With the cold weather hovering over this region, many of us turn to space heaters to heat up our home and office. Each year, a number of accidents occur due to use of sub-standard space heaters or misuse of acceptable ones. The following tips provide guidance on the selection and safe use of space heaters:

1. Space heaters used must be up to appropriate safety standards.
2. To minimize fire and health risk, space heaters should be electrically powered. Use of fuel powered or propane space heaters is NOT recommended.
3. Space heaters must have a thermostat that automatically shuts off the unit when a certain temperature is reached.
4. Space heaters must have a tip over shut down device such that it will automatically shut off when knocked over.
5. Space heaters must be placed clear of any objects, and at least one meter away from any combustible materials such as papers, curtains, and rubbish bins. It should not be placed under desks or in enclosed areas.
6. Space heaters must be turned off and unplugged when the area being used is not attended by anybody.
7. As space heaters normally have high energy consumption, it should not be plugged into the power source together with other electrical appliances, such as by using multi-outlet adaptor or extension unit.
8. Space heaters must be kept in good working condition. It should be checked periodically and repaired as necessary by qualified persons. Care must be taken to ensure that there is no loose contacts or connections. Missing guards and controls must be replaced immediately.
9. The manufacturers’ operating instructions must be carefully read and followed.
10. Safety advice from HSEO is available if needed.

The Garley Building blaze has stunned the whole of Hong Kong community and makes people seriously question the fire safety in their workplaces. The purpose of this article is to review how fire safety is being managed and assured in HKUST.

Fire safety in HKUST is being managed in three aspects, namely: fire prevention, fire protection/suppression, and fire evacuation. The efforts made in each of these aspects will supplement or complement with the others. How well these aspects are being managed determines how safe we are protected from fire hazards.

Fire Prevention

The objective here is not to have a fire in the first place. This is the most positive and desirable approach in fire safety. However, it is also a very difficult objective to be achieved in view of the complex nature of activities in the University, and it has to rely on the efforts by everybody in the University.

To prevent a fire from happening means to carefully control the use of heat sources and combustible/ flammable materials (fuel sources).

Good housekeeping is an important effort needed to prevent fire. Good housekeeping means keeping work areas tidy, especially with combustibles and flammables properly and securely placed away from heat sources, such as inside safety cans, safety cabinets and appropriate dangerous goods stores.

As far as heat sources are concerned, there are a lot of work activities in HKUST involving fire, including experiments in laboratories; welding and other hot works in workshop and construction activities, etc. One well defined control in this aspect is the “Hot Work Permit” procedure stipulated in the HKUST’s Safety and Environmental Protection Manual. The Procedure controls hot work activities mainly in construction ,including renovation and re-decoration, to ensure that appropriate fire safety precautionary measures are in place before, during, and after hot work activities. For more permanent workplaces, such as laboratories and workshops, measures of a more permanent nature should be taken to ensure that any burning processes will be conducted in a safe manner.

We have to rely heavily on management in charge of the workplaces to ensure the effectiveness of fire safety. HSEO staff members also help by inspecting workplaces regularly and offering assistance on recommending appropriate safety measures.

Fire Protection and Suppression

Besides making our best efforts to prevent a fire from happening, we also need to prepare for possible fire incidents by means of fire service installations which are regarded as more reliable.

It has been fortunate that the University was built at the time when the fire safety requirements and building codes are much more stringent than that at the time when the Garley Building and other old commercial buildings were built. In compliance with these requirements, the University is equipped with modern fire service installations, including heat and smoke detectors, automatic sprinkler systems, fire hydrants, fire alarm and PA systems, fireman’s lifts, proper compartmentation, etc.

The fire service installations in our buildings should be able to give early warning to the occupants and to confine the growth and spread and, hence, the damaging effect of a fire. In order to ensure that the systems will be functioning properly when needed, these systems are routinely tested and maintained by the Estate Management Office.

Besides fixed fire service installations, all laboratories, workshops and many other areas are also installed with manual fire fighting equipment such as fire extinguishers, fire blankets and sand buckets. Hosereels are also installed at appropriate locations for use by the occupants. These equipment are very useful for prompt extinction of a fire even before it is big enough to activate the automatic systems.

