350 Public Order
888 cases. Unwanted alarms, caused mainly by faulty automatic alarm systems or poor positioning of such systems, contributed to about 68 per cent of the total number of fire calls.
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 leaks, house collapses, flooding, landslides, industrial accidents and attempts by people to jump from a height. The department handled 20 813 emergency special service calls in 2005.
Ambulance Services
The Ambulance Command handled 584 882 calls during the year, representing 1 602 calls per day. Its fleet of ambulances has been fully equipped and manned at paramedic level since March 2005.
The department continues to train front-line firemen to qualify as first responders to provide basic life support to casualties and patients before the arrival of an ambulance crew. During the year, first responders were turned out to 13 751 incidents, helping to improve the survival rate of the injured and sick before their arrival at hospital.
Communications
The Fire Services Communications Centre, manned round the clock, is responsible for mobilising all fire-fighting and ambulance resources to provide efficient and effective fire and ambulance services to the community. The centre is also responsible for receiving complaints about fire hazards and dangerous goods. It acts as an emergency coordinator for other government departments and public utilities in large-scale emergencies or major incidents.
In June 2005, the centre switched to a sophisticated telecommunication and computer integrated mobilising system the Third Generation Mobilising System. By enhancing the identification, location and mobilisation of resources, the new system will help to improve the efficiency of fire-fighting and rescue operations. It is designed to accommodate future expansion which will enable the department to cope with the projected growth of emergency calls up to 2013.
Fire Safety
The Fire Safety Command draws up fire safety policies and formulates fire safety measures in buildings. It also devotes much of its efforts to the upgrading of fire safety in old buildings and enhancing the community's awareness of fire safety.
The Commercial Buildings and Premises Division enforces the Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance with the objective of upgrading fire safety measures in specified commercial buildings and prescribed commercial premises. The Director of Buildings administers a Building Safety Loan Scheme, which provides non- means-tested loans to individual owners who require financial assistance in carrying out building safety (including fire safety) improvement works, either on a voluntary basis or as required by law. Owners are required to pay interest calculated in
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