Dizziness, abdominal pain drive over 50% of emergency calls, fire bureau says

[Photo: Yuki Lei]

Cases involving dizziness and abdominal pain made up more than 50% of emergency medical calls, driving a slight rise in first-quarter ambulance dispatches to an average of roughly 130 per day, the Fire Services Bureau (CB) said yesterday.

Ambulance calls in Macau reached 11,515 in the first quarter, up 106 calls, or 0.93%, from a year earlier, senior fire services officer Wong Si Tim told a press conference yesterday, adding that most cases involved dizziness, abdominal pain, fever, and various injuries. According to Health Bureau data, approximately 300 cases quarterly in recent years have been classified as non-emergency transports – a figure that has remained relatively stable, Wong noted.

Ambulance resources are limited, Wong stressed, urging the public to reserve emergency services for those who truly need them. He pledged continued public education to reduce misuse.

“Although neighboring regions have penalty systems in place, Macau’s current approach remains focused on public appeals and education,” Wong said, emphasizing that emergency ambulance services are a public resource and that any introduction of fees or penalties would require social consensus.

The authorities have released their first-quarter statistics for this year. According to the report, the total number of fire incidents in the first quarter reached 13,923, an increase of 716 cases, or 5.42%, compared with the same period last year. The number of fire calls stood at 248, up 33 cases, or 15.35%, from the same period in 2025.

According to the bureau, most of the fire incidents were dealt with in their early stages. Statistics show that the leading causes of fires included forgotten stoves, unattended ignition sources, burning incense or ritual paper, mechanical or equipment failure, and short circuits – accounting for a total of 166 cases, or 66.94% of all fire callouts.

The report showed that 194 cases, or 78.23% of all fire callouts, did not require the use of hoses. In addition, there were 1,775 special service incidents – including animal rescues and concrete spalling – representing a 55.16% increase compared with the same period last year.

Wong explained that special services cover patrols, fallen tree handling, ground cleaning, and similar cases. He attributed the increase primarily to enhanced frontline inspections of scaffolding at construction sites since the beginning of the year, which accounted for more than 800 inspections.

Furthermore, the CB has stepped up its inspection efforts, with the fire prevention division also reinforcing its actions in this area. In the first three months of this year, a total of 163 construction site inspections were completed, with 101 specifically targeting scaffolding nets – and no irregularities have been detected so far.

A special contingency plan for major fires is under review, with the bureau collecting interdepartmental feedback. 

According to official data, firefighters performed 2,839 fire safety inspections across community residential buildings during the first quarter of this year. The bureau has formally processed and concluded 40 cases involving violations in which objects or motorcycles blocked evacuation passageways, with penalties such as fines or other sanctions already imposed or pending.

In the realm of hazardous materials safety, the authorities conducted 1,664 inspection visits during the first quarter of this year, targeting industrial buildings, gas stations, restaurants, and hazardous material and fuel storage facilities across multiple districts.