Mini-storage fire risk remains
Only 0.4 percent of Hong Kong’s mini-storage facilities have complied with fire-safety improvement directives made during a city-wide inspection which followed a deadly blaze that killed two firefighters last year, the Fire Services Department (FSD) said on Thursday.
The authority plans to lay charges against mini-storage operators who refused to comply with demands, according to the FSD.
Following interdepartmental inspections held since June last year, the FSD has issued more than 4,900 fire hazard abatement notices to 764 mini-warehouses found to pose fire risks, according to Deputy Chief Fire Officer (Fire Safety) Chui Man-leung. How- ever, to date, only three storage facilities had finished all improvement works, Chui said.
As renovations take time, the FSD is willing to allow more time for those willing to improve safety aspects, Chui said.
The department will institute prosecutions against operators who fail to adopt any improvements by the deadline stipulated in the notices, Chui said.
Meanwhile, the FSD said it would consider alternative proposals submitted by the operators if the safety level meets FSD requirements. This came after the industry filed complaints that some requirements were “too harsh”, such as leaving a 2.4-meter gap between each storage zone.
If the operators can guaran- percent tee a fire resistance period of not less than 30 minutes, the FSD will study each case for solutions, Chui said.
According to the FSD, common irregularities were found in various areas. This included undesirable locking devices for escape doors, insufficient exit signs and hose reels, low exposure to windows and poor arrangement of storage cubicles.
Also joining the inspection were the Buildings Department (BD), the Lands Depart- ment (LandsD) and the Labour Department (LD).
The BD has received 69 compliance reports from the 1,600 issued warnings about violations of the Buildings Ordinance, while the LandsD has received 33 out of 219, according to the reports. LD has initiated 13 prosecutions for inadequate fire safety measures and insufficient first-aid facilities. All had been convicted by courts and fined HK$125,000 in total, according to the department.
Last June the government inspected 885 mini-storage facilities across the city after a fatal fire in a facility at Ngau Tau Kok that claimed the lives of two firefighters.
The fire continued for more than 100 hours, making it the longest running blaze in Hong Kong for more than 20 years.
of Hong Kong’s mini-storage facilities have complied with fire-safety improvement directives