Success of fire hose pilot scheme spares 300 old Hong Kong buildings from extensive fire safety upgrades
System tested by Fire Services Department allows water to be drawn from underground pipes instead of requiring installation of tanks and pumps for fire-fighting purposes
Owners of nearly 300 old three-storey composite buildings have been spared the need to install water tanks and pumps for fire-fighting purposes, thanks to the smooth running of a pilot scheme for an improvised hose reel system being tested by the city’s fire services.
Under the Fire Safety Ordinance, which came into force in 2007, buildings constructed in or before March 1987 were required to upgrade their fire service installations and equipment.
Chiu Wai-kin, senior divisional officer from the Fire Services Department building improvement division, said old buildings three storeys or less in height might face structural or spatial constraints in carrying out fire safety improvement works.
“These blocks are relatively tiny. It is difficult to find space to install a 2,000 litre water tank and pump,” Chiu said, adding that such blocks also had issues with fragmented ownership.
In May last year, the Fire Services Department and the Water Supplies Department rolled out a pilot scheme for an improvised hose reel system in five selected old three-storey buildings for both residential and commercial uses, including a 108-year-old one in Kowloon City.