https://www.scmp.com/rss/523592/feed The latest news and top stories on the Fire Services Department in Hong Kong. A prominent Hong Kong-based governmental body, the Fire Services Department (HKFSD) is dedicated to protecting life and property from fire and other calamities. Its main areas of focus include fire suppression and rescue services on land and sea, fire protection and prevention and emergency ambulance services. The HKFSD also advises the public on fire safety and enforces related regulations. Established in 1868, it is... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Jess Ma Jess Ma Hong Kong’s security chief has reaffirmed that fire services will act as the gatekeeper for safety after a legal vacuum was exposed during an inquiry into the city’s deadliest blaze in decades, stressing the department’s existing manpower could cope with expanded oversight duties. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung on Tuesday reiterated the pledge earlier made by Fire Services Department Director Andy Yeung Yan-kin during the hearings into the inferno at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3352537/fire-services-be-gatekeepers-safety-hong-kong-security-chief-vows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3352537/fire-services-be-gatekeepers-safety-hong-kong-security-chief-vows?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 15:01:18 +0000 Edith Lin Edith Lin Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department has yet to launch prosecutions in 34 cases involving mini-storage premises that failed to comply with safety hazard orders, including sites first inspected as far back as 2016, the Audit Commission has said. The commission also revealed on Wednesday that none of the 249 industrial buildings required to improve fire safety measures in their common parts had complied with the orders issued under a law that took effect in 2020. Fire safety at industrial... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351857/hong-kong-auditor-takes-aim-fire-services-over-delayed-safety-hazard-prosecutions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351857/hong-kong-auditor-takes-aim-fire-services-over-delayed-safety-hazard-prosecutions?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:39:40 +0000 Connor Mycroft Connor Mycroft Hong Kong authorities are planning to launch a public consultation over a raft of new fire safety-related requirements and offences with tough penalties following the city’s deadliest blaze in decades. Confirming an earlier report by the South China Morning Post, the Security Bureau on Friday laid out its planned amendments to the Fire Services Ordinance, including a requirement that fire alarms be checked every six months. The bureau said its public consultation would follow its meeting with... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3351380/changes-fire-services-law-tougher-penalties-set-public-consultation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3351380/changes-fire-services-law-tougher-penalties-set-public-consultation?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:12:45 +0000 Brian Wong,Leopold Chen Brian Wong,Leopold Chen Hong Kong’s fire services chief has acknowledged that better communication with building authorities is needed after an independent committee earlier revealed that his officers had taken no action against possible safety breaches during renovations at Wang Fuk Court, where 168 people were killed in last year’s inferno. But Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung Yan-kin insisted on Friday that authorities had clear divisions of work when it came to the supervision of renovation projects, even as... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351341/departments-must-communicate-better-fire-chief-tells-tai-po-blaze-hearing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351341/departments-must-communicate-better-fire-chief-tells-tai-po-blaze-hearing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 13:00:09 +0000 Brian Wong,Jess Ma Brian Wong,Jess Ma Hong Kong’s fire services declined to activate an emergency alert during the city’s deadliest inferno in decades, citing concerns that it might have caused confusion among trapped residents, a public inquiry has heard. An independent committee investigating last year’s disaster at Wang Fuk Court was also told on Thursday that the system, which would have triggered a loud, high-pitched alarm on mobile phones, would have offered little help to the Fire Services Department’s evacuation efforts, as... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351135/hong-kong-fire-services-declined-tai-po-alert-over-confusion-fears-inquiry-hears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351135/hong-kong-fire-services-declined-tai-po-alert-over-confusion-fears-inquiry-hears?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 08:49:52 +0000 Jess Ma,Brian Wong Jess Ma,Brian Wong This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The role of Hong Kong’s fire service remained under the spotlight on the 18th day of evidential hearings held by an independent committee investigating the catastrophic blaze at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court. Three officers from the Fire Services Department testified on Thursday before the judge-led panel. Four of their colleagues gave accounts the previous day of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3351068/tai-po-probe-very-rare-damage-found-fallen-firefighters-breathing-apparatus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3351068/tai-po-probe-very-rare-damage-found-fallen-firefighters-breathing-apparatus?