Kong early on Friday, marking the second similar blaze at the site in less than a week and prompting renewed calls by a lawmaker for stronger oversight and safety measures. The Fire Services Department said it…
Hong Kong authorities will launch a pilot scheme to test firefighting drones, with the aim of deploying the equipment in operations once the technology has matured, the security minister has said. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung made the remarks on Wednesday while answering lawmakers’ questions on fire safety in the Legislative Council, following the…
A group of construction workers have staged a demonstration at an upscale residential estate undergoing renovation in Hong Kong to demand that the contractor involved in the deadly Tai Po fire settle their unpaid wages, with two climbing up the erected scaffolding as part of the protest. About 15 workers on Wednesday held banners and…
This article was first published on January 25, 2016 By Naomi Ng and Ernest Kao The city’s coldest weather in nearly six decades was expected to continue into today, prompting a suspension of primary schools and pleas from officials urging the public to avoid hiking the highest local peaks, where sub-zero temperatures left roads frozen…