Member of the Legislative Council, Ms Starry Lee, reviewed the Fire Services passing-out parade for 11 station officers, 84 firemen and 107 ambulancemen at the Fire and Ambulance Services Academy (FASA) today (July 22).
 
     Speaking at the parade, Ms Lee commended the Fire Services Department (FSD) personnel for making every effort to respond quickly during the peak of the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The FSD activated the Director's Command Post to deploy resources flexibly, and proactively shoulder the responsibility to convey patients to community isolation facilities.

     Ms Lee mentioned that the FSD has all along been progressing with the times and pursuing excellence through the application of new technologies. During the cable bridge fire incident in Yuen Long in June, a firefighting robot was deployed for the first time to assist in fighting the blaze. It helped enhance the efficiency of the firefighting process and at the same time gave better protection to the FSD personnel.
 
     Ms Lee added, "The FSD has reached out to the community to carry out a number of measures to strengthen the promotion of fire safety in buildings for various targeted groups, such as implementing the Building Fire Safety Envoy Scheme and organising public talks on fire prevention. A legislative amendment was initiated by the FSD and enacted last year to encourage members of the public to install stand-alone fire detectors at their premises by themselves. All these measures have helped raise the awareness of fire prevention and enhance overall fire safety standard in Hong Kong."
 
     She also remarked that the FASA had a well-designed curriculum with the courses on foundation firefighting and paramedical training being progressively recognised under the Qualifications Framework and accredited in the Qualifications Register. Moreover, the FSD established the Fire & Ambulance Services Teen Connect last year to instill in Hong Kong's young people a commitment to society, a sense of vision, love for the nation and Hong Kong. The FSD also took the lead to fully adopt the Chinese-style foot drill starting from January, which demonstrated the FSD personnel's pride of and loyalty to the country.
 
     The parade was followed by a demonstration of firefighting and rescue techniques by the graduates. The 202 graduates will be posted to various fire stations and ambulance depots.

Ends/Friday, July 22, 2022
Issued at HKT 14:26

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