At the 7th hearing of the Independent Committee, the in-house electrician of property manager ISS admitted that on the day of the fire he was instructed to switch off the estate-wide main breaker (knife switch) for the fire-services installation. He claimed not to know it would disable the fire alarm and had no relevant registered-electrician licence for the work.
At the 10th hearing, the Fire Services Department stated that for property-management staff to switch off the main fire-services breaker is unlawful, and that current penalties and reporting requirements warrant legislative tightening.
Industry reminder
Life-safety systems — fire services, mains power, emergency lighting — must only be isolated by a licensed registered electrical worker, with full notification, lock-out, restoration and testing per the Fire Services Ordinance and EMSD guidelines. No shortcuts.