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of the Wing On Godown No.
although it is known that at the present time goods, and probably dan- gerous goods in some cases, are extensively stored in what in more nor- mal times woull be regarded as offices or dwelling-houses, and therefore constitute a fire risk, we do not consider that recommendations concern- ing such storage fall within our terms of reference. We have limited our inquiry to an investigation of the practice in regard to bulk stor- are of less cbviously dangerous goods and celluloid in godowns only.
is certainly greater in the latter. Again,
Marking and Labelling of Dangerous Goods and Celluloid:
71. The Ordinance prescribes that dangerous goods of all categories are required to be marked with the word "Dangerous" in English and Chinese characters. The onus of marking the goods rests on the owner,
who must notify also a warchouse-keeper or carrier in writing of the contents on dolivery. The regulations prescribe that certain labels shall also be fixed on all goods of Categories 1 7, but not of Cate-
gory 3.
The initial onus is clearly on the omers, but if a godown- kecper has been notified of the goods and accepts them unlabelled, the onus for labelling them in our opinion then rests with him. The regul- ations to the Celluloid and Cinematograph Films Ordinance prescribe that receptacles for the storage of film shall be plainly marked "FILM" and celluloid waste and scrap must be stored in metal receptacles marked "CELLULOID WASTE". The use of labels is obviously designed to safe- guard owners of godowns and it would be an unwise godown-keeper who did not take his own precautions for ensuring that labelling was car- ried out. The requirement to affix labels is of course no insurance that goods will be correctly stored, but an insistance on the use of labels would serve to bring the regulations to the attention of persons storing goods and would also assist Fire Brigade Officers on inspecting premises.
72. We consider that the labels have a useful function, but we be- lieve that the provision of the regulations regarding labelling are al- most universally disregarded, especially in respect of goods other than Categories 1 and 4. For instance, the Fire Brigade itself was unable