Macau Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai convened and chaired a meeting yesterday urging all respective public entities to plan, organise and implement citywide tasks of screening, identifying and minimising major safety risks in various aspects of civil society, and put the respective measures in place, in the wake of the devastating residential building fire in Hong Kong that erupted on Wednesday, according to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS).
The inferno in Hong Kong’s Tai Po District killed at least 83 people, according to official data released by the authorities early this morning.
The Macau government’s ongoing public safety risk prevention and control efforts include cross-departmental extensive, high-frequency inspections of construction sites and building renovation projects with scaffolding in place across the city.
The GCS statement said that in order to urge local officials at all levels to stay committed to studying and implementing the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s important instructions concerning disaster prevention while ensuring the effective planning, coordination and implementation of the city’s winter safety campaigns in the light of Macau’s situation, Sam convened a meeting yesterday morning aiming to coordinate government entities’ work on screening and minimising public safety risks across the city during the winter.
In addition to top officials including four of the government’s five policy secretaries, Legislative Assembly (AL) President André Cheong Weng Chon and Court of Final Appeal (TUI) President Song Man Lei also attended the meeting, which was held at Government Headquarters.
According to the statement, Sam stressed in the meeting that the local government must comprehensively enhance public awareness of fire prevention, disaster prevention, and disaster preparedness, and strengthen education campaigns, with the aim of ensuring that civil society stays vigilant against safety threats so as to build a fire safety defence line in the community.
Sam noted that given Macau’s high population density and the frequent festivals and holidays over the next few months, all respective government entities must ensure the effective planning, organisation and implementation of citywide tasks of screening, identifying and minimising major safety risks in various aspects of civil society.
Among the world’s nearly 200 countries and territories, Macau has the world’s highest population density, which stood at 20,618 inhabitants per square kilometre, according to the Statistics and Census Bureau’s demographics as of the end of the third quarter of this year.
Sam raises 4 requirements
According to the statement, Sam raised four requirements for the matter.
First, Sam said, the respective public entities must strengthen their screening and rectification of fire safety hazards in large shopping malls, entertainment venues, cultural and sports venues, tourist attractions, buildings in old neighbourhoods, as well as any venues where hazardous materials, such as gas and chemicals, are intensively stored or used.
With the increased fire hazards and risks during the autumn and winter, Sam said, targeted efforts must be made to strengthen inspections of ongoing construction sites and building renovation projects with scaffolding as well as those that will start in the near future.
According to the statement, Sam also urged the respective public entities to strengthen fire prevention for the woods and hills.
Sam said that the public entities must close loopholes at the source, nip potential risks in the bud, and eliminate hazards before they escalate into disasters.
Second, Sam said, the respective public entities must strengthen education campaigns for the public on fire safety and disaster prevention, including increased public awareness of getting familiar with evacuation routes.
Third, Sam said, the public entities must strengthen patrols, inspections, and surveillance in crowded places such as public venues, public transport hubs, border checkpoints, and tourist attractions in order to ensure the full prevention of violent or terrorist activities, vicious criminal cases, and mass casualty accidents.
Fourth, Sam underlined that the government must further improve emergency response mechanisms and contingency plans for major public emergencies, natural disasters, and cybersecurity attacks, and effectively leverage the coordination role of the Civil Protection Operations Centre, in order to safeguard Macau’s overall public security and enhance urban safety standards and levels.
Citywide, high-frequency inspections of projects with scaffolding
Meanwhile, a joint statement by four public entities, namely the Fire Services Bureau (CB), the Lands and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU), the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL), and the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM), laid out details about yesterday’s launch of cross-departmental extensive, high-frequency inspections of construction sites and building renovation projects with scaffolding across the city.
The statement said that according to latest official data, about 60 projects involving the use of scaffolding are being carried out across the city.
The statement underlined that after yesterday’s launch of the campaign, inspectors and officials of the four public entities will jointly conduct high-frequency inspections of all projects involving the use of scaffolding over a period of time in the near future, with the aim of ensuring that all constructors always carry out the projects in compliance with official fire prevention standards.
The statement also underlined that constructors must use flame-retardant materials when carrying out any “hot work” on construction sites, adding that they must present proof of the flame-retardant materials when government officials inspect the projects.
“Hot work” on a construction site refers to any activity that involves open flames, sparks, or other heat-producing equipment, such as welding, cutting and grinding.
Meanwhile, the Macau Red Cross said yesterday that it has donated HK$500,000 to the Hong Kong Red Cross for the Hong Kong fire’s emergency rescue and the provision of shelters for disaster victims.
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai addresses yesterday’s meeting at Government Headquarters in Nam Van district.
Government inspectors check a project with scaffolding for compliance with the official fire prevention standards yesterday. – Photos: GCS
