Saturday, July 28, 1973
FIRE PREVENTION A COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY
E3
The Secretary for Security, Mr. P.G. Lloyd, today (Saturday)
emphasised that fire prevention was the responsibility of every member of
the community.
Speaking at the opening of the new Yau Tong 'satellite' fire station
in Kowloon, he said fires were not a natural phenomenon. "They result
from human failings. Carelessness, selfishness and disregard for the safety
of others are the principal causes."
In Hong Kong, he added, the dangers were so much greater because
of its crowded, multi-storey environment. Everyone was therefore duty
bound to ensure that fire hazards were cleared, employees instructed in fire
drill and children educated to the risks and measures to be taken in the
event of fire.
Mr. Lloyd noted that fire losses in Hong Kong, like in other cities,
had grown "enormously" over the past few years, but he was convinced that
the losses would have been far greater had it not been for the expertise and
professionalism of the Fire Services which he described as "one of the finest
in the world."
"It trains officers from other fire brigades overseas as well as
many civilian bodies, and its training school at Pat Heung in the New Territories
is certainly the best in Asia," he said.
Mr. Lloyd said the new satellite fire station at Yau Tong was typical
of the government's new approach to the problem of fire control in densely
populated urban areas.
"This approach