hong kong fire services department hong kong fire services department the hong kong fire services department is an emergency service responsible for firefighting and rescue on land and sea. it also provides an emergency ambulance service for the sick and the injured and gives fire protection advice to the public. it is under the secretary for security who heads the security bureau. hong kong fire services departmentaddresshong kong fire services headquarters building, 1 hong chong road, tsim sha tsui east, west kowloon, hong kongagency overviewestablished9 may 1868 (1868-05-09)employees11,701facilities and equipmentstations81websitewww.hkfsd.gov.hk hong kong fire services departmenttraditional chinese消防處simplified chinese消防处transcriptionsstandard mandarinhanyu pinyinxiāofángchùyue: cantoneseyale romanizationsīufòhng chyujyutpingsiu1fong4 cyu3ipa politics and government of hong kong laws basic law drafting committee consultative committee article 23 national security law article 45 article 46 article 69 one country, two systems sino–british joint declaration criminal law capital punishment in hong kong criminal procedure jury system law enforcement in hong kong human rights lgbt rights in hong kong internet censorship in hong kong executive chief executive: john lee office of the chief executive committee for safeguarding national security of the hksar principal officials chief secretary: eric chan financial secretary: paul chan secretary for justice: paul lam executive council convenor: regina ip government secretariat and government agencies civil service bureau joint secretariat for the advisory bodies on civil service and judicial salaries and conditions of service constitutional and mainland affairs bureau registration and electoral office offices in the mainland and taiwan culture, sports and tourism bureau leisure and cultural services department tourism commission education bureau university grants committee secretariat working family and student financial assistance agency environment and ecology bureau environmental protection department agriculture, fisheries and conservation department food and environmental hygiene department hong kong observatory government laboratory health bureau department of health home and youth affairs bureau home affairs department information services department labour and welfare bureau social welfare department security bureau hong kong police force hong kong fire services department hong kong correctional services customs and excise department immigration department government flying service civil aid service auxiliary medical service transport and logistics bureau transport department civil aviation department highways department marine department housing bureau housing department commerce and economic development bureau intellectual property department invest hong kong office of the communications authority post office trade and industry department hong kong economic and trade offices (overseas) radio television hong kong development bureau architectural services department buildings department civil engineering and development department drainage services department electrical and mechanical services department lands department land registry planning department water supplies department financial services and the treasury bureau census and statistics department companies registry government logistics department government property agency inland revenue department official receiver's office rating and valuation department treasury innovation, technology and industry bureau efficiency office office of the government chief information officer innovation and technology commission hong kong civil service political appointments system legislature legislative council president: andrew leung list of members of the legislative council political camps: pro-beijing camp pro-democracy camp localist groups judiciarycourt of final appeal chief justice: andrew cheung high court chief judge: jeremy poon court of appeal president of the court of appeal court of first instance district court chief district judge: justin ko magistrates' court chief magistrate: so wai-tak special courts and tribunals: coroner’s court labour tribunal lands tribunal market misconduct tribunal obscene articles tribunal small claims tribunal districtsdistrict councils central and western eastern islands kowloon city kwai tsing kwun tong north sai kung sha tin sham shui po southern tai po tsuen wan tuen mun wan chai wong tai sin yau tsim mong yuen long area committees electionselectoral affairs commission registration and electoral office chief executive elections election committee legislative elections geographical constituencies functional constituencies election committee constituency district council elections list of constituencies of hong kong political parties universal suffrage foreign relationsdocuments hong kong identity card hksar passport bno passport consular missions in hong kong hong kong economic and trade office hong kong–united kingdom relations hong kong–united states relations hong kong–philippines relations hong kong–singapore relations hong kong–china relations hong kong liaison office office of the government of the hksar in beijing mainland and hong kong closer economic partnership arrangement hong kong–taiwan relations hong kong economic, trade and cultural office hong kong–taiwan economic and cultural co-operation and promotion council related topics cultureeconomyeducationgeographyhistory hong kong portal history flag of fire services department before 1997. note the use of the british crown badge of fire services department before 1997. the history of the hong kong fire service began in the government gazette dated 9 may 1868. charles may became the first superintendent of the fire brigade. at the time, the fire department was part of the hong kong police force. it had a total strength of 62 with a supplement of 100 chinese volunteers. the fire department expanded to 140 members during the 1920s. during the japanese occupation during the world war ii, the service disbanded. the two fire engines were exported to tokyo to become part of the imperial palace fire unit. it was only returned after the war. unlike canada, uk and some countries, hong kong's ambulance service is tied directly with the fire department. at that time all emergency ambulance service was provided by the fire service while non-emergency was handled by the medical corps. in 1950 the auxiliary fire service unit was created to establish the hong kong auxiliary fire brigade to provide additional manpower to regular fire brigade members under the essential services (auxiliary fire service) corps regulations. in 1953, this policy was changed and all medical corps vehicles and crew were transferred to the fire service. thus, leading to the creation to the present ambulance command. over the past 50 years it has grown to accommodate 30 ambulance depots, 240 ambulances, 35 motorcycles and 2,350 uniformed staff. overview the department has 9,351 (8,675 uniformed and 676 civilian) members. it is organised into seven commands － three operational commands, a licensing and certification command, a fire safety command, an ambulance command and a headquarters command. they are supported by an administration