Tai Po blaze: Hong Kong official defends refusing mainland Chinese firefighters’ help
Mainland counterparts may not have adapted to local environment nor communicated effectively, Hong Kong fire services officer says at hearing
A Hong Kong fire services official has defended a decision to decline mainland Chinese firefighters’ help in combating the city’s deadliest inferno in decades, citing concerns that they might have been unable to immediately adapt to the new environment and effectively communicate with their local counterparts.
On the 12th day of a public evidential hearing on Wednesday, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Sunny Wong Sze-lut also justified the firefighting strategies during the blaze that raged for around 43 hours and destroyed all but one of Wang Fuk Court’s eight blocks in Tai Po.
Wong, who oversees the Fire Services Department’s operational support and professional development, revealed that about 100 mainland firefighters and 20 fire engines were on standby at the city’s border with Shenzhen the day the fire ignited on November 26.
But he said the 1,700-strong local fire force had sufficient manpower to handle the disaster, with more than 980 firefighters eventually deployed.
Wong also told the independent committee investigating the disaster that the two teams of firefighters were “incompatible” with one another, highlighting differences in firefighting equipment, language and practice.
“In Wang Fuk Court’s case, we were not yet ready to seek help from our mainland counterparts,” he said.