A No. 4 alarm fire broke out at the redevelopment site of the Seamen’s Home on Middle Road, Tsim Sha Tsui last night (2nd), burning for more than 9 hours, and was largely extinguished this morning (3rd).
Lin Zhenmin, former director of the Fire Services Department and spokesperson for the Fire Services Division of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, said that the fire protection installations were not activated during the construction period of the building, and the building is more than 40 floors high. Firefighters need to spend a long time "checking floor by floor", which increases the difficulty of firefighting.
Lin Zhenmin also suspected that there were construction supplies and waste materials placed on every floor of the site, which caused the fire to spread: "Is it because the bamboo shed will burn?" He also said that the fire was very violent this time, and he needed to know whether the bamboo shed was painted with fireproof paint. He also suggested that any project should first assess the risk and raise fire awareness: "It doesn't have to rely solely on hardware. If hardware can't do it, software can help. That is, people's awareness and fire prevention management."
When the Fire Services Department described the situation of the No. 4 fire this morning, it said that multiple floors were on fire at the same time, but the building was still under construction, with only temporary fire fighting equipment; and there were a lot of construction materials, such as wooden planks and iron supports, which hindered the progress.
There are regulations on the fire prevention requirements of the construction site, but the overall fire protection installation is quite different from that of ordinary buildings
The building involved in the construction is 48 stories high, with a site area of 60 meters by 80 meters.
Lin Zhenmin responded to the inquiry and said that although the "Fire Prevention Notice No. 13" has certain regulations on construction sites, including the need for fire pumps, etc., the overall fire protection installation is quite different from that of ordinary buildings, and most of the equipment has not been activated.
He continued to point out that the building is more than 40 floors high, and firefighters need to spend a long time "inspecting floor by floor", which also increases the difficulty of firefighting.
Lin Zhenmin (file photo/screenshot of RTHK TV 31)
The fire in the bamboo shed was fierce Lin Zhenmin suspected that the bamboo shed might not have been painted with fireproof paint
The fire lasted for about 10 hours. Lin Zhenmin suspected that there were construction supplies and waste materials placed on each floor, which caused the fire to spread. "Do you believe that the bamboo shed can burn so long?" He questioned, in fact, it is not necessary to put all the relevant items in the building , and the fire in the bamboo shed was fierce, so it may not have been coated with fireproof paint.
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Check the "Fire Prevention Notice No. 13". The flammable materials stored on the construction site should be reduced as much as possible, and the discarded flammable packaging materials, wood chips, sawdust, etc. should be cleaned up from time to time, and unused dangerous goods should also be sent back Dangerous goods warehouse storage.
In addition, the circular states that the Hong Kong Construction Association agrees to meet certain standards for fire protection installations, including installing fixed fire pumps, supplying water to floors above 30 meters high, and placing no less than two fire extinguishers on each floor, etc.
Lin Zhenmin called for raising awareness of fire prevention: when hardware cannot do it, human awareness can help
Lin Zhenmin also said that in addition to fire protection hardware, fire protection awareness is also very important, such as how to reduce the risk when welding, "It doesn't have to rely solely on hardware. If hardware can't do it, your software can help, that is, human consciousness. People’s fire management.” He continued that risk assessment is required for everything, even if it is not stipulated in laws and regulations, if it can reduce the risk of fire, the person in charge of the construction site should take it, “because your life is your own.”
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