Hong Kong approves smart IoT fire alarms for 3600 old buildings

Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department has approved a smart IoT fire alarm system for 3600 old low-rise residential buildings as an alternative to traditional equipment, following a successful pilot scheme earlier this year.

Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department has approved a smart IoT fire alarm system for 3600 old low-rise residential buildings. The system sends alerts to the department within 60 seconds of detecting carbon monoxide or smoke.

A pilot scheme ran in the first quarter of this year across 10 buildings of six storeys or fewer that lacked adequate fire-safety equipment. It achieved an effective operation rate above 99.95 per cent.

Divisional officer Simon Sze Man-yuk said the system creates a synergising effect so that if one alarm sounds, all alarms in the building will sound. Residents may choose the system or traditional equipment, with no mandatory requirement.

The department will receive copies of all data sent to the service provider’s 24-hour monitoring system.

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Hong Kong residents navigate fire-damaged ruins of Wang Fuk Court to retrieve cherished family items before farewell.
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Wang Fuk Court residents climb ruins to retrieve family treasures, bid farewell

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Residents of Hong Kong's Wang Fuk Court have returned to the fire-ravaged ruins in recent days, climbing stairs to retrieve jewellery, cash, photo albums and keepsakes before bidding farewell to their homes. The fire services chief acknowledged at a hearing that departments need better communication while insisting on clear divisions of responsibility. The blaze killed 168 people.

Hong Kong's Fire Services Department has extended a fire safety inspection operation targeting old buildings for two more years. The move follows a deadly blaze in Tai Po and builds on an initial scheme that led to 75 prosecutions.

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Hong Kong authorities have cut the activation time for emergency mobile alerts from one hour to 15 minutes under an upgraded system that also allows messages to target specific districts.

The independent committee probing the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po held its first evidential session, uncovering six human factors behind the near-total failure of fire safety measures. Leading counsel Victor Dawes SC highlighted denials of responsibility by the Labour Department, Fire Services Department, and Housing Bureau's Independent Checking Unit for the HK$336 million project. Details also emerged on the death of firefighter Ho Wai-ho amid the November inferno that killed 168.

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Hong Kong's inquiry into the deadly Tai Po fire at Wang Fuk Court heard that the temporary removal of fireproof windows complied with regulations. Panel chairman Mr Justice David Lok Kai-hong questioned whether existing rules fairly balance workers' welfare and residents' safety. The inferno, which lasted 43 hours starting November 26 last year, killed 168 people in the deadliest blaze since 1948.

Hong Kong will prohibit smoking at all construction sites starting July 17. The measure follows a deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court in November.

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