Fire drill at CHT conducted smoothly
Both the Transport Department (TD) and the Fire Services Department (FSD) consider that the fire drill conducted at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel (CHT) early this morning (July 21) went smoothly with its objectives achieved.
Commenting on the fire drill which drew together over 100 players and observers from concerned government departments, CHT management company and bus companies, a TD spokesman said that all participants had gained a good experience from the exercise which aims at testing the communication and co-ordination among various parties concerned during a fire incident. Another main objective of the fire drill is to test the communication, command, control, planning and support functions of tunnel operators on a fire incident.
The exercise also tests the capability of the tunnel operator in fire fighting, evacuation and vehicle recovery in a fire incident.
"The tunnel staff have been able to adhere to the 2-minute pledged response time in the drill, and after the standard fire emergency procedures were activated, we note that they were able to comply strictly with procedural requirements such as wearing smoke masks when entering the scene, using the fire hose to control the fire in the first instance, working in teams in fire fighting and handing over the operation to the fire officers on their arrival," said the spokesman.
As for the performance of the bus company staff who were invited to take part in a tunnel fire drill for the first time, the spokesman said that all bus captains from the three bus companies were able to follow the fire safety guidelines by advising the passengers to remain calm and informing them to wait at a safe place for rescue or instructions of the tunnel staff.
"They have made every effort to take care of the passengers and to communicate effectively with the tunnel staff and firemen for assistance," added the spokesman.
"We are generally satisfied with the performance of the participants in the fire drill and the experience we have learnt from the exercise will help enhance the fire fighting capability of all parties involved."
In order to enhance public awareness of the fire safety in tunnels, fire procedures and guidelines will be widely publicised.
Organised by the TD and FSD, the fire drill was conducted between 2 am and 3.15 am this morning.
In the exercise, a loaded double-decker bus bumped against the rear of a private car inside the Kowloon bound tunnel tube of CHT, causing the private car to hit the kerb and its engine on fire subsequently. The private car driver was injured and the affected bus and the two following buses were trapped inside the tunnel.
"The fire drill is one of the improvement measures the government proposed to be introduced to enhance the fire fighting capability of the tunnel company after a fire broke out in CHT in May," said the spokesman.
"To improve the equipment of the CHT, the TD will seek funds for the upgrading of tunnel equipment, including replacing the cameras and the monitors of the CCTV system to enhance surveillance of the traffic movement inside the tunnel," he said
Early this week, a seminar on general fire safety guidelines was held to enable all parties concerned to exchange their views over fire fighting and emergency management in tunnels.
At present, the FSD conducts fire drills with each road tunnel operator once or twice a year to enhance the fire fighting capability of the tunnel staff.
"We aim at planning such joint fire drills to test communication and resources mobilization of parties concerned including the bus operators on a regular basis," the spokesman added.
End/Friday, July 21, 2000
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