Common Fire Safety Equipment in Hong Kong Buildings

If you live or work in a Hong Kong building, you will recognise the red boxes, cylinders, bells and signs along its corridors. Usually they blend into the background; during a fire they can become lifesaving equipment. Many people cannot distinguish a fire extinguisher from a hose reel or manual alarm point, or do not know which equipment they should use. Prepared by Fire Station, Hong Kong fire extinguisher specialists, using FSD information, this guide introduces 10 common types of building fire service installations and equipment: what they do, which may be used by the public, which rely on systems or trained personnel, annual inspection requirements, and checks residents and owners' corporations can make.

Contents

1. Why should households and their employees know about fire equipment?
2. 10 Summary table of common fire equipment
3. Fire extinguishers: equipment closest to the normal population
4. Fire blankets: good help in the kitchen with clothes on fire
5. Fire-fighting throats: broken, turned, pulled, shot
6. Fire embolisms: firefighters special
7. Fire alarm and alarm system: notify everyone to leave.
8. Manual alarm: Press the fire if you see it.
9. Smoke and thermal detectors: the first eyes to discover abnormalities
10. Auto-spray system: auto-fire control
11. Smoke-resistant doors and fire escape routes: passive but critical
12. Emergency lights and exit lights: take you away.
13. Some ordinary people on the side? Some professional on the side?
14. Legislation: Annual inspection, FS251 and liability
15. What you can keep an eye on when you walk through the hallway.
16. Common problems FAQ

I. Why should households and workers know about fire-fighting equipment?

Many people feel that fire equipment departments or firefighters need to know first, and that a common household knows the exit is enough. But fire alarms are often the most critical in the first few minutes, and if you know what the equipment is doing and if you have the means to use it safely, you have the opportunity to help people around you.

The law defines "fire-fighting devices and equipment" as very broad: functions include fighting fires, fighting fires, preventing fires, or preventing the spread of fires. (a) Issue fire alarms; Provide access to firefighters; It's a good way to evacuate. And provide back-up power when there is no normal power. In other words, from fire extinguishers to emergency lamps, all are part of the system, and there is a risk in the absence of them.

Another reason for this is that the fire department has made several active patrols of high-risk buildings in recent years, and has found most irregularities: smoke-proof doors have been opened, access to escape routes has been blocked, fire equipment has failed, or there has been no annual inspection. These are many times not problems with the law enforcement, but because of the daily habits of the household.

II.10 Summary of common fire-fighting equipment

Equipment	Appearance and Location	Role	Which one?
Hand-held fire extinguishers	Red drums, walls or racks, corridors, units.	We'll put out the initial fire.	Anyone (safe)
Fire blankets.	Red or white wall bags, kitchen	♪ Cover out the little cooking pans and clothes on fire ♪	Anyone.
Fire and throat.	The glass door red box, with curled ducts, hallways, stairways.	Water for the fire.	Anyone (in safety, the steps are more complex)
fire hydrants.	Big red outlet, sometimes by the throat box or the stairwell.	For firemen to access the fire hose reels.	Fireman.
Fire alarm.	Smallpox or wall-top red bell-shaped device	Ring the bell to evacuate the building.	Automatically or triggered by alarm triggers
Manual alarm button.	Small red box, glass or film in front, corridor, exit.	Human alarm activated.	Anyone sees a fire alarm.
Smoke/thermal detectors	Smallpox white disc	Autodetect smoke or heat, trigger alarms.	Auto
Autoflooding	Smallpox metal jets.	Water control automatically when temperature arrives.	Auto
Smoke-proof door.	The stairwell, the hallway, the door.	Stop the fire and spread the smoke.	passive;to keep off
Emergency lights, exit lights	White lamps, green EXIT cards	Lighting when power is out, signal exits.	Auto

Fire extinguishers: equipment closest to the general population

For what?

Hand-held fire extinguishers are used to deal with initial fire alarm s: the fire is low, the source is clear, and you have a safe exit. They can be seen in the halls of buildings, offices, shops, workshops and residential units.

Why is it so important?

The Fire Service encourages citizens to volunteer their homes with fire extinguishers and blankets; all hand-held fire extinguishers are authorized by the Fire Services Department to be supplied or sold in Hong Kong.

Common type

• Dry powder: Most fire alarms, including electric fires and burning flammable liquids, are most common at home.
• Carbon dioxide: applies to electrical fires, flammable liquids and electronics, which are used in a non-residual manner and are common in electrical rooms.
• Water agents: Solid fires such as paper, cloth, wood, which are not used in electrical and oil fires, and are common in public corridors and schools.
• Bubbles: Solid fires and flammable liquids.

