A level 4 fire broke out in the Shichang mini-storage in Amoy Industrial Village, Ngau Tau Kok. Two firefighters died while fighting the fire. The cause of their deaths inquiries will continue today (26th).
Regarding the "Mayday" search and rescue procedure that was not successfully activated until the deceased Zhang Yaosheng was rescued, the commander-in-chief of the third-level fire, Weng Jinxiong, pointed out that firefighters of any level could initiate the procedure. His colleagues failed to disclose some important information at the time. failed to activate.
Li Liangming, the retired Assistant Director of Fire Services at the time, said that he had never implemented the "Mayday" procedure for 36 years in his career.
The Shichang mini warehouse in Amoy Industrial Estate in Kowloon Bay broke out on June 21, 2016. It burned for 5 days and 4 nights. It was not rescued until June 25. Senior fire chief Zhang Yaosheng (30 years old) and the fire brigade Xu Zhijie (37 years old) died during the fire fighting on June 21 and 23, respectively. The Coroner's Court is inquiring about their deaths.
Li Liangming, the retired Assistant Director of Fire Services at the time, said that he had never implemented the "Mayday" procedure in the 36 years since he joined the trade.
Li Liangming, then Assistant Director of Fire Services, stated that he had not implemented the "Mayday" procedure for 36 years in the industry
The commander-in-chief of operations on the day of the fire and the then-Kowloon Central Commander Weng Kam-hsiung (the current Deputy Fire Chief) continued to give evidence in court. Firefighters were questioned about their tendency to communicate face-to-face at the scene of the fire. They rarely used radio communication equipment as part of the Fire Services Department’s culture.
Weng denied that it was a personal choice and related to the importance of the message.
When referring to the "Mayday" search and rescue procedure, Weng said that "Mayday" was issued by him or other lower-level firefighters.
However, he was immediately questioned by the barrister representing the family: "But low-level people say that there is no believer in the wild?" Weng explained that it was because his colleagues failed to reveal some important information at the time.
Li Liangming, then Assistant Director of Fire Services, who appeared in court in the afternoon to give evidence, also agreed that any fire class can initiate the "Mayday" search and rescue procedure.
However, since Li entered the industry in 1980, he has never implemented the "Mayday" procedure.
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Cause of death in Shichang mini-cabin | The recording shows that Zhang Yaosheng was recovered and the search and rescue procedure has not been successfully activated. The cause of death in Shichang mini-cabin is exhausted. No breathing and pulse
Once on the phone with the director, the director suggested to find the help of firefighters to carry out the blasting
Li Liangming's confession was read out in the court. He learned that the mini-storage fire scene had been upgraded to a level 3 fire at 12:18 pm that day, so he rushed to the scene to inspect the situation.
Li later learned that firefighters were in danger in the fire scene and rescue work was being carried out on the scene. Li then went to the substations of stairs 1 and 2 to command to find out if any firefighters had evacuated from the two places.
At 7:46, Li believed that more manpower was needed for search and rescue and fire fighting, so he raised the fire alarm to level 4 and took over the command in chief.
Li added that there will only be one commander-in-chief on the fire scene, so when he arrives at the fire scene, even if his rank is higher than that of the then commander-in-chief Weng Jinxiong, the final decision on everything is still in the hands of Weng, but if Li has any opinions, he will. Study with Weng.
Li also said that about 3 hours after his arrival, he had a phone conversation with the Director of Fire Services and mentioned the redeployment of manpower resources.
The Director made some suggestions on the incident, such as finding firefighters to help with blasting work.
Case No.: CCDI-333, 334/2016 (SH)