XN000022-1982-11-08 — Page 2

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1982

AMBULANCE COMMAND IN MIDST OF BIG EXPANSION PLAN

*****

THE FIRE SERVICES DEPARTMENT'S AMBULANCE COMMAND IS IN THE MIDST OF A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR EXPANSION PROGRAMME.

MOVING AHEAD IN STAGES, IT WILL BY THE NEXT THREE YEARS BE BUILDING FIVE NEW DEPOTS AND AN AMBULANCE STATION, PURCHASING 64 NEW AMBULANCES. AND INTRODUCING ITS FIRST MOBILE CASUALTY TREATMENT CENTRE. AT THE SAME TIME, IT WILL ALSO BE UNDERTAKING A MAJOR RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN.

THE NEW AMBULANCE DEPOTS WILL COST NEARLY $8 MILLION EACH, AND WILL BE LOCATED IN FANLING, TSING YI, CHEUNG SHA WAN, SAI WAN HO AND POK FU LAM. THE ADDITIONAL AMBULANCE STATION WILL BE LOCATED IN YUEN LONG.

THERE WILL THEN BE 19 AMBULANCE DEPOTS AND STATIONS, IN ADDITION TO 22 OTHER LOCATIONS OCCUPIED BY THE FIRE SERVICES, EXPLAINED MR PANG TAK-SUM, THE ASSISTANT CHIEF AMBULANCE OFFICER.

+THE CHEUNG SHA WAN AMBULANCE DEPOT AND THE YUEN LONG AMBULANCE STATION WILL COME INTO OPERATION NEXT YEAR ANOTHER TWO DEPOTS IN 1984, AND THE FOURTH AND FIFTH IN 1985, MR PANG SAID.

THE LOCATION OF THE NEW DEPOTS, EACH OF WHICH WILL ACCOMMODATE 10 AMBULANCES, WILL TAKE INTO ACCOUNT PROJECTED POPULATION GROWTH AND DISTRIBUTION, AS WELL AS TRAFFIC.

THE CASUALTY TREATMENT CENTRE WILL BE IN THE FORM OF A LARGE VEHICLE MORE THAN TWICE THE SIZE OF A REGULAR AMBULANCE. IT WILL BE AIR-CONDITIONED AND EQUIPPED WITH A MINI-OPERATION THEATRE SO THAT EMERGENCY SURGERY CAN BE PERFORMED ON THE SPOT BY A MEDICAL TEAM.

THE CENTRE WILL BE PARTICULARLY USEFUL FOR SUCH MAJOR DISASTERS AS AN AIR CRASH AND LARGE FIRES, MR PANG REMARKED.

MR PANG SAID 25 OF THE 64 NEW AMBULANCES WILL BE REPLACEMENTS FOR EXISTING VEHICLES, AND THE NEW VEHICLES WILL INCREASE THE AMBULANCE FLEET BY NEARLY 25 PER CENT, TO A TOTAL STRENGTH OF 198 VEHICLES BY THE END OF THIS YEAR.

INITIALLY THREE WILL BE AIR-CONDITIONED, AND A DECISION WILL THEN BE MADE ON WHETHER TO EQUIP THE REST SIMILARLY, MR PANG SAID.

EACH VEHICLE WILL COST ABOUT $290 000, INVOLVING AN OVERALL COST OF ABOUT $19 MILLION, HE SAID.

IN THE LAST FISCAL YEAR, THE CURRENT FLEET OF 159 AMBULANCES RESPONDED TO SOME 260 000 CALLS. SOME 75 PER CENT OF THEM DEALING WITH EMERGENCIES, INCLUDING 18 500 TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS.

EMERGENCY CALLS