Following is a question by the Hon Chan Han-pan and a reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, in the Legislative Council today (January 21):
Question:
In November last year, a Principal Fireman died on duty and a number of firemen were injured in an explosion incident caused by gas leakage in Shek Kip Mei Estate. Some people are worried that as the majority of the lift lobbies and corridors of the residential buildings completed in recent years have adopted an enclosed design, the gas leaked into lift lobbies and corridors can hardly dissipate, and explosion may easily occur when the gas builds up to a certain level of concentration. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has examined if the adoption of an enclosed design for the lift lobbies and corridors of residential buildings has increased the hazards of gas explosions in those places; if it has, of the details;
(2) whether the existing legislation and the codes of practice issued by the Buildings Department regulate the provision of natural ventilation in lift lobbies and corridors of residential buildings; if so, of the details; and
(3) given that the aforesaid explosion incident has caused casualties to firemen, whether the authorities will review if the existing procedures adopted and the equipment used by firemen in handling gas leakage are adequate; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Buildings Ordinance (BO) provides for the planning, design and construction of buildings and their related works, regulating mainly the structural and fire safety, as well as hygiene and other aspects of buildings. Among others, the Building (Construction) Regulations and the Building (Planning) Regulations under the BO provides respectively that every building should be designed and constructed so as to provide adequate resistance to the spread of fire and smoke in case of fire and should be provided with means of escape in case of emergency. To help the industry to comply with the relevant statutory requirements, the Buildings Department (BD) has prepared the Code of Practice for Fire Safety in Buildings detailing the requirements on fire resisting structures and means of escape for buildings. One of the major objectives of the relevant provisions is to prevent or slow down the spread of fire and smoke to the means of escape or other floors in order to avoid posing danger to evacuees and firemen.
The question touches on different policy areas and our consolidated reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:
As mentioned above, the BO regulates mainly the structural and fire safety, as well as hygiene and other aspects of buildings having regard to the situation of Hong Kong. On the specific requirements of fire safety, the BD focused on the fire resisting ability and the safety of the means of escape in formulating the relevant requirements in accordance with the Building (Construction) Regulations and the Building (Planning) Regulations. The BD has not assessed the risk of gas explosion in residential buildings when formulating the relevant requirements.
The Building (Planning) Regulations set out the standards for natural ventilation and windows in rooms used for habitation or as kitchens or toilets to ensure proper air circulation. According to the aforementioned Code of Practice for Fire Safety in Buildings, whether there can be windows for natural ventilation in a lift lobby and a common corridor depends on factors such as the design of means of escape and if there are adjacent buildings. When the lift lobby and common corridor of a building serve as a protected lobby for the separation of exit staircases and floors, or when there are buildings adjacent to the lobby or corridor, such area must maintain adequate fire resistance period, i.e. to be capable of resisting the action of fire in a specified period of time, and there cannot be windows for natural ventilation in order to prevent the spread of fire and smoke to the exit staircase in case of fire which may pose danger to evacuees and firemen.
However, the BD, the Lands Department and the Planning Department co-issued the Joint Practice Note (JPN) No. 1 in February 2001 to exempt green features meeting relevant conditions from the calculation of Gross Floor Area (GFA) and/or site coverage so as to encourage developers to incorporate green features, such as widened common corridors, in private residential buildings for enhancement of environmental effect. According to the JPN, for widened common corridors in residential buildings, they will only be exempted from calculation of GFA if windows are installed there for the purpose of natural ventilation.
According to the Security Bureau, the Fire Services Department (FSD) has set up a dedicated investigation team to probe into the gas explosion at Shek Kip Mei Estate on November 22, 2014. The team would examine, among others, the existing operational guidelines for handling gas leakage incidents and the relevant protective equipment. Moreover, FSD has invited the Government Laboratory and the Gas Standards Office of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department to assist in the investigation. The team has not yet completed its investigation at this moment. If the investigation report shows room for improvement in the existing guidelines or protective equipment, FSD will follow up under the established mechanism.
Ends/Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Issued at HKT 15:47
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