IT is just as well the Liu clan is rarely troubled by fire, because it has given away its only fire hose.
The 300-year-old clan from Sheung Shui village had kept the hand-pumped relic in its temple for 60 years. It rarely saw a fire and outsiders rarely saw it.
But yesterday the 6,000-strong clan, one of the major groups in the New Territories, gave the hose a purpose by donating it to a new museum.
Liu Kam-choi, the Sheung Shui village representative, said: ''The village has been relying on the Hong Kong Fire Brigade for some years now, so it seemed a waste to hide such a piece of our history.'' He officially donated the piece at a ceremony in the temple.
''Even in earlier centuries we rarely had fires,'' Mr Liu said.
In exchange for a handshake, he also surrendered the clan's weapons - some of which are more than 400 years old.