oversees the operation of fire services communication centre, airport fire contingent, fire services training school, recruitment and examination, workshops and transport, stores and supplies, diving service, physical training, information and publicity matters, staff welfare and statistics. the administration division, staffed by civilians, deals with departmental establishment, personnel, finance, appointments, general matters, staff relations, audit and translation service. airport fire contingent the primary role of the contingent is to provide rescue and fire fighting coverage for hong kong international airport. the contingent, which comprises two fire stations (one next to dhl asia hub and one next to the air traffic control tower) and two sea rescue berths (east and west ends of chep lap kok) at strategic locations on the airport platform, is equipped with 14 fire appliances, two command boats and eight speedboats. diving services the diving unit has a fleet of five diving tenders, one diving support vessel and two diving support speedboats deployed at seven strategic locations throughout hong kong, and a three-compartment compression chamber at stonecutter's island for treating patients with decompression illness and requiring hyperbaric oxygen treatment. it comprises about 150 active divers responsible for maritime search and rescue within hong kong waters down to the maximum depth of 42 metres using compressed air diving equipment and underwater breaking-in tools. training fire services training school (fsts) provides initial training for recruit fire and ambulance personnel. it also provides refresher and advanced training courses for all fire personnel. fire services ambulance command training school (fsacts) provides initial and paramedic training to recruits and ambulance personnel. it also provides advanced ambulance aid training at first-responder level to serving fire personnel. the duration of various courses ranges from one day to 26 weeks. the fire and ambulance recruits who have successfully completed the initial training courses will be posted to fire stations and ambulance depots respectively to continue their on-the-job training in order to gain field experience. apart from providing training for staff of other government departments, private organisations and overseas fire officers, fsts also runs youth pre-employment training programmes and smart teen challenge camps for youngsters jointly with the labour department and the education and manpower bureau respectively. fsacts also provides initial and refresher training on cardio-pulmonary resuscitation to members of the public. in addition to overseas training on latest fire services technology and management skills, officers and instructors also attend various advanced courses conducted by overseas fire professionals in hong kong. workshops the workshops division is responsible for all engineering matters relating to fire appliances, fire-fighting and rescue equipment. these include design, development, procurement, inspection and maintenance, fitting out, modification, testing and commissioning. response times there are altogether 81 fire stations, 37 ambulance depots and six fireboat stations. they are strategically located to provide an emergency response for all areas. the graded response times for building fire calls are six minutes for built-up areas and nine to 23 minutes for areas of dispersed risks and isolated developments. for emergency ambulance services, the target response time is 12 minutes. the performance target is to achieve these response times in 92.5% of all calls. in 2004, 94.06% of building fire calls and 91.08% of emergency ambulance calls were responded to within the respective target response times. public liaison group the group which comprises 30 members of the public from all walks of life monitors and improves the delivery of the department's public services. it helps foster better understanding between the public and the department. equipment scania pumper the fire services department of hong kong is a force of 8,000-plus firefighters serving one of the most densely populated urban areas in the world. they served under the british before 1997 and are equipped much like their counterparts in the united kingdom. while most cities' high-rise buildings are concentrated in their commercial areas in the central business districts, they are ubiquitous in hong kong. most residential buildings in this very crowded asian metropolis are more than twenty storeys tall, with some reaching forty