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 03:11:58 +0000 Brian Wong,Leopold Chen Brian Wong,Leopold Chen A public inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has exposed confusion among government agencies over their roles in supervising large renovation projects, with a fire services officer insisting on Wednesday that his department was not responsible for handling complaints about flammable building materials because it lacked construction expertise. Hours after the hearing, the Fire Services Department announced it would launch a new mechanism this month for handling cases involving fire... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351019/confusion-over-government-agencies-roles-fire-oversight-tai-po-probe-reveals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351019/confusion-over-government-agencies-roles-fire-oversight-tai-po-probe-reveals?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 10:00:18 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow Hong Kong’s security chief has pledged to replace fax messaging between police and firefighters with a digital system and to increase phone lines at emergency call centres, after an inquiry into last year’s deadly Tai Po fire heard that callers waited up to 15 minutes to be transferred. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung’s remarks on Friday at a Legislative Council Finance Committee meeting followed the independent panel investigating last November’s blaze hearing evidence of a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3350449/hong-kong-scrap-fax-messaging-between-police-and-fire-services-emergencies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3350449/hong-kong-scrap-fax-messaging-between-police-and-fire-services-emergencies?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:27:10 +0000 Brian Wong,Leopold Chen Brian Wong,Leopold Chen A Hong Kong fire services official has defended a decision to decline mainland Chinese firefighters’ help in combating the city’s deadliest inferno in decades, citing concerns that they might have been unable to immediately adapt to the new environment and effectively communicate with their local counterparts. On the 12th day of a public evidential hearing on Wednesday, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Sunny Wong Sze-lut also justified the firefighting strategies during the blaze that raged for around... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3350191/hong-kong-official-defends-decision-decline-mainland-firefighters-help-tai-po-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3350191/hong-kong-official-defends-decision-decline-mainland-firefighters-help-tai-po-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:00:16 +0000 Brian Wong,Leopold Chen Brian Wong,Leopold Chen Firefighters combating Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in decades prioritised bringing the blaze under control over evacuating residents due to the “unprecedented” scale of the disaster, a public inquiry has heard. Four Fire Services Department officers on Monday shared how the operation unfolded during the initial stage of the 43-hour inferno that ravaged Wang Fuk Court in November. They highlighted the difficulties in rescuing residents trapped in their homes due to the flames’ rapid spread... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3349916/firefighters-prioritised-tackling-blaze-over-rescues-tai-po-probe-hears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3349916/firefighters-prioritised-tackling-blaze-over-rescues-tai-po-probe-hears?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:01:23 +0000 Brian Wong,Matthew Cheng Brian Wong,Matthew Cheng Hong Kong authorities did not conduct a fire risk assessment of a HK$336 million (US$42.9 million) renovation project at Wang Fuk Court before the city’s deadliest blaze in decades engulfed the housing estate, a public inquiry has heard. Sam Keung Sai-ming, an assistant director of the Fire Services Department’s licensing and certification branch, said on Friday that authorities did not pay special attention to fire hazards at residential estates undergoing large-scale maintenance before the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3349695/tai-po-blaze-no-fire-risk-checks-done-hk336-million-estate-renovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3349695/tai-po-blaze-no-fire-risk-checks-done-hk336-million-estate-renovation?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:43:16 +0000 Jess Ma,Danny Mok Jess Ma,Danny Mok Seven people have been injured, four critically, in a fire and explosions at a recycling yard in Hong Kong, forcing the evacuation of 300 people, including students and teachers on a nearby school trip. The blaze broke out at 11.01am on Thursday in a recycling yard at the junction of Ting Kok Road and Fung Yuen Road in Tai Po district. According to the Fire Services Department, it started in a scrap metal compactor housed inside a two-storey iron-sheet structure. The department deployed two... