The Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (the Ordinance) has come into operation since 1 July 2007. Under the Ordinance, old-style buildings are required to provide or improve fire service installations and equipment so as to stay under better fire protection. The Ordinance has now been in force for more than 10 years. Yet many building owners still encounter difficulties in complying with the requirements, owing to spatial / structural constraints. In an attempt to address public concerns, the Hong Kong Fire Services Department, Water Supplies Department and Buildings Department have collaborated and introduced some flexible and pragmatic new measures to enhance fire safety in old-style buildings.

The three departments set up a task force in the early stage of their collaboration to maintain proactive communication with different stakeholders. Upon rounds of researches and tests, they have launched a three-phase Fire Hydrant / Hose Reel System Relaxation Scheme and a pilot scheme on the Incorporation of the Fresh Water Supply System into the Fire Hydrant/ Hose Reel System since 2016.

A break from tradition – fresh water and fire service installations two-in-one

The scheme makes the most of both existing and innovative technologies. Three types of modified fire service installations have been developed by phase to meet the needs of three types of old-style buildings of different heights in the city. The Improvised Hose Reel System Scheme (Phase One) allows fire service installations in buildings of three storeys or less to be fed directly from government mains, dispensing with the need to install a new water tank and fire pumps. Under the Hose Reel System Scheme (Phase Two), the required effective capacity of water tanks in buildings of four to six storeys is revised to a range between 500 litres and 1 500 litres depending on the results of risk assessment. Under the Fire Hydrant and Hose Reel System Scheme (Phase Three), the required effective capacity of water tanks in buildings of seven storeys or above is revised from 9 000 litres to 4 500 litres. In addition, backflow preventers have been introduced from abroad under the scheme to successfully resolve technical issues such as contamination of fresh water supply. The incorporation of the fresh water supply system into the fire service installations is ground-breaking. This apart, the scheme has adopted a user-oriented approach and helped bring down the costs of the associated fire safety improvement works, thus alleviating the public’s financial burden.

The scheme has accomplished three impossible missions by successfully tackling difficulties arising from, among others, spatial and structural constraints and ownership problems associated with the installation of fire service installations for about 11 000 old-style buildings of varying heights under the three categories across the territory.