ENG-2000 — Page 394

PUBLIC ORDER

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The department responded to 44 789 fire calls, 20 579 special service calls and 520 160 ambulance calls in 2000, representing an average of 1 604 calls a day.

To further enhance the department's ability to respond to natural disasters and special emergencies, a Special Rescue Squad was set up in April. Squad members received training in the application of specialised equipment and skills to handle disastrous incidents such as earthquakes, landslides, flooding and tunnel fires as well as to carry out mountain rescues.

Fire Suppression

Of the 44 789 fire calls received in 2000, 25 were classified as major fires of No. 3 alarm and above. Careless handling or disposal of smoking materials was still the major cause of fires, totalling 3 726 cases in all, followed by accidents involving the preparation of foodstuffs and electrical faults, which accounted for 2 675 and 1 182 cases respectively. Unwanted alarms, caused mainly by faulty automatic alarm systems or poor positioning of such systems, contributed to about 66 per cent of the total number of fire calls.

In 2000, fires claimed 20 lives and 618 persons, including seven Fire Services members, were injured. Fire Services personnel rescued 5 404 people. Notable fires included a No. 4 alarm blaze on July 2 at Tai O, on Lantau Island, which destroyed a range of stilted structures; a No. 4 alarm fire on January 29 in a garment factory in Chong Yip Street, Kwun Tong; and an arson case which occurred on August 2 in the Immigration Tower, Wan Chai, claiming the lives of a Senior Immigration Officer and a civilian.

Special Services

The department also provides a wide range of rescue services in incidents such as traffic accidents, people trapped in lifts or locked in rooms, gas leakages, house collapses, flooding, landslides, industrial accidents and attempts by persons to jump from a height. The department handled 20 579 emergency special service calls in 2000.

Ambulance Services

The demand for emergency ambulance services continued to rise. During the year, ambulances answered 459 658 emergency calls, representing an increase of 9.14 per cent compared with 1999.

A 12-minute response time has been adopted as the performance indicator for emergency ambulance services since November 1998. All ambulances and ambulance aid motorcycles have been equipped with automatic external defibrillators.

In order to enhance the quality of paramedic ambulance service, 15 ambulance aid motorcycles manned by ambulance personnel qualified at Emergency Medical Assistant (EMA)II level were put into full operational use in 2000. The department promoted the application of intubation skill to enhance pre-hospital resuscitation service to critical patients. Furthermore, the third Mobile Casualty Treatment Centre of the department was commissioned in October to improve efficiency in handling people hurt in multiple-casualty incidents.