Remember before you use it.

• Only the initial fire is handled, and the fire is too big to go.
• Turn back to the exits and make sure there is a retreat.
• There are different types of fire that apply, and electrical fire cannot be used as a water agent.
• Four steps: draw needles, aim at the bottom of the source of fire, push buttons, sweep.

For A Complete Guide to Fire Extinguishers in Hong Kong, How to Use a Fire Extinguisher: PASS & Common Mistakes, Fire Extinguishers & Fire Safety Productsing.

IV. Fire-fighting blankets: good helpers in the kitchen with their clothes on fire

The fire department directs fire blankets to prevent the manufacture of fire material (e.g., fibreglass) and covers the fire with the possibility of sealing off the air from small fires, such as those caused by burning cooking oil in the kitchen. The operation is simple: pulls out, spreads out, secures hands, covers the pan from the side, closes the fire and covers it until it cools. It also covers the clothes of the fire.

Both the residential unit and the kitchen should have a copy of it, which should be located at the kitchen entrance instead of the top of the stove. Carded foods are used for heavy fire blankets received by the fire department. Fire Blankets & Kitchen Fire Safety.

V. Fire-fighting larynx: broken, turned, pulled, fired

What is it?

The fire-fighting larynx system, which consists of throats, casks, pumps, vents and throats, can readily eject water columns to different parts of the building to save the fire. The glass door red box in the building corridor, the stairway, the mall logistics corridor, and the larynx in which the tape is rolled. The acceptance test of the Fire Services Department requires that each pump be operated with a larynx ejected with a minimum of 6 metres of water column.

Can Members of the Public Use It?

Yes. The fire department means that under safe conditions, you can use your throat to save the fire. The four-step line is "break, turn, pull, shoot ":

1. Break ing: Breaking the fire alarm or pressing the fire alarm button to notify the others first.
2. Turn ing: Switching water in reverse-clockwise direction and opening water supply.
3. Pull: Break the larynx glass, if any, and pull out the ducts from the winch.
4. Shoot: Open the larynx and shoot the water at the bottom of the fire.

The Fire Department emphasizes that it is very important to limit the spread of fires as soon as possible. But the larynx is more complicated than the fire extinguisher: the pipe is long, the water is strong, and it takes two brakes. If there is a smoked environment, the fire is low, or the system is found to be damaged, it should ensure that it leaves safely and alerts the police, not reluctantly.

What Must a Fire Hose Reel Never Be Used For?

• Don't shoot with water with electrical equipment or cooking oil.
• Do not use it to wash the floor, wash the car, and use it to inform the Management Service.
• There shall be no piles of groceries in front of the larynx box, nor shall the door be locked.

Fire embolisms: firemen's exclusive use

The fire embolism is a large red outlet, usually shared with the larynx system, but the water is much larger and used to connect firemen to fire hose reels. It should not be or need to be operated. All you need to know is that it is on the side, and don't block it.

The old building may need to be equipped with fire embolisms and larynx systems under Chapter 572; the target building on or below the six-storey level, where the Fire Services Department accepts items for the networked fire detection system with hand-held fire extinguishers as an alternative. Hong Kong Fire Safety Regulations: Common Myths.

Fire alarms and alarm systems: notify everyone to leave.

The fire alarm itself will not be extinguished, but it will be very important: notify the whole floor, the entire building, of a fire alarm. The red bell-shaped device on the ceiling of a smallpox or a wall will be the alarm. When a detector senses an anomaly, or someone uses a manual alarm button, the alarm will ring, reminding you to stop working and evacuate along the escape route.

Brief ly: The fire alarm is not for you to handle the fire, but for the whole building to know "and leave ." When the alarm is heard, do not be mistaken, but leave first. The fire department's life escape is called: call for everyone to leave, go near the stairs, don't hit the elevator , call 999 to a safe place. More Small-Fire Response: Extinguish or Evacuate?.

8. Manual alarm button: press if you see a fire.

What is it?

Manual alarm buttons (also called fire alarms, broken glass buttons) are usually installed near corridors, stairs, exits, a small red box with glass or transparent film in front of it, with "fire alarms" or "FIRE".

How to use

The alarm system will be activated and the rest of the building will be notified of the evacuation. The first step of the fire department to teach the throat to "break" is the trigger: notify people and then save the fire.

This device is not used to extinguish the fire, but it is important in the early days of the fire. When others do not notice anything, you press it and buy time for the whole floor. Don't be afraid of "wrong"; it's really a fire.

