PUBLIC ORDER
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Buildings and Quarters Under the department's development programme to provide an emergency response to all areas within minimum set times and according to the category of risk, three new fire stations including one command headquarters building and a new fire boat for Kwai Chung area were commissioned during the year. These were the Sheung Wan Divisional Fire Station, which also serves as Hong Kong Fire Command Headquarters, the Garden Road Fire Station and the Mai Po Fire Station in the New Territories. The total number of fire stations and ambulance depots is now 59. Others have been included in the various categories of the Public Works Programme and in private developers' projects for construc- tion over the next few years.
At the end of the year, more than 1 940 staff quarters were occupied or available for occupation. Construction work on 984 additional married quarters for firemen and ambulancemen will start as soon as funds are made available--
Fire Prevention
The department is responsible for enforcing fire safety regulations. It also advises and assists all sections of the community with regard to fire protection measures generally and in the abatement and elimination of fire hazards.
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Publicity campaigns increased the community's awareness of fire safety during the year and as a result there were requests for more fire prevention lectures, exhibitions and demonistrations - frequently conducted in association with kaifongs, rural committees and other community groups. The task of educating the public on fire dangers and methods of prevention is an important part of the department's work. The increasing number of complaints (10 885) received from the public was seen as an indication of the level of public concern over potential fire hazards and a growing realisation of the services provided by the department.
Fire Services personnel made 267 674 inspections of all types of premises and, where fire hazards were found, abatement notices were issued. In 1981, there were 3907 prosecutions for non-compliance with abatement notices resulting in fines amounting to $1.8 million.
All new building plans are vetted by the department, which specifies the requirements for built-in fire protection and advises on means of escape and other matters. More than 11 664 new building plans were processed during the year.
Research into matters associated with fire safety is continuously being carried out by the department.
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The Fire Protection Bureau - the executive arm in the department to enforce fire safety regulations - had made certain changes during the year in order to provide better services to the public and to increase productivity. Major changes involved the amalgamation and decentralisation of four divisions in the bureau the Schools and Factories Division, the Complaints and Prosecutions Division, the Dangerous Goods and Timber Stores Division and the Places of Public Assembly Division - and the setting up of three regional offices to shoulder the responsibility of these divisions. The cessation of checking or vetting of fire service installation plans, and the revised procedure under the current Centralised Processing System of permitting Authorised Persons or their authorised representatives to make minor amendments to building plans in the bureau from September 1981, were also changes made by the Fire Protection Bureau during the year. These resulted in shortening the time normally required for plan processing.