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The Fire Services Department (FSD) said on Jan 29 it has planned to hold several large-scale rescue exercises in the coming months in preparation for major international sports tournaments to be held in Hong Kong, such as the Beijing Olympic Games equestrian competitions this August and the East Asian Games next year.
The department has also purchased advanced equipment to handle emergencies involving disposal of radioactive and/or biochemical materials and other serious accidents. As for the Olympic equestrian competitions, it will step up training for emergencies involving spinal and vertebrae injuries, commonly associated with falling off horses.
Director of Fire Services Lo Chun-hung said at a press conference to announce the publication of the 2007 FSD Work Report that his department had made a series of preparations for emergency response during the Olympic equestrian competitions, including assigning two staff members specialized in fire-fighting and paramedic operations to research how host countries of past Olympic Games prepared for such emergencies and help work out relevant plans.
The FSD's Ambulance Command now holds regular meetings with the Hospital Authority and the Hong Kong Equestrian Company to discuss training arrangements as well as cooperation on emergency response with particular attention to the staff's ability to handle spinal and vertebrae injuries.
Lo said governments throughout the world have increased efforts to deal with major accidents since the 9/11 terrorist attack in the US and so has FSD. It sent staff members to Australia and Britain to receive special training in addition to spending HK$9 million on a number of new gadgets to enhance its frontline capability to handle major emergency situations such as radioactive and/or biochemical contaminations.
For radioactive contamination, FSD has imported three decontamination units each consisting of a tent and shower equipment capable of cleansing 330 people an hour. ■春生 資深翻譯員
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