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3347947/explosion-hong-kong-recycling-yard-injures-2?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3347947/explosion-hong-kong-recycling-yard-injures-2?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 04:53:26 +0000 Danny Mok Danny Mok Two women climbed out of a window of a residential building in Hong Kong to escape a fire that sent three people to hospital on Sunday, police said. Police received multiple reports at 5.28pm of a blaze at Yen Dack Building on Chun Yeung Street in North Point. Thick smoke billowed from a high-floor unit as firefighters arrived, deploying a water jet and a breathing apparatus team. The fire was extinguished at 6.19pm. Two women and a man, aged 58 to 78, were taken conscious to Pamela Youde... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3347493/2-women-climb-out-window-flee-hong-kong-building-fire-injured-3-others?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3347493/2-women-climb-out-window-flee-hong-kong-building-fire-injured-3-others?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 12:29:27 +0000 Brian Wong,Leopold Chen Brian Wong,Leopold Chen Residents of a housing complex destroyed in one of Hong Kong’s deadliest fires were misled into picking a convicted contractor for the estate’s renovation project amid “widespread” bid-rigging and other corruption in the construction industry, a public hearing has been told. The judge-led independent committee also heard on Friday that an engineering consultant allegedly accepted a monthly stipend to “rubber stamp” tender evaluation reports, including one recommending Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3347387/residents-tai-po-blaze-building-misled-over-renovation-project-inquiry-told?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3347387/residents-tai-po-blaze-building-misled-over-renovation-project-inquiry-told?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 14:59:36 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words I fully support the government’s plan to amend fire safety law by introducing fixed penalties for violations (“Tougher fire safety rules expected in new Hong Kong bill, including fixed penalties”, February 9). As a registered professional surveyor, I believe the current... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3344818/hong-kong-cannot-allow-wait-and-see-approach-fire-safety?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3344818/hong-kong-cannot-allow-wait-and-see-approach-fire-safety?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 03:30:08 +0000 Lam Ka-sing,Jimmy Chow Lam Ka-sing,Jimmy Chow Hong Kong firefighters have been honoured for their heroic response to November’s deadly Tai Po fire – the city’s worst in decades – at the 13th Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, which celebrates unsung heroes who contribute to the community or inspire others through stories of resilience and perseverance. The Fire Services Department received an appreciation flag at the awards co-organised by the South China Morning Post and Sino Group at the Conrad Hong Kong, where 10 winners were selected from 27... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3344509/spirit-hong-kong-awards-john-lee-hails-role-models-firefighters-feted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3344509/spirit-hong-kong-awards-john-lee-hails-role-models-firefighters-feted?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 15:07:47 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words The bottled water procurement scandal and the Tai Po fire tragedy are not isolated failures; they reveal underlying weaknesses in Hong Kong’s procurement and contract governance. These events should be treated as academic-grade lessons for policy reform, governance strengthening,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3335690/how-tai-po-fire-exposed-weakness-hong-kong-contract-governance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3335690/how-tai-po-fire-exposed-weakness-hong-kong-contract-governance?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 03:30:10 +0000 Jess Ma Jess Ma Firefighters have described the gruelling conditions they faced in their search for survivors of Hong Kong’s worst fire in more than seven decades, with rescuers climbing dozens of flights of stairs as they conserved oxygen to look for anyone alive on the higher floors. For some firefighters, the operation has left them with feelings of guilt and helplessness after they only found bodies. One said encountering the scattered corpses had given him nightmares that left him unable to sleep normally... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3335240/hong-kong-firefighters-describe-rescue-efforts-during-tai-po-estate-blaze?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3335240/hong-kong-firefighters-describe-rescue-efforts-during-tai-po-estate-blaze?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 13:47:58 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words The Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s plan to introduce market-driven operations at eight public venues, including the Hong Kong Cultural Centre piazza and Kai Tak Station Square, is a welcome move. Many government-run venues remain underused during weekdays, and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3334989/commercialisation-hong-kongs-public-venues-must-come-caveat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3334989/commercialisation-hong-kongs-public-venues-must-come-caveat?