IX. Smog and thermal detectors: the first eyes to detect anomalies

The detectors are usually installed in smallpox, white disc form, offices, hotel corridors, mall corridors, residential halls. They are part of a fire detection system that automatically detects smoke, heat or flames and triggers alarms. In other words, when the fire is not burned, only smoke comes out, the detectors have the opportunity to discover it before people do.

• Smoke detect or: smoke particles detected, commonly used in general areas.
• Thermal detectors: Thermal or composite detectors are required by the Fire Services Department to charge electric car parking lots.

For a household, a detector is not for you to operate, but for your first reaction time. The detector is therefore covered, glued, dusted, or removed from the battery (in an independent format), and should never be seen, and should be notified to the administration.

X. ADVANTAGE SYSTEM: ADVANCEMENT OF FIRING

The small metal nozzles of smallpox form the head of a flower. Each flower has a temperature component (glass bubbles or flavourables), and when temperature reaches the set value, the temperature explodes, releasing the flow to control the fire. The flowering system is activated on its own, not on its own, but on its own, not on its own, and the film enters with an inaccurate picture of the full rain.

The store, the office, the hotel, the office building and the newer building are mostly dazzling; the old building may need to be installed under Chapter 572.

• Don't cover it with flowers, paint or decorations.
• The goods are not stacked close to smallpox, leaving room for spilling water.
• The flowering system is maintained by a registered contractor and the household should not change it itself.

11. Smoke-resistant doors and fire escape routes: passive but critical

Smoke-proof door.

Once wedged, the smoke would quickly enter the stairs, leaving the entire building without any way to go. The fire department pointed out that the reason for the prosecution of the old building was, at best, smoke-proof door violations (e.g., wedging, damage), followed by the road to prevent escape.

• The smoke-proof door must be closed at any time, but cannot be locked.
• Do not use wedges, garbage cans, mattresses, shoe cabinets.
• The shutters are broken and the doors are closed. The Department of Management has to be notified of the maintenance.

Fire passage.

The fire department inspects the path to escape, and can issue a “diagnostic warning” or prosecution.

XII. EMERGENCY LIGHTS AND OUTLIGHTS: TAKE YOU AWAY

When power cuts or fire alarms occur, normal lighting may fail, and emergency lighting will automatically light the corridors and stairs with the power of a built-in battery. The exit light (the green "EXIT/Export" card) continues to be lit, indicating the direction of the most recent exit. The fire department requires emergency lighting systems to conform to BS 5266-1 and BS EN 1838, with an export sign font of not less than 125 mm, Put it on the floor from 2 to 2.5 metres.

Households should be careful whether the signboard is covered, if the light is on, if there is an emergency light in case of power outage. More details are provided on Emergency Lighting & Exit Signs Explainedthe Emergency Lighting & Exit Signs.

13. What Can the Public Use, and What Requires Professionals?

Category	Equipment	What you're gonna do.
Ordinary people can use it on their own initiative (safe conditions)	Hand-held fire extinguishers, fire blankets, hand-held alarm buttons, fire hose reels	You know where you are, you know how you use it, you know when you don't use it.
Automatic System	Smoke/thermal detectors, fire alarms, automatic sprinklers	Don't block it. Don't change it. Just go when you hear the alarm.
Firefighter or contractor	fire hydrants, pump rooms, fire control plates	Get out of the way. We've got a problem with the office.
Passive protection	Smoke-resistant doors, fire escape routes, emergency lighting, exit directions	No wedges, no groceries, no lights.

Remember only one point: a fire extinguisher, a fire blanket, and a manual alarm button are the most likely to be used safely by a common household. The rest of the equipment needs to know and avoid the block, but do not have to operate on its own.

XIV. Legislation: annual inspection, FS251 and liability

Item	Request
Yearly review	Fire Protection (Equipment and Equipment) Regulations: Fire protection installations and equipment must remain operational at all times and be inspected by a registered fire-fighting contractor at least once every 12 months
FS251	Certificate issued by the contractor within 14 days of completion of inspection, maintenance or repair, copy sent to Fire Services Department
Additional requirements for fire extinguishers	Hydraulic tests every five years; hand-held fire extinguishers are covered by a level 3 contractor
Public part liability	It is generally the responsibility of the owner, the Legacy or the management company to arrange annual inspections and maintenance.
Inner unit	Perpetrators are responsible by statute or licence; household voluntary fire extinguishers exempt from statutory annual inspection since 2024
Improvement of the old building	Chapter 572 (Consolidated building for use on or before 1 March 1987) and Chapter 636 (Industrial building) may require owners to improve flowers, fire trachea, fire detection, emergency lighting, etc.
Consequences of violations	If the escape route is blocked, smoke-proof doors are opened or damaged, equipment is disabled or there is no annual inspection, the Fire Services Department may issue a fire-free hazard notification or prosecution

Fire extinguisher inspection methods can be Fire Extinguisher Inspection & Replacementinspection items in the same building and in Office Fire Safety Checklist.

