Replies to LegCo questions
LC Urgent Q4: Fire safety measures for hawker stalls
Following is a question by Hon Alan Leong under Rule 24(4) of the Rules of
Procedure and a reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the
Legislative Council today (December 7):
Question:
After a Number 3 alarm fire broke out at Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok in 2010, the
Government ordered the stall hawkers to switch to the use of fire resisting
materials, and removed 10 stalls away from the exits of nearby buildings to
reserve space for fire escapes. In less than a year, another more serious Number
4 alarm fire broke out at Fa Yuen Street in the early hours on November 30,
2011, resulting in nine people killed and 34 injured. This incident has aroused
public concern about insufficient fire control over hawker stalls, which fails
to deal with the potential hazards posed by them. Apart from Fa Yuen Street in
Mong Kok, similar types of hawker stalls are still found in quite a number of
old districts in Hong Kong (such as Fuk Wing Street and Ap Liu Street in Sham
Shui Po, Temple Street and Po Ning Street in Jordan, etc.), and there are old
buildings on both sides of the stalls, thus posing potential fire risks, all the
more giving rise to concern whether the fire precautions for hawker stalls in
Hong Kong are comprehensive. In this connection, will the Government inform this
Council:
(a) whether, in the regulatory control over streets with open-air hawker stalls
of the Fire Services Department (FSD) and the Electrical and Mechanical Services
Department, there are specific requirements on the safety separation distance
between hawker stalls, distance between hawker stalls and residential buildings,
as well as fire protection equipment; if there are, of the details; if not, the
reasons for that; of the number of inspections conducted by FSD at Fa Yuen
Street since the Number 3 alarm fire which occurred there last year and the
details concerned;
(b) given that the Government has indicated that it will adopt a zero-tolerance
stance towards non-compliant hawker stalls and actively study the feasibility of
requiring such stalls be closed and cleared each night and be set up only during
the day for business, the introduction of a demerit point system and the
revocation of licences, etc., of the measures to be taken by the authorities to
strike a balance between reducing fire risks and facilitating the operation of
hawker stalls; whether consideration will be given to providing subsidies to
stall hawkers so as to reduce their operating costs; if so, of the details; if
not, the reasons for that; and
(c) given that the authorities have provided loans for repairs of the buildings
affected by the fire last year and helped the buildings concerned to form
owners' corporations, of the progress of the relevant arrangements; whether the
authorities will consider providing subsidies to those owner's corporations and
flat owners affected by this fire for the purpose of repairing all the damaged
public areas and private residential areas of their buildings, if they will, of
the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(a) Since the fire at the hawker stalls in Fa Yuen Street in December last year,
the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), in conjunction with the
Fire Services Department (FSD), the Electrical and Mechanical Services
Department and the hawker associations concerned, has implemented fire safety
improvement measures, which include ensuring sufficient space in the carriageway
for fire appliances and firemen; allowing sufficient space between hawker stalls
to facilitate evacuation of residents of buildings in the vicinity; providing
proper separation space between un-linked hawker stalls so as to prevent the
spread of fire; erecting stalls with fire-resisting materials; and requiring
hawker stalls to obtain independent electricity supply from legal sources, etc.
FSD has formulated contingency plans for some 20 areas in the territory where
old residential and composite buildings are found near closely packed hawker
stalls, in order to enhance the efficiency in fire-fighting and rescue
operations in case of a fire. To ensure emergency vehicles can pass through
smoothly, FSD has also been conducting road tests from time to time in these
areas.
According to the observations of FSD at the scene, highly combustible canvas or
plastic materials were found on top of some of the hawker stalls in Fa Yuen
Street and the separation space between un-linked hawker stalls was inadequate,
thus threatening fire safety. However, the actual causes of the fire and the
circumstances leading to the spread of fire can only be confirmed when the
investigation is completed.
Since the No. 4 alarm fire broke out in Fa Yuen Street, FSD has joined forces
with FEHD in conducting inspections in areas where residential buildings are
found near closely packed hawker stalls and assisted FEHD in taking enforcement
action. In light of this recent fire incident in Fa Yuen Street, FEHD, FSD and
other departments concerned are now reviewing the fire safety measures for
hawker stalls and considering ways to further enhance their fire safety.
(b) In the wake of the fire at Fa Yuen Street on November 30 this year, FEHD has
immediately strengthened enforcement regarding non-compliances in the hawker
bazaar at Fa Yuen Street and all hawker bazaars in Hong Kong. If the area used
or the size of canopy is found to have exceeded the requirements imposed on the
stall, or if street obstruction by commodities or overnight storage of
commodities beyond the stall area is detected, FEHD will take enforcement
actions. By December 4, FEHD has issued 170 summons against non-compliances at
Fa Yuen Street.
