CO129-614-1 Commission of Inquiry into fire at West Point- report 26-5-1949 - 22-12-1949 — Page 69

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CHAPTER IX

FIRE EXTINCTION.

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Adequacy or Inadequacy of the Equipment of the Fire Brigade;

90.

There has been considerable criticism to the effect that the Fire

Brigade was inadequately equipped to deal with the Wing On Fire. The

criticism is in our opinion to some extent justified as we point out below, but would be better directed to the failure of measures to prevent the storage of 30 tons of cinematograph film in godown No. 5. It is possible that with the addition of many more appliances, the fire in

godown No. 2 could have been brought under control earlier than it was

by sheer weight of water, but the fire was of an altogether unforsceable nature, and we do not think that the equipment and the strength of the Fire Brigade should be based on a possible recurrence. Rather we have

suggested in the previous chapter that preventive measures and their en- forcement should be augmented.

91. Mr. Brand in his evidence before the Commission made the statement

that the equipment and personnel of the Hong Kong Fire Brigade was "con-

parable to that of any other Fire Brigade in the world". The Chief Of-

ficer in his ovidence somewhat qualified this bold statement, but we

were unable to adduce any evidence which would serve to show that the

fire-fighting equipment of Hong Kong was inferior to that in many cities

of the same size, Of course conditions in Hong Kong render it more sub- ject to fire hazard than the majority of cities with a comparable pop-

ulation. On the other hand, it is known that the Colony has a good re-

cord of absence of fires, and the rates of insurance here are lower than

in any other oriental city. That the rates are about 40% higher than

in the United Kingdom can in no way be taken to reflect on the efficiency

of the Fire Brigade, but is due to the higher costs of management here.

The absence of big fires, though partially attributable no doubt to the

conspicuous absence of wood-built buildings, must in no small degree be

credited to the success with which the Fire Brigade extinguishes and

controls outbreaks.

92.

We were informed by the Chief Officer that he has a programme of