Firemen busier than last year

The Fire Services Bureau (CB) has released operational data for the first quarter, showing that all categories of operations have increased in comparison to the same period last year.
This quarter, 11,692 incidents were lodged, up 3.54 percent from last year. In 297 of the cases, firefighters were called, but only 12 of those instances required the use of water hoses. As explained by the deputy chief of CB, Lam Io Fan, “the number of incidents with no traces of fire increased.” The department reported that the main cause of triggered fire alarms was stoves or flames left unattended.
Moreover, the CB dispatched ambulances 10,046 times, representing an annual increase of 3 percent. One of the biggest increases concerns rescue operations, of which there were 331 instances (a 6.77 percent growth), slightly higher than the 310 from the first quarter of 2015.
When questioned about the overuse of ambulances, Lam acknowledged that 1,972 cases were considered to be inappropriate use of the resource by the Centro Hospitalar Conde de São Januário (CHCSJ). “We really hope our residents can assess whether or not to call for an ambulance,” said Lam, hoping to save resources.
When referring to the recent fire in the A-Ma Temple, Lam noted that other departments exist to administrate the protection and security of the region’s temples. Nonetheless, the CB is also engaged in collaborating on world heritage protection.
In order to celebrate the 133rd anniversary of the department, CB will soon be organizing a series of events, including an Open Day on April 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the CB headquarters. Staff reporter