division. commanding the department is the director of fire services. organisational structure fire and special services fire services headquarters building (香港消防處總部大樓) fire-fighting, rescue and other emergency services are undertaken by the three operational commands － hong kong (including marine and off-shore islands), kowloon and the new territories. there are 81 fire stations across hong kong's 3 operational commands. in 2004, they responded to 35,092 fire calls and 20,059 special service calls. careless handling or disposal of cigarette ends, matches and candles remained the major causes of fires, followed by incidents involving the preparation of food and electrical faults. fires claimed nine lives and 451 injuries in 2004. of the injured, 46 were fire services personnel. special service calls cover a wide range of incidents, including traffic and industrial accidents, gas leakages, landslides, flooding, house collapses, attempts by people to jump from a height and malfunctioning lifts. in 2004, 717 people died and 1,995 others were injured in such incidents. one of the dead and 16 of the injured were fire services personnel. the department has 835 operational appliances and vehicles fitted with up-to-date fire-fighting and rescue equipment. the first-line appliances, basically comprising major pumps, hydraulic platforms, light rescue units and turntable ladders/snorkels, are supported where necessary by other special appliances/equipment. a fleet of eight fireboats, including two command boats, one diving support vessel and two diving support speedboats provide fire protection and rescue services within hong kong ambulance services main article: emergency medical services in hong kong hong kong fire services ambulance mercedes-benz axor mobile casualty treatment unit the ambulance command operates from 38 depots with 2,350 uniformed staff. the services fleet consists of 268 ambulances, four village ambulances, four mobile casualty treatment centres and 35 paramedic motorcycles. all motorcycles and ambulances are equipped with paramedic facilities to provide paramedic care. in 2004, the command responded to 574,901 calls, conveying a total of 521,127 patients or casualties to hospitals/clinics, or an average of 1 575 calls a day. there were 106 cases of ambulance personnel sustaining injury whilst on active duty in 2004. front-line firemen are also trained as first-responders to provide basic life support to casualties and patients before the arrival of an ambulance crew. so far, first-responders are available in 81 fire stations. communications the fire services communication centre (fscc) is equipped with a computerised mobilising system for the efficient and effective mobilising of fire-fighting and ambulance resources for fires and emergencies. it is linked to all fire stations, ambulance depots and fireboat stations for dispatch of resources. the fscc, staffed around the clock, also caters for receipt of complaints and enquiries of fire hazards and dangerous goods. during major incidents, it acts as a co-ordinator for government departments and public utilities. the fscc has five mobile command units which serve as on-scene command and control centres in major incidents. the third generation mobilising system came into operation in phases starting in the first quarter of 2005. the system's objective is to further enhance the capability and efficiency in mobilisation and communications to meet anticipated growth of emergency calls over the next decade. licensing and certification the licensing and certification command enforces fire safety regulations and policies, and processes the registration of fire service installation contractors. the policy division deals mainly with the formulation of guidelines on fire protection matters, prosecutions, research and approval of portable fire-fighting equipment and gas cylinders. the dangerous goods division is responsible for the licensing of dangerous goods stores and vehicles, and timber stores. the fire service installations division and ventilation division are responsible for inspecting fire service installations and ventilating systems in buildings respectively. the two regional offices － the hong kong and kowloon west and the new territories and kowloon east － are responsible for advising other government authorities on the fire safety measures for the purposes of licensing/registering various types of premises. officers of the command are seconded to the home affairs department to inspect hotels, guesthouses, private clubs and bedspace apartments, and formulate fire safety requirements on these premises; whereas some are seconded to the social welfare department to advise on fire protection measures in residential care homes for the elderly. fire safety the fire safety command assists and advises the public on fire protection measures with the aim of enhancing their fire safety awareness. the community relations division is responsible for promoting fire safety and co-ordinating with other government departments and district fire safety committees in stepping up fire prevention publicity. to promote fire safety awareness at district levels, the division works closely with local fire stations in organising fire safety talks, seminars, exhibitions, fire drills and training of fire safety ambassadors, who are volunteers from various sectors of the community to raise awareness of fire safety. the commercial buildings and premises division enforces the fire safety (commercial premises) ordinance for upgrading fire safety measures in prescribed commercial premises (i.e. supermarkets, department stores, shopping arcades, banks, jewelry or goldsmith premises and off-course betting centres) and specified commercial buildings (i.e. commercial buildings constructed or the plans of building works of which first submitted to the building authority for approval on or before 1 march 1987). a building safety loan scheme has also been established to provide financial assistance to owners of such premises and buildings to upgrade the fire safety measures where necessary. pending implementation of the fire safety (buildings) ordinance, the building improvement and support division continues to inspect old private composite and domestic buildings with a view to enhancing fire safety and advising owners and occupiers concerned on the improved standards to be required. the fire service installation task force inspects fire service installations in buildings, handles complaints regarding building fire service installations and monitors the performance of registered fire service installation contractors. the railway development strategy division scrutinises fire safety strategies and processes building plans of new railway infrastructure projects. it also carries out acceptance tests of fire service installations on completion of those projects. the theme park projects division formulates fire safety requirements for buildings and other supporting infrastructures in the hong kong disneyland theme park in penny's bay. it also carries out acceptance tests on fire service installations upon completion of these works. administration and logistic support the headquarters command offers policy, planning, management and logistic support to the operational commands. it also