SUNDAY, JULY 11, 1982
AS FROM MAY 19, MAXIMUM PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF A FIRE HAZARD ABATEMENT NOTICE WERE INCREASED FROM AN INITIAL FINE OF $2 000 PLUS $40 DAILY TO $25 000 AND $2 500 DAILY THEREAFTER.
AT THE SAME TIME, FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF A FIRE HAZARD ABATEMENT ORDER MAY ATTRACT A FINE OF UP TO $50 000 AND $5 000 DAILY, UP FROM $4 000 AND $100 PREVIOUSLY.
MR LO SAID THIS +GET-TOUGH+ POLICY OF INCREASING FINES MORE THAN TEN-FOLD IS NECESSARY BECAUSE SOME FLAGRANT VIOLATORS - PARTICULARLY THOSE BIG FACTORY OPERATORS WHO ARE CRAMPED FOR SPACE - CONSIDERED THE PREVIOUS LEVEL OF FINES AS PART OF THEIR OPERATIONAL OVERHEADS,
HE SAID FIRE SAFETY REGULATIONS HERE ARE MORE STRINGENT THAN IN MANY OTHER COUNTRIES, BECAUSE HONG KONG PROBABLY HAS MORE HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS PER SQUARE MILE IN AN AREA OF OUR SIZE THAN ANY COMPARABLE CITY IN THE WORLD,
ONE EXAMPLE IS THE REQUIREMENT OF SMOKE DETECTORS IN ADDITION TO SPRINKLER INSTALLATIONS IN HOTELS, HOSPITALS AND HOSTELS FOR THE ELDERLY - A STIPULATION NOT FOUND IN MOST OTHER COUNTRIES.
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MR LO EXPLAINED THAT THIS REQUIREMENT IS TO COMPENSATE FOR THE +SLEEPING RISKS TO OCCUPANTS WHO ARE EITHER HANDICAPPED, BED RIDDEN OR USUALLY NOT FAMILIAR WITH THEIR IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS AS TO THE BEST ESCAPE ROUTE IN THE EVENT OF FIRE, OR BECAUSE OF THE HIGH TURNOVER RATE OF OCCUPANCY OR THAT THE OCCUPANTS WOULD REQUIRE ASSISTANCE FOR A SPEEDY EVACUATION.
FATAL ACCIDENTS INVOLVING PRESSURE EQUIPMENT
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THE LABOUR DEPARTMENT HAS WARNED ALL OWNERS OF PRESSURE EQUIPMENT, CONTRACTORS AND WORKERS ENGAGED AT CONSTRUCTION SITES AND FACTORIES AGAINST USING COMPRESSED AIR FOR THE TRANSFER OF DIESEL FUEL OIL FROM OIL DRUMS.
THE PRINCIPAL SURVEYOR OF THE PRESSURE EQUIPMENT UNIT OF THE LABOUR DEPARTMENT, MR B.S. MAKHIJA, ISSUED THIS WARNING TODAY (SUNDAY) FOLLOWING THE RECENT DEATHS OF TWO PEOPLE WITHIN THE SHORT SPAN OF A FEW MONTHS AS A RESULT OF OIL DRUM EXPLOSION.
HE NOTED THAT 44-GALLON OIL DRUMS WERE BEING ADAPTED FOR TRANSFERRING LIQUID FUEL IN THEM BY COMPRESSED AIR.
MR MAKHIJA SAID, THIS PRACTICE IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND IT IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL THAT THE MISUSE OF COMPRESSED AIR IN THIS MANNER BE STOPPED IMMEDIATELY.+