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members of the public was seen as an indication of the level of public concern over potential fire hazards and a growing awareness of the services provided by the department. Fire Services personnel made 156 807 inspections of all types of premises and, where fire hazards were found, abatement notices were issued. In 1985, there were 4 746 prosecutions for non- compliance with abatement notices resulting in fines amounting to $1.7 million.
All new building plans are vetted by the department, which specifies the requirements for built-in fire protection and advises on related matters. More than 7 364 new building plans were processed during the year. The department is also responsible for carrying out research into matters associated with fire safety.
Ambulance Service
The Fire Services Department operates the government ambulance service with a strength of 1716 in all ranks of uniformed staff, and 127 civilian employees. The service operates 216 ambulances from 18 ambulance depots or stations throughout the territory and from many fire stations. During the year, a total of 333 905 calls, involving 441 174 people, were handled – representing an average of 915 calls every 24 hours. This was an increase of 6.6 per cent in the number of calls compared with the total for 1984.
Appliances and Workshops
To enable fire-fighting and rescue operations to be conducted in an efficient manner, the Fire Services Department is equipped with nearly 700 operational fire appliances, ambulances and vehicles fitted with modern fire-fighting and rescue equipment.
In 1985, 17 new or replacement appliances and vehicles of various kinds were put into service. To maintain its fleet of fire appliances and rescue equipment, the department operates three workshops covering Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.
Staff Training
All recruits except those in the specialist communications ranks of senior firemen (control) and senior firewomen (control) are trained at the Fire Services Training School at Pat Heung in the New Territories. The courses vary in content and last from eight to 26 weeks. The training of senior firemen (control) and senior firewomen (control) is conducted at the Fire Services Communication Centre in Kowloon by instructors from the Training School. During the year, 302 recruits successfully completed initial training, comprising 15 station officers, 201 firemen and 86 ambulancemen.
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The school also conducted fire protection courses for senior station officers and station officers; refresher courses for ambulance personnel; and basic courses on fire fighting, fighting fires on ships and on the use of breathing apparatus for government departments and private organisations in Hong Kong and for the Macau Fire Brigade. Some 1516 people attended these courses during the year. The Driving Training School conducted courses for 950 officers and other ranks.
Establishment and Recruitment
The uniformed establishment of the Fire Services Department at the end of 1985 totalled 6 051. The number of civilian staff employed by the department stood at 592. A number of recruitment exercises were held resulting in the appointment of 43 officers and 282 firemen and ambulancemen. Standards, particularly physical, are high and on average only about five per cent of all applicants are accepted for appointment.