To enable these manual fire fighting equipment to be used effectively, regular training sessions have been conducted by SEPO to provide users hands-on knowledge in operating this equipment. In fact, in a number of incidents, some lab users were able to use fire extinguishers to put out small fires accidentally caused in the course of their activities.

Fire Evacuation

The objective here is to preserve precious human lives in the event of fire by evacuating people from affected areas promptly and in an orderly manner. It would be a totally different story if all the occupants in the Garley Building could have got out of the building in time.

In order to achieve the objective in fire evacuation, there needs to be a well established fire emergency procedure which is made known to and understood by the occupants in the building, so that they know what to do and where to go in the event of fire. There also needs to be clearly indicated and unimpeded fire escape routes capable of discharging people away from the affected areas to safe places as soon as possible without causing panic.

The awareness and alertness of building occupants to fire alarm signals and their readiness to evacuate are also very important to ensure their safety. We do have an established fire evacuation procedure in HKUST. This procedure is written in the HKUST Emergency Procedure booklet. To ensure that everybody in HKUST understands the procedure, it is also promulgated to the university community by other available means, such as by all staff e-mails, HSEO Home Page, Safetywise, the Handbook for students, and in fire safety training courses. Some departments have also posted the procedures at their workplaces.

Fire drills are organized regularly in the administrative and academic buildings as well as student quarters. The purposes are to provide people opportunities to practise fire evacuation and to heighten people’s preparedness for fire incidents to ensure smooth evacuation in the event of fire. Appropriate enhancements in fire evacuation arrangement can also be made according to observations made during fire drills.

As far as fire escape routes are concerned, the campus buildings are designed and built in compliance with the stringent fire escape requirements set down by the Hong Kong Building Code. In fact, in some areas, the provisions even exceed the requirements. To ensure that people inside the building can easily find their way out in case of emergencies, additional directional signs have been installed at appropriate locations. Many departments have also posted up floor plans showing the most appropriate escape routes at prominent locations for people’s reference. However, fire escape routes can easily be impeded by building users and must be carefully managed and controlled.

We hope that this article would give readers better ideas on how the fire safety objective can be achieved and their roles to help achieve this objective. With the advance fire service installations in our buildings and the efforts made by our fellow employees, the fire risk in HKUST can be regarded as low compared with many other work places and premises in Hong Kong. However, there is no room for complacency in safety. There are areas in fire safety where improvements have yet to be made, and continous efforts by all of us are necessary.

Preventing Fire

• Keep your work area tidy.
• Do not keep too much flammable materials in your work areas.

• Be extreme careful when working with naked flames and heating devices such as hot plates.
• Keep flammables and combustibles far away from heat sources.
• Maintain good ventilation when conducting hot works.
• Handle flammable liquids and gases carefully. Prevent spills and accumulation of excessive flammable vapours/gases.
• Store flammable liquids in safety containers and safety cabinets.
• Do not overload electrical power supply.
• Use up to standard electrical equipment.
• Report fire hazards.

Ensure Effectiveness of Fire Protection / Suppression Installations

• Keep fire/smoke door close.
• Do not block hosereels.
• Do not stack materials too high up against sprinklers (maintain at least 450 mm clearance).
• Do not interfere with fire service installations.
• Learn how to use hosereel/ fire extinguishers/ fire blankets.

Prepare for Evacuation

• Study the fire emergency procedures.
• Know the fire escape routes (at least two alternative routes) in your work areas. Check the conditions of these routes periodically. Report any obstructions.
• Maintain clear fire escape routes.
• Do not block / lock fire exits.
• Participate in fire drills.
• Respond to fire alarm and PA announcements.

A small fire broke out in a unit at the Research Staff Quarters in October. It was fortunate that the fire was extinguished quickly by the Security staff.

The fire occurred in the kitchen when the family was cooking. Some oil in a frying pan (wok) caught on fire and it quickly spreaded to the range hood over the stove. Attempting to put out the fire, the residents splashed water onto the pan. However, the water was not effective in extinguishing the fire. Instead, it caused the fire to spread even further. Failing to extinguish the fire, the residents evacuated the apartment to the outside and alerted the Security Guard on site about the fire. The Security Control Center was then notified and an internal Fire Fighting Team was dispatched in response to the situation. Fortunately, the fire had not spreaded too far and our Fire Fighting Team was able to extinguish it. When the Fire Services Department arrived, everything was already under control.

