GENERAL SURVEY OF THE YEAR
DURING the year the Service was called upon to deal with 71,788 emergencies, of which 4,970 were outbreaks of fire, 1,040 special service calls and 65,778 ambulance calls.
2. The number of fires represents an increase of 78.5% over last year's figures and is an 'all time high'. Although this is a disappointing return for the time and effort expended in fire prevention propaganda not only by this Service but by many kaifongs and other community agencies, and whilst it points to the need for greater vigilance by all members of the community, it should not give rise to undue alarm, for as noted in the relevant section of this report fatalities decreased and material losses, despite the high number of incidents, was 26% less than last year.
3. The incidence of fire is rising throughout the world for a variety of reasons. Not the least of these reasons is that all fires arise from three causes-men, women and children. Not only is the world population mounting rapidly but industrial competition and anxieties are forcing higher productivity demands on communities. Technological develop- ments are persistently outstripping industrial training facilities and there is a diminishing proportion of the labour force which has the training, experience and time to devote to the study, control and instruction of workers in ostensibly non-productive disciplines such as fire preven- tion and personal safety. This applies to Hong Kong as elsewhere and is one of the factors taken into account in forward planning of the Service.
4. Notwithstanding the substantial increase in calls, as a result of the implementation of carefully phased development plans the Service was able to meet all demands made upon it and even during the severe rainstorms of 12th June 1966 no call for assistance where life was imperilled remained unanswered.
5. The unusually protracted spell of low humidity between October 1966 and January 1967 was a contributory factor in the increased incidence of fire, but as will be seen from the following the increase was generally spread over the entire year. This once again supports
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