ENG-1994 — Page 380

PUBLIC ORDER

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smoking materials, overturned cooking stoves and electrical faults, which accounted for 4 703, 2 441 and 1 667 cases, respectively.

The fires claimed 41 lives and injured 537 people, including 33 firemen. A total of 27 078 people were rescued by fire personnel.

The most catastrophic fire occurred at the Shek Kip Mei branch of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation on January 10, in which 12 bank staff members were killed and another was injured. A man was charged by the police in connection with the incident. Following the tragedy, the government set up a special interdepartmental investigation team, comprising officers from the Fire Services, Buildings and Housing departments. The team subsequently submitted a report to the government, recommending a number of improvements to fire protection measures in banks and similar premises. Four people died and two others were injured in a No. 3 alarm fire at a domestic unit in Reclamation Street on October 5.

Other notable fire incidents included a No. 4 alarm at Wing Shan Tower in Central District on January 10, and another No. 4 alarm at the Shaw Brothers' Studio in Sai Kung on July 8. There was property loss, but no serious injuries occurred in either blaze.

Special Services

The department provides wide-ranging rescue services to people in incidents such as _traffic accidents, trapped lifts, lock-in cases, gas leakages, industrial accidents, house or wall

collapses, flooding, landslides and attempts to jump from a height.

Major incidents among the 20 365 calls for special services in 1994 included the serious flooding in July and August in the New Territories, when firemen had to use dinghies on several occasions to rescue people from partially-flooded houses; the landslip at Kwun Lung Lau, Kennedy Town, on July 23, in which five people died and three were injured; the wall collapse at Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei, on September 9, which killed six pedestrians and injured another two; the traffic accident involving two light rail trains and a coach in Tuen Mun on September 10, resulting in two deaths and 43 injuries; and the plunging of a Hercules transport plane into the Kowloon Bay typhoon shelter shortly after its takeoff from Hong Kong International Airport on September 23, killing six crew members and injuring another six.

Ambulance Services

The Ambulance Command operates a fleet of 236 ambulances, three village ambulances and 15 ambulance-aid motorcycles. Apart from carrying basic equipment, 44 of these ambulances and all ambulance-aid motorcycles are also equipped with defibrillators. During the year, the ambulances conveyed a total of 493 143 patients and casualties.

The paramedic ambulance service, begun in 1993, now has 15 paramedic ambulances in operation. These are manned by specially-trained personnel who are able to provide on-the- spot paramedical treatment to patients and casualties, including intravenous infusions, defibrillation and the administration of selected drugs. The fleet will be increased to 33 vehicles in 1996. Two ambulance officers, trained locally as emergency medical assistant instructors, completed a six-week field experience attachment in Canada with the Paramedic Academy, Justice Institute of British Columbia and the British Columbia Ambulance Service during the year.