or fifty storeys and the tallest over seventy. thanks to strict fire code and the use of non-flammable materials, severe structural fires are rare. the fire services department is nonetheless equipped with a significant quantity of hydraulic platforms and possesses some of the tallest ladder platforms in the world. major rescue unit light rescue unit high angle rescue common fire engines in hong kong include: hydraulic platforms: carry out firefighting and rescue at elevated levels - similar of snorkel, aerial tower or cherry pickers used in north america major pumpers: basically type b water tenders that provide water supply - called pumpers in north america turntable ladder: similar to hydraulic platforms but they use telescopic ladders instead of hydraulic platforms and are better suited for high level rescue - called aerial in north america light rescue units: first-strike fire appliances, equipped with varieties of rescue equipments major rescue units: also serve as light rescue units but are capable of special missions when teamed up with the rescue tenders mobile command units: field command centre rescue tenders: perform rescue missions in major disasters hazmat tenders: hazardous materials handling hazmat pods: equipped with radioactivity detectors, protective aprons and decontaminating tools, hazmat pods are used in nuclear/biohazardous incidents. lighting tenders: provide lighting hose layer: carry hoses for water relay light pumping appliances: perform pumping or rescue operations when area is inaccessible to major appliances reserve heavy pumps: conduct water relay and pumping in remote areas or major fires snorkels: perform rescue operations at 26–30 m. aerial ladder platforms (alp): carry a telescopic ladder and capable of reaching 47–53 m the following appliances are mainly deployed to the airport and stations close to fuel depots: first intervention vehicle: carries foam and water and capable of discharging 6000 litres per minute foam tenders: carry out oil fuel fire fighting with foam and foam concentrate transportation bulk foam tender: supply foam concentrate, pre-mixed foam solution for first intervention vehicle for prolonged fuel oil fire fighting jackless snorkel: equipped with a piercing nozzle that can pierce through the fuselage of airplanes and discharge foam in cabin. the fsd introduced this to prepare for the commencement of the airbus a380. turntable ladder mobile command unit hazmat tender heavy pump a list of vehicles used in the past and present: aec turntable ladder austin ld3 ambulance ford transit ambulance scania hydraulic platform dennis pumper erf turntable ladder scania turntable ladder 52m magirus-deutz turntable ladder 37/ 50 / 55 m iveco turntable ladder man hazmat tender man angloco foam tender man command unit scania p94gb-300 rescue tender scania p124gb-360 first intervention vehicle scania p124gb-360 heavy pump scania jackless snorkel – with snozzle (model s2000-ca) mercedes-benz sprinter 414 416cdi 518cdi ambulance - european class c / american type iii mercedes-benz e-310 ambulances - european class b mercedes-benz sprinter 316cdi light ambulance - european class c / american type i suzuki ede51v village ambulance - european class c / american type i mercedes-benz 1828l (f581) mobile casualty treatment centre dennis dfs237r4b mobile casualty treatment centre mercedes-benz 1517l mobile casualty treatment centre safe at sea rescuerunner bmw r850rt motorcycle bmw r900rt motorcycle honda st1300 pan european motorcycle scania snorkel (ss263) land rover 130 defender ambulance dennis sabre pumper/engine bmw r1200rt-pdennis rapier a retired iveco 140-25 for funerals front view of the funeral turntable ladder for funerals turntable ladder with turntable unit removed is used to carry the coffin. gear (incident uniform) gallet f1 xf helmet (2015)- all fire crews usar rescue helmet - for urban search teams ems rescue helmet - for ambulance personnel for other ranks, the name of the station are printed on both sides of the helmet e.g. shek kip mei - skm on the sides of the helmet. all station names abbreviations are in letters form. however, this does not apply to officers as their rank is shown by stars and pipes on the side of their helmet, unlike other ranks who display their rank as thin lines on their helmets. nomex protection hood pbi matrix structural firefighting protection tunic/overtrousrs (2010-) fire retardant up to 1093c superintendents and chief fire officers charles e. may (1868–1879) - superintendent of the hong kong fire francis joseph