336 Public Order
inspections of fire service installations of new railway projects. The division participated in the planning and designing of five new railway projects: the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Hong Kong Section), the West Island Line, the South Island Line (East), the Kwun Tong Line Extension and the Sha Tin to Central Link.
The Support Division is responsible for formulating, reviewing and updating departmental policies on improving fire safety in buildings and strengthening public understanding of the need for fire safety. The division collaborated with Radio Television Hong Kong, in producing eight episodes of a TV drama, promoting the importance of fire safety and judicious use of emergency ambulance services.
At the end of 2010, a total of 111 242 people were trained as Fire Safety Ambassadors (FSA) and 314 community leaders were appointed as FSA Honorary Presidents.
The Licensing and Certification Command formulates and enforces fire safety policies and regulations. It determines the fire safety needs of various types of licensed premises, as well as dangerous goods stores and vehicles, to ensure proper protection for the public. The command continued to support the Government's 'Be the Smart Regulator' Programme to improve business friendliness, efficiency and transparency without compromising fire safety. It has also stepped up law enforcement actions against fire hazards in premises including restaurants, bars and karaoke establishments.
The Fire Service Installations Task Force has further stepped up the monitoring of fire safety in buildings and continued to strengthen public awareness of the need to maintain fire service installations (FSI) and equipment in buildings. A total of 104 086 inspections were made in 2010 with 2 046 Fire Hazard Abatement Notices issued. Legal action was taken against 42 owners of defective FSI and seven contractors for contravening relevant regulations.
The department adopted a four-pronged approach to improve fire safety in old buildings. It enlisted the help of the District Fire Safety Committees, FSA and the FSA Honorary Presidents to promote fire safety in old buildings; stepped up inspections of old buildings to eradicate potential fire hazards; revisited buildings that were found to have potential fire hazards before; and encouraged the Building Fire Safety Envoys to carry out checks frequently on buildings to ensure there are no irregularities. In 2010, 41 buildings had completed the four-pronged approach.
A No. 4 Alarm Fire at Lai Cheong Factory Building in Cheung Sha Wan on March 8, 2010 raised concern about fire safety in industrial buildings. The FSD conducted fire safety inspections of all industrial buildings immediately and follow- up action was taken against irregularities detected in the course of those inspections.