Firefighters get new air-sharing gear and flexible drills
Hkgov · 8 SOURCESabout 18 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department said on Sunday it has fully rolled out a new generation of breathing apparatus for frontline firefighters and introduced reconfigurable training facilities at Wong Tai Sin and Pok Fu Lam fire stations. The upgrade combines emergency air-sharing, faster cylinder changes, improved communications and easier cleaning, while the department plans to build three more similar training sites.
Key Points
- Assistant Divisional Officer (Breathing Apparatus) Yip Chi-ho said thick smoke, carbon monoxide and toxic gases make breathing apparatus essential for fireground search and rescue.
- The fourth-generation sets use a quick-connect coupling, cutting air-cylinder replacement time from about 90 seconds to under 10 seconds in harsh conditions.
- A new Emergency Breathing Safety System lets two firefighters connect hoses and share air from cylinders simultaneously during low-supply emergencies and withdraw together.
- New masks integrate a face-mounted speech device and team communicator with microphone and earpiece, filtering background noise and enabling hands-free communication.
- Training grounds at Wong Tai Sin and Pok Fu Lam now use ceiling-track movable partitions to simulate homes, industrial buildings, mini-storage sites and subdivided flats.
Why It Matters
The department is trying to reduce time lost during cylinder changes, improve crew coordination in noisy smoke-filled environments and lower contamination build-up on equipment used repeatedly at fire scenes. By replacing fixed-layout drills with reconfigurable scenarios, it also aims to strengthen firefighters’ adaptability and psychological readiness for Hong Kong’s varied building types.