Tai Po blaze: no fire safety system checks before firm sent 85 shutdown notices

A fire services company did not conduct any on-site inspections and merely acted as a “rubber stamp” in submitting 85 notices to shut down the hose reel system of a housing estate hit by Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades, an inquiry has heard.Separate testimony from a Fire Services Department official also noted that another contractor failed to notify authorities after discovering that Wang Fuk Court’s fire water tanks were drained and the main power switches for the fire hose reels and alarms had been switched off.The discrepancies came to light on Wednesday at the ninth session of a government-created independent committee’s hearing into the fire in Tai Po last November, which resulted in the deaths of 168 people and left nearly 5,000 others displaced.The latest session focused on the estate’s hose reel system and the deactivation of its fire alarms. The hearing had earlier learned that the shutdown was to allow the renovation contractor, Prestige Constructions and Engineering, to carry out maintenance work on the fire service water tanks on the roof.Victor Dawes, the committee’s lead counsel, revealed on Wednesday that China Status Development and Engineering, which was hired by Prestige, filed 85 shutdown notices to deactivate the fire hydrant and hose reel system across all eight blocks of the estate from April 7 last year.Fire services contractors must notify the Fire Services Department by submitting a shutdown notice if key firefighting systems, such as the hose reel system or fire alarms, are to be deactivated overnight or for more than 24 hours continuously. Each notice is valid for 14 days.