Drawing on the experience of this fire at Fa Yuen Street and the one last year,
we consider that it is necessary to introduce new measures to improve the
environment of hawker bazaars, so as to further reduce the fire risks. In this
connection, the inter-departmental working group chaired by the Chief Secretary
for Administration is actively considering different options. Public safety,
particularly the safety of life and properties of people who live in the
vicinity of hawker bazaars, is our paramount consideration when examining these
options. We consider that it is the duty of stall operators to operate in
accordance with the licensing conditions. However, according to past experience
in stall management, reliance on the self-discipline of traders alone is not
sufficient. We need to step up enforcement with immediate effect in order to
prevent the recurrence of incidents similar to this fire. Naturally, the
long-term operating environment of stall operators should also be taken into
account.
To enhance public safety, we will actively consider various improvement options,
including introducing the arrangements of "setting up stalls only during trading
hours" or "removing the commodities without dismantling the stalls at night", a
mechanism for cancellation of hawker licences and realigning or relocating the
hawker stalls, etc. Since each option has its own pros and cons, we must conduct
careful studies to assess the risks involved and discuss with the relevant
stakeholders, including the stall operators and the District Councils. We
understand that the public expect an early implementation of the improvement
measures. FEHD and the departments concerned are now conducting the studies at
full speed and will strive to strike a balance between reducing fire hazards and
taking the stall operation into consideration.
Regarding the question of providing subsidies to stall operators raised by Hon
Alan Leung, I would like to point out that all stall operators are obligated to
comply with licensing conditions. They should not expect subsidies from public
money.
(c) Since the No. 3 alarm fire broke out at Fa Yuen Street last year, the Yau
Tsim Mong District Office (YTMDO) has enhanced its active follow-up action on
the building management problems in the district. Through various channels
including distributing leaflets and arranging roadshows, YTMDO together with the
Property Management Advisory Centre of the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) has
frequently visited the buildings affected by the fire, so as to introduce the
"Building Management and Maintenance Scheme" and the "Building Maintenance Grant
Scheme for Elderly Owners" of HKHS to assist the affected residents in repairing
their buildings and restoring to normal life as soon as possible. According to
information from HKHS and the Buildings Department (BD), among the six buildings
eligible for financial support, four have been included under the Operation
Building Bright (the Operation). Two of these buildings are arranging for the
works, while the other two have commenced the works. As for the two buildings
that have not participated in the Operation, the owners of one of the buildings
have stated that they do not intend to join any of the financial support schemes
as the costs will be covered by an insurance company. The other building is
currently receiving the support from HKHS under the Building Maintenance
Incentive Scheme. Some of the buildings have also been subsidised to carry out a
number of fire safety improvement works.
As for those buildings without Owners' Corporations (OCs), YTMDO, in
collaboration with HKHS, has conducted home visits and briefing sessions to
encourage owners to form OCs to strengthen building management, as well as to
introduce the various financial assistance schemes to assist owners in meeting
various needs. Since December 2010, YTMDO has assisted two private buildings at
Fa Yuen Street in holding owners' meetings and forming OCs. Furthermore, YTMDO
has also strengthened their visits to the private buildings along the affected
sections of Fa Yuen Street, in order to understand the building conditions and
enhance the residents' awareness of building management.
Similar to last year's arrangement, HKHS has plans to proactively contact the
affected OCs and visit the affected owners and occupants upon the re-opening of
the affected buildings, with a view to providing information of and offering
appropriate assistance under the various assistance schemes under the
Government, HKHS as well as the Urban Renewal Authority (URA). In particular,
for those eligible owners or OCs of private buildings affected by the fire this
time, if they encounter financial difficulties in building repair and
maintenance, they may apply for the "Integrated Building Maintenance Assistance
Scheme" (the Integrated Scheme) jointly administered by HKHS and URA. The
Integrated Scheme provides one-stop comprehensive support to owners, including
Common Area Repair Works Subsidy, Common Area Repair Works Interest-free Loan,
Home Renovation Interest-free Loan and Owners' Corporation Formation Subsidy.
These two organisations also provide technical assistance to applicants.
Furthermore, owners or OCs may apply for two Government-funded programmes via
the Integrated Scheme, which include the Building Maintenance Grant Scheme for
Elderly Owners administered by HKHS and the Building Safety Loan Scheme
administered by BD.
Ends/Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Issued at HKT 20:53
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