Hong Kong fire department to review strategies following Tai Po inferno

Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department has launched an internal review to improve its strategies for tackling large-scale blazes following the deadly Wang Fuk Court inferno, with officers set to examine operational effectiveness and equipment use.Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung Yan-kin said on Tuesday that his deputy for operations, Derek Armstrong Chan, would lead a new steering committee within the department to evaluate strategies.“[The steering committee will] evaluate the operational effectiveness for these mega-scale fire incidents and how to improve,” Yeung told a press briefing on his department’s work over the past year.It will also look at the use of advanced tools, deployment of personnel and protective equipment for firefighters.Yeung said the department would also provide inspection records and “all details” of the firefighting operation to an independent committee investigating the fire at the Tai Po housing estate in November.The city’s deadliest inferno in decades tore through seven of the eight residential towers of Wang Fuk Court, killing 168 and displacing around 5,000 residents. A firefighter died and 12 others were among the 79 people injured in the blaze.