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 03:30:11 +0000 SCMP Reporters SCMP Reporters William Li, 40, is one of the survivors of Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy. The deadliest inferno in decades set seven blocks in the Wang Fuk Court residential complex ablaze, claiming at least 128 lives as of Friday. Li was rescued from Wang Cheong House – the block that first caught fire – on Wednesday evening. Here is a translation of his personal account, which was first put up on his Facebook account. On the day of the incident, I was resting at home. When I was informed of the fire through... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334569/helplessness-more-suffocating-smoke-survivors-hong-kong-fire-ordeal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334569/helplessness-more-suffocating-smoke-survivors-hong-kong-fire-ordeal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 13:44:01 +0000 The Korea Times The Korea Times The deadly blaze that engulfed a densely populated Hong Kong residential complex has prompted scrutiny in South Korea over whether its high-rise residential and commercial buildings are adequately prepared to prevent and respond to similar disasters. High-rise living in South Korea has skyrocketed in the past decade. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of buildings with 25 or more floors climbed from 8,268 in 2013 to 21,033 in 2023. Of South Korea’s 11.67... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3334512/south-korea-high-rise-fire-safety-under-scrutiny-after-hong-kong-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3334512/south-korea-high-rise-fire-safety-under-scrutiny-after-hong-kong-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 08:44:07 +0000 Lo Hoi-ying,Harvey Kong Lo Hoi-ying,Harvey Kong An exterior wall of a shopping centre in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay caught fire during the lunch hour on Tuesday. Multiple videos circulating online show the artificial plants lining the wall of Lee Theatre Plaza – opposite Times Square and running from the ground to the third floor – were engulfed in flames. Police said they received multiple reports that a billboard in Causeway Bay had caught fire at 12.53pm. The Fire Services Department deployed a water jet and rescue team equipped with... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334058/multi-storey-wall-hong-kongs-lee-theatre-plaza-catches-fire-lunchtime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3334058/multi-storey-wall-hong-kongs-lee-theatre-plaza-catches-fire-lunchtime?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 06:43:46 +0000 Lo Hoi-ying Lo Hoi-ying A fire broke out on board a barge docked in a typhoon shelter in Hong Kong’s Yau Ma Tei on Tuesday, sending smoke billowing into the bustling downtown neighbourhood. Police said they received a report at 12.54pm that a vessel moored at the New Yau Ma Tei Public Cargo Working Area was emitting smoke and had caught fire. A preliminary investigation suggested that miscellaneous objects on board had ignited, the force said. “Currently, there is no evidence to suggest criminal elements were involved... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3332357/blaze-hong-kong-barge-yau-ma-tei-typhoon-shelter-triggers-smoke-alert?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3332357/blaze-hong-kong-barge-yau-ma-tei-typhoon-shelter-triggers-smoke-alert?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2025 10:14:26 +0000 Jess Ma Jess Ma Hong Kong authorities have launched a pilot scheme to install a new smart fire alarm system that can detect and report a blaze in minutes, with a target to install it in 3,600 old buildings that have yet to be fitted with adequate firefighting facilities. The Fire Services Department said on Friday it started installing a fire detection system that utilises Internet of Things technology in 10 buildings that were up to six storeys tall across 10 districts, with a three-month trial on the selected... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3330269/hong-kong-launches-scheme-install-smart-fire-alarms-3600-old-buildings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3330269/hong-kong-launches-scheme-install-smart-fire-alarms-3600-old-buildings?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 13:07:58 +0000 Fiona Sun Fiona Sun Firefighters have been battling a blaze at a recycling site in Hong Kong’s Tsing Yi for about seven hours since it broke out, two days after another fire erupted near the same spot. The Fire Services Department was alerted at 4.12am on Tuesday that a fire had broken out at a recycling site at the junction of Tsing Sheung Road and Hong Wan Road in Tsing Yi in the New Territories. The No 1 alarm fire was 50 metres (164 feet) long and 50 metres wide, the department said. It sent 11 fire engines,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3326480/hong-kong-firefighters-battle-fire-tsing-yi-recycling-site?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3326480/hong-kong-firefighters-battle-fire-tsing-yi-recycling-site?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 04:28:38 +0000