Fifteen things you can keep an eye on when you walk through the hallway.

If you have the following habits, you can inform the Management Service if you see a problem:

• Are the fire extinguishers in the corridors covered by shoe cabinets, boxes? Are pressure sheets green?
• Did the fire-throat box door be locked, sealed, anything in front of it?
• Is the manual alarm trigger easy to find and not covered by a board or poster?
• Did the smallpox detector get affected by dust, rubber bags, decorations?
• Did the flowers get hung up or the goods?
• Is the smoke-proof door closed? Does anyone open it with a wedge?
• Do you have a bicycle, a private, a groceries in the back stairs?
• Is the exit light on? Is the emergency light broken?

If you are a member of the Legal Corps or the Administration, you can make a monthly inspection form for the above items. The Fire Services Department's Building Emergency Pioneer Program also has training facilities to identify common area fire hazards with the household, as described in Fire Extinguisher & Staff Fire Safety Training.

Households can supplement their own equipment

The larynx, alarms and flowers of the common part of the building are the responsibility of the French delegation, but within the unit you can install your own hand-held fire extinguishers and blankets. Fire Station is a fire extinguisher store located in Zhong Bay and a fire-fighting equipment supplier , which supplies fire-fighting service approvals for fire extinguish ers, blankets and emergency lights. Special offer, already packaged for basic delivery .

The legal mission or administration is to replace fire extinguishers, emergency lighting for the public sector or arrange an annual check-up with FS251.Customer Fire Safety Case StudiesorWhatsApp 96309976Call.3464 3987Go on.Contact Fire Station。

XVI. Common issues FAQ

What's the red box in the hall of the building?

There are sometimes hand-held fire extinguishers alongside fire alarms. The larynx consists of throats, casks, pumps and water vents, which can be fired from the water column at any time.

Can Residents Use a Fire Hose Reel?

The fire department means that the fire can be saved safely by a larynx, with the following steps: "break, turn, pull, shoot": break or press the fire alarm button, turn the water on the counter-clockwise, pull the glue out of the throat, open the throat and shoot at the bottom of the source of the fire. However, the larynx is more complex than the fire extinguisher, and the smoke or fire is already high, and the detection of system damage should ensure that it leaves safely and alerts the police.

What's the difference between a fire alarm and a manual alarm?

The manual alarm button (the fire alarm button) is the red box where you press or break glass to activate the alarm; the fire alarm is a red bell-shaped device for smallpox or wall roofs, which is responsible for informing the entire building of evacuation. The alarm can be triggered by a manual button or automatic detector, neither of which is used to extinguish the fire.

Which Fire Safety Equipment Can Members of the Public Use?

Hand-held fire extinguishers and blankets are best suited for handling the initial fire; manual alarms should be applied to anyone who sees a fire alarm; fire hose reel can be used safely.

Is the smoke detector covered or does the sticker work?

The detector is the "eye" of the fire alarm that was first discovered, and is delayed or even undetectable if it is covered by retrofitting, rubber bags, glue or thick dust.

Why Must Smoke-Stop Doors Never Be Wedged Open?

The fire department points out that smoke-proof doors are the most important cause of prosecution in the old buildings, followed by blocking escape routes. The smoke-proof doors should be kept closed at all times, but not locked.

How long is the building's fire-fighting equipment gonna be checked?

(b) In accordance with the Fire Protection (Fighting and Equipment) Regulations, fire installations and equipment at premises are kept in operation at all times and are inspected at least once every 12 months by a registered fire-fighting contractor; FS251 certificates are issued and delivered to the Fire Services Department within 14 days of completion by the contractor. The public portion is generally the responsibility of the owner, the Legacy or the management company.

How can households themselves supplement fire equipment?

The Fire Services Department encourages citizens to set up their own homes on a voluntary basis, which are more suitable for dry powder extinguishers, and Fire Services Department provides approved fire extinguishers, which are packaged for basic deliveries.

A lot of people don't give a shit about fire fighting, but nobody explained it in a simple way. When you know what fire extinguishers, fire blankets, fire hose reels, fire alarms, manual alarms, detectors, flowers, smoke doors, and emergency lighting do, Knowing that some of the sides can be used, others can't be done, is already one step ahead of most people. Wants to supplement units, businesses or buildings with qualified fire extinguishers with fire protection equipment, welcome Contact Fire Station.