A three-alarm fire at the Wah Fung Building in Jordan on April 10 resulted in 5 deaths and 40 injuries, exposing the fact that the building had not complied with fire safety regulations for the past 16 years. The government issued a statement on the 21st of the month indicating that they will continue to follow up and strengthen inspections. Starting in the second quarter of this year, they will progressively inspect over 2,000 buildings whose owners have failed to adhere to safety directives in a timely manner. They also mentioned enhancing support and accelerating the amendment of the Fire Safety (Buildings) Regulations.
During a special meeting of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council on April 18, Security Bureau Chief Tang Bing-keung responded to questions regarding the Wah Fung Building’s non-compliance with fire safety instructions over the past 16 years. He stated that although there are regulations aimed at upgrading safety levels of older buildings to current standards, it does not necessarily mean that buildings failing to adhere to fire safety instructions are too dangerous to inhabit.
However, the government revealed that there are currently around 9,000 buildings overdue in complying with directives. The Fire Services Department and the Buildings Department will prioritize handling the more than 2,000 buildings that have shown little progress, considering factors such as the age of the buildings (with a focus on those aged 50 years or older), lack of fire installations and equipment, single elevator designs, numerous guesthouses or illegal subdivided units, and the existence of large unauthorized structures.
For the aforementioned 2,000 buildings, the Buildings Department and Fire Services Department will issue warning letters and, upon the expiration of directives, proceed to prosecute owners who have not made progress without providing reasonable justifications starting in the second quarter of this year.
Moreover, the government stated that both departments will collaborate with district civil affairs offices to provide assistance to owners as needed, such as sending representatives to owners’ meetings to explain the requirements of the regulations and proactively contacting engineering consultants or registered fire equipment contractors hired by the owners.
Regarding the $5.5 billion government-funded Fire Safety Improvement Subsidy Scheme implemented by the Housing Authority, nearly 3,000 applications have been approved in principle in the first two rounds. The Housing Authority is currently processing approximately 1,300 applications received in the third round that meet the basic requirements and will continue issuing approval notices starting at the end of this month.
The government noted that the Housing Authority will continue to support buildings receiving subsidies and enhance monitoring of the progress of their fire safety improvement projects. This includes urging owners who have not yet engaged consultants to expedite action, tightening approval extensions for applicants lacking progress without reasonable justifications, and withdrawing subsidy approvals for cases that fail to meet progress requirements after reminders.
To further enhance the fire safety of older buildings, the Security Bureau is expeditiously progressing with the revision of the regulations to empower the Fire Services Department and Buildings Department to carry out fire safety improvement projects for owners failing to meet regulatory requirements, with costs to be reimbursed to them after project completion.
The government stated that they will expedite related efforts in order to submit the draft amendment of the regulations to the Legislative Council for review in July.