Macau recorded 31,993 ambulance attendances between January and September this year, a decrease of 1,767 cases, or 5.23 percent, from the same period of last year, Fire Services Bureau (CB) spokesman Lao Hou Wai said during a press conference yesterday, adding the bureau believes that the public use of the ambulance service has “significantly” decreased, thanks to civil society’s return to post-pandemic normality this year.
The overall ambulance cases recorded as of last month this year mainly involved dyspnoea (shortness of breath), dizziness, abdominal pain, fever and palpitations, totalling 18,545 cases, accounting for 57.97 percent of the total ambulance attendance, Lao noted.
Lao urged the public to reserve the city’s valuable ambulance resources for those genuinely in need and never abuse the service, while also urging all drivers and riders to give way to emergency vehicles on duty when it is safe to do so.
Lao made the remarks when announcing the ambulance and fire statistics in the first nine months of this year, at the CB headquarters in Nam Van.
As of September, according to Lao, the firefighters had handled 38,939 incidents, a decrease of nearly 1,580, or 4 percent, compared with 40,518 in the same period of last year.
Macau recorded 633 fires between January and September this year, an increase of 1.61 percent, or 10 cases, from 623 cases recorded in the same period of last year, among which 372 fires were mainly due to unattended stoves, electric appliances short circuiting, machine malfunctions and embers from burning joss sticks and incense papers, accounting for 58.77 percent of the total fires, Lao noted.
In terms of special service attendance, according to Lao, the city recorded 4,925 cases, a growth of 5.62 percent, or 262 cases, from 4,663 cases recorded in the same period of last year. He said that special services mainly involve the removal of fallen objects and the handling of special gases, adding that due to typhoons, the demand for related services increased.
The city’s Legal Regime of Fire Safety in Buildings & Enclosures took effect on August 17 last year. Between January and last month, the bureau fined 33 households, mainly for the placement of trolleys, chairs and shoe racks in evacuation routes, Lao said, pointing out that 14 of them have meanwhile paid their fines.
At the press conference, Lao called on the public to enhance their fire safety awareness and to pay extra attention while using gas stoves, so as to avoid carbon monoxide (CO1) poisoning.
Fire Services Bureau (CB) spokesman Lao Hou Wai (centre) and senior firefighters Seong Wa (left) and Kuok Pan look on during yesterday’s press conference at the CB headquarters in Nam Van. – Photo: Yuki Lei
