Hong Kong unveils proposed overhaul of fire safety laws as consultation begins

Hong Kong authorities have launched a public consultation on overhauling fire safety regulations, six months after the city’s deadliest inferno in decades, proposing to expand firefighters’ law enforcement powers and impose additional responsibilities on management firms and contractors. The Security Bureau and the Fire Services Department on Tuesday began a one-month consultation exercise on proposed amendments to the Fire Services Ordinance and related subsidiary legislation. The proposals cover six major areas, ranging from fire safety system checks to new penalties for fire hazards. “Our legislative proposals encompass six pillars and seek to achieve enhanced public safety, regulatory coherence, enforcement effectiveness and accountability,” the consultation paper said. The sweeping changes form part of the government’s response to the devastating Wang Fuk Court blaze on November 26 last year. The 43-hour fire, which ravaged seven of the eight residential buildings in the Tai Po housing estate, killed 168 people and displaced about 5,000 residents. Ongoing independent hearings into the disaster have revealed widespread loopholes across multiple government departments in regulating fire hazards and supervising the estate’s renovation project at the time. The proposed legal amendments aim to strengthen oversight of fire safety equipment inspections, toughen penalties, expand the scope of stakeholders who can be held accountable for fire hazards, and enhance the department’s law enforcement powers. The proposed changes would also tighten regulation of registered fire service installation contractors, who are authorised to carry out inspections and repairs of fire safety equipment, as well as professionals in the sector, from technicians to contracting firm owners. A new offence is proposed for failing to comply with departmental requests for information, documents or answers in a disciplinary investigation, or for providing false or misleading information. This aligns with a proposal to extend the department’s powers to issue written notices to demand information, documents and answers for disciplinary investigations into contractors, their directors or partners, and registered technicians. Authorities said the department’s disciplinary board currently had limited powers, as it could only reprimand contractors or remove them from the register with no means of imposing individual responsibility. Other proposed changes include introducing a pre-approval mechanism for major shutdowns of fire service installations. Currently, registered contractors must notify the department within 24 hours after shutting down equipment. Under the proposals, they would be required to obtain prior approval before turning off systems for repairs or other works. Shutting down fire service installations, including hosepipe reel and fire alarm systems, for more than four hours between 11pm and 7am would require a request for departmental approval from the owner or occupier of the building, or those who manage or control the systems, such as property management staff. Continuous shutdowns extending from daytime into late-night hours would also require the same approval, except in cases of imminent danger or urgent circumstances. Registered contractors would also have to notify the department within 24 hours of discovering a defect, with officers dispatched to inspect the site within the same time frame after receiving a report. Authorities have also proposed enhancing the role of building management companies in fire safety compliance. A “responsible persons” system has been suggested, under which a person designated by the owner or occupier, or by those managing or controlling the building, would have certain statutory duties. These duties include arranging inspections of fire service installations at least once every six months and implementing additional measures, such as posting notices when major equipment is shut down, and displaying valid inspection certificates in a prominent location within the building. The consultation paper also proposes fixed penalties for six offences involving easily verifiable fire hazards and clear-cut liability, such as a HK$6,000 fine for locking a means of escape and HK$1,500 for obstructing such a route. Separately, the paper also proposed toughening controls on illegal fuelling activities, expanding the enforcement powers of fire officers and, for the first time, imposing criminal liability on buyers with a maximum fine of HK$1 million and a one-year jail term. The maximum penalty for selling illicit fuel would be raised from the current HK$100,000 fine and six months’ jail to HK$3 million and three years’ imprisonment. Chan Hok-fung, deputy chairman of the legislature’s security panel, said the amendments generally addressed lawmakers’ demands to strengthen fire safety surveillance. However, Chan expressed concern over the department’s manpower requirements once the pre-approval mechanism for major fire safety installation shutdowns was introduced. He said more personnel might be needed for site inspections and paperwork. Chan added that digitalisation and AI tools could help speed up paperwork endorsements and ease manpower pressures. Members of the public can submit their views on the proposed amendments to the department until June 25.