badeley - superintendent of the hong kong fire brigade thomas henry king - chief fire officer philip peveril john wodehouse - chief fire officer henry tom brooks (1880–1940) - appointed as superintendent of the then hong kong fire brigade in 1922 and was chief officer of the fire brigade when he retired in 1937 (and his son john brooks would become deputy chief officer retiring in 1955) directors of fire services the director of fire services was created in 1961 and replaced the role of chief fire officer and superintendent of fire services: directors appointed (1961–present) status name hong kong william james gorman (1961) ronald godfrey cox (1961─1965) joseph milner (1965─1970) alfred evelyn harry wood obe (1970─1975) frederick morphet watson (1975─1983) frederick morphet watson (1983–1984) robert holmes (1984─1987) john howard march (1987─1992) - last british head of the fire service lam chek yuen (1992–1995) - first local head of the fire service hong kong peter cheung (1995–1998) tsang kwong yu (1998–2001) hsu king ping (2001–2003) anthony lam chun man (2003 – 6 december 2005) kwok jing keung, fsdsm, j.p. (7 december 2005 – 2 december 2007) lo chun hung gregory, fsdsm, j.p. (3 december 2007 – 30 september 2011) andy chan chor-kam, fsdsm (1 october 2011 – 23 june 2014) lai man-hin, fsdsm (24 june 2014 – 14 august 2016) darryl li kin-yat, fsdsm (15 august 2016 – 17 april 2020) joseph leung wai-hung, fsdsm (18 april 2020 –) superintendent of fire services charles may (1868–1879) ranks and insignia firefighters director of fire services (dfs) (traditional chinese: 消防處處長): bauhinia over pip over wreathed and crossed torches deputy director of fire services (ddfs) (traditional chinese: 消防處副處長): bauhinia over wreathed and crossed torches chief fire officer (cfo) (traditional chinese: 消防總長): pip over wreathed and crossed torches deputy chief fire officer (dcfo) (traditional chinese: 副消防總長): two pips over wreathed crest senior divisional officer (sdo) (traditional chinese: 高級消防區長): pip over wreathed crest divisional officer (do) (traditional chinese: 消防區長): wreathed crest assistant divisional officer (ado) (traditional chinese: 助理消防區長): three pips senior station officer (sstno) (traditional chinese: 高級消防隊長): two pips over bar station officer (stno) (traditional chinese: 消防隊長): two pips probationary station officer (pstno) (traditional chinese: 見習消防隊長): pip principal fireman (pfn) (traditional chinese: 消防總隊目): three bars senior fireman (sfn) (traditional chinese: 消防隊目): two bars fireman (fn) (traditional chinese: 消防員): slide ambulance chief ambulance officer (cao) (traditional chinese: 救護總長): pip over wreathed and crosses torches deputy chief ambulance officer (dcao) (traditional chinese: 副救護總長): two pips over wreathed crest senior assistant chief ambulance officer (sacao) (traditional chinese: 高級助理救護總長): pip over wreathed crest over bar assistant chief ambulance officer (acao) (traditional chinese: 助理救護總長): pip over wreathed crest ambulance superintendent (supt) (traditional chinese: 救護監督): wreathed crest senior ambulance officer (sao) (traditional chinese: 高級救護主任): three pips ambulance officer (ao) (traditional chinese: 救護主任): two pips probationary ambulance officer (pao) (traditional chinese: 見習救護主任): pip principal ambulanceman (pambm) (traditional chinese: 救護總隊目): three bars senior ambulanceman (sambm) (traditional chinese: 救護隊目): two bars ambulanceman (ambm) (traditional chinese: 救護員): slide crest and flag the current fire service crest was adopted in 1997 to replace the pre-handover crest due to presence of colonial elements. the changes impacted both uniforms (lapels, buttons, helmets, caps), vehicles, flags and other signage. crest the new crest removed all colonial elements. laurel wreath was retained. st edward's crown was replaced with bauhinia. the motto changed from the uni-lingual fire services - hong kong to the bilingual fire services hong kong (消防). the badge theme changed from a crowned lion holding a pearl to a pair of fire axes and a burning torch flag as the crest was also used on the flag, it too was changed in 1997. the old red flag was replaced by a purple flag with the new crest. this flag is only flown at headquarters, whereas the flag of the hong kong special administrative region flies at all fire stations. source: hong kong fire services department fire services on tv and film the fs has been portrayed in a number of hong kong tv series and films: burning flame – 1998 tvb series burning flame ii – 2002 tvb series burning flame iii – 2009 tvb series lifeline – 1997