Increased manpower to patrol hill fire hot spots for Chung Yeung Festival

The Fire Services Department announced on Thursday that they have set up command centers to coordinate units to strengthen their abilities in fighting hill fires in light of the Chung Yeung Festival today.

The department stated yesterday (Oct 10) that they will allocate further manpower and resources to areas with high hill fire risk, such as Yuen Long, Sheung Shui, etc., in preparation for unexpected incidents.

They will also work together with areas to prevent and take early action against hill fires. The department urges tomb sweepers to be careful of embers.

The fire department also stated that they will use technology to improve their work efficiency, arrange for drones to patrol the skies, and use their speakers to spread information regarding the prevention of wildfires.

The Civil Aid Service stated that they would send out 22 hill fire teams, with a total of 220 members, equipped with tools to assist in combating hill fires. Around 30 teams of Cadet Corps will also be sent out to head to the tomb-sweeping hotspots and country parks to spread information regarding hill fire prevention.

The Government Flying Service stated that if it was needed, they would use helicopters to swiftly send the team members to remote hilltop locations for their mission, with the capacity to contain up to 1.2 tons of water.

The organization stated that whenever there is a major wildfire, the team will send helicopters to the scene and send the visuals of the situation back to the command center in real-time through the communication system.

The Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department reminds picnickers that if they encounter a mountain fire, they should stay calm and observe the direction of the spread of the fire.

They should not walk into the grass and dense forests and do not escape up the mountain. Instead, they are urged to choose existing mountain trails and paths with less vegetation.

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