The range hood and the surrounding cabinets were quite seriously damaged in the fire.

Cooking is a major cause for fires in domestic dwellings. It is important that we all know the precautions and take appropriate actions to minimize the risk of cooking fire.

Beware of Fire Hazards when Cooking

• Unattended cooking is one of the major causes of fires in homes. Overheated food can burn; superheated cooking oil will vaporize and catch fire easily.

• Boiling liquid can spill over and extinguish the flame of the stove and hence result in gas leaking into the atmosphere.

• “Flambeed cooking?(using wine) may cause a flame to be formed on the frying pan and create a high fire risk; hence it should be avoided or be carried out with extreme care.
• Grease can catch fire easily. Remove grease from surfaces of walls, cupboards, range hood etc. by frequent cleaning. Range hood filters/grease traps should be cleaned or replaced frequently.
• Cloths (and other combustible materials) placed too close to the stove or on top of cooking utensils can catch fire easily, and should be removed to safe locations.

When there is fire ......

• It is most important to stay calm. If the fire is confined in the frying pan, it can be easily put out by covering it with a lid, or a fire blanket (see photos below). Small fire on other surfaces can also be extinguished by beating it with a fire blanket or other appropriate materials such as a thick piece of cloth.

• NEVER splash water onto “oil fire? This will cause the fire to spread further because oil is lighter than water and hence will float and spread.

Breakglass panel for activating fire alarm

If the fire is out of control ......

• Evacuate to a safe place outside the building with the doors of the kitchen and the apartment closed behind you. By closing those doors, the spread of the fire and smoke can be delayed significantly.

• Activate the fire alarm by pressing the nearby breakglass panel as you leave the building. This is very important, as by activating the system, the alarm bells throughout the entire building will go off and all residents inside the building will be alerted for evacuation. The fire alarm signal will at the same time alert the Fire Services Department and the Security Control for emergency responses.

Proper use of Fire Blanket Proper use of Fire Blanket

1. Pull out fire blanket	2. Hold the fire blanket with hands protected	3. Approach cautiously towards the fire
4. Keep your face away from the fire	5. Cover the fire completely to extinguish it	6. Turn off the gas supply

In the event of a fire, building occupants are expected to leave the premises as quickly as practicable via designated horizontal and vertical escape routes to safe places according to the established fire evacuation procedure. However, special arrangements are needed for evacuating occupants who are physically challenged (PC), especially those "wheelchairbound" persons, who will have difficulties in following the "normal" fire escape routes, especially the vertical ones.

The following guidelines should be observed for establishing arrangements for evacuating PC persons (i.e. with restricted mobility, wheelchairbound, impaired vision and hearing etc.) in the event of a fire:

Getting Prepared

Departments in which PC persons (staff and students) are employed or recruited should develop a special fire evacuation plan for such persons. The Security Control Centre should also be alerted so that appropriate arrangement can be made.

The plan and the arrangements made under the plan should be made known to all those employees and students concerned. Specific evacuation practice drills should be conducted periodically.

Specific staff members should be assigned with personal responsibility for helping the identified PC persons to evacuate in the event of fire.

Escape routes should be so arranged that they can allow wheelchairbound person to pass through.

Suitable "refuges" (described below) should be identified and included in the evacuation plan for PC persons. In locating refuges, care must be taken not to cause any obstruction to the flow of other persons evacuating from the building.

In the Event of a Fire

PC persons having difficulties in using the stairs should evacuate horizontally to a "refuge". A "refuge" is an area that is both separated from a fire by fire-resisting construction and provided with a safe route to a storey exit. PC persons can stay at the refuge and wait for assistance. After reaching the refuge, the Security Control Centre should be informed of the whereabout of the PC persons.

In our main building, the ideal refuges are the lift lobbies. These lift lobbies are protected with at least a half-hour fire resistant period from the rest of the building. Communication call points are installed at most of these lift lobbies so that PC persons seeking refuge can conveniently contact the Security Control Centre for assistance. If practicable, lift lobbies in the next "fire zone" should be chosen as the designated refuge.

Persons assisting the PC persons should stay with them at the refuges. If circumstances call for, PC persons may have to escape via the stairs with the assistance of the designated persons, or the rescue personnel.

Security Control or HSEO can be consulted for advice on planning for evacuating PC persons as described above.