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"As the response was under proper and effective coordination by the Department, we did not consider it necessary to activate the GSECC to add an extra layer to the communication process," she said.

On why the British Garrison was not enlisted in assisting the rescue operation, Mrs Yau said that the authorities would ask the Commander, British Forces for assistance when they knew that Government's resources were insufficient or inadequate to deal with a situation effectively and within a reasonable period.

"On this occasion, the GFS had sufficient helicopters to perform all the necessary duties and did not, therefore, need to seek additional assistance from the British Forces.

"The area where rescue services were being conducted was very small. In order to ensure flight safety in the operational area, there was a practical limit on how many helicopters could be deployed.

"With reinforcement from Civil Aid Services to form the rescue teams, it was not considered necessary to seek assistance from the British Garrison on rescue support," she said.

Mrs Yau said the investigation team appointed by the Director of Fire Services to look into the Pat Sin Leng hill fire would report on the practice of taking patients to the nearest accident and emergency facility and would consider what improvements might be made.

Also, the need for additional equipment on ambulances would be one of the issues that would be addressed in the report on the hill fire, she said.

Mrs Yau explained that the practice of taking patients to the nearest accident and emergency facility was a standard procedure that had been developed by the Fire Services Department, in consultation with the Hospital Authority and the Department of Health.

"Getting the earliest possible life-saving aid to casualties is in their best interests, even if patients subsequently need to be transferred to receive more specialised treatment.

"A decision was made to transfer patients to the Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) by land, because they could then receive continuous ambulance care and treatment en route.