The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong on Tuesday put forward a series of smart disaster-prevention proposals, aiming at overhauling the city's fire safety approach.

The proposals from the largest political party in the Legislative Council come in the wake of November’s deadly Tai Po blaze, suggesting using technologies such as the internet of things and the use of drones.

The proposals, revealed at a media conference, consist of measures in pre-warning, in-event control, and post-assessment phases.

At the pre-warning stage, DAB member and lawmaker Elizabeth Quat Pei-fan suggested an IoT-based fire detection system targeting the city’s aging lower-rise buildings.

Currently on a pilot program tested in 10 residential buildings across various districts, the system uses multisensor detectors that cross-verify data like smoke and carbon monoxide levels. Alerts are instantly relayed via gateways to sounders in public areas and residential units, offering real-time monitoring beyond annual checks.

Quat said that in addition to traditional fire sprinkler systems, the city should install fire suppression systems that use gas or water mist.

She also proposed using building information modeling during the design phase to conduct fire simulations and evacuation analyses, and optimizing the layout of escape routes, fire compartments, and safety equipment.

Regarding the highly anticipated application of drones, Quat recommended deploying drones equipped with high-definition and infrared thermal imaging capabilities around fire sites to transmit real-time fire-scene data to command centers and firefighters' apps to aid decision-making.

Additionally, drones could conduct routine inspections of building exteriors and elevated structures to identify hazards and enable preemptive warnings.

But she added that significant technical and environmental hurdles remain for firefighting drones in Hong Kong after she saw the test application of drones in Zhuhai during an observational visit.

“The city’s dense high‑rise architecture can generate unstable vortex winds, risking loss of control, while intense radiant heat from fires could damage batteries and electronics — making safe, reliable operation in extreme conditions difficult to guarantee,” Quat said.

In the post‑fire assessment phase, Quat proposed that the government establish a visual 3D map model and database to conduct in‑depth investigations of fires — including simulating the spread of the blaze and analyzing critical timelines, as well as a long-term support tracking platform, to track and assess the effectiveness of government support.

Given that the Tai Po fire — which broke out on Nov 26 and claimed 168 lives — involved substandard building materials, she also recommended leveraging GeoBlockchain, an innovative technology that integrates blockchain with geospatial data, to establish a comprehensive information management platform that monitors building materials and tracks their procurement sources.

“It would also record all data related to major building renovation projects, enabling immutable and transparent full-chain tracking to reduce the risk of human-made fraud and enhance overall industry quality,” she added.

Independent Committee to hold a direction conference

Meanwhile, the independent committee that Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu established in December to investigate the causes of the fire and recommend preventive measures, announced on Tuesday that it will hold a direction conference on Feb 5 at the City Gallery.

Judge David Lok Kai-hong, the committee chairman, will outline procedures for subsequent hearings. This will include identifying parties to attend, determining the language to be used, manners for submitting witness statements and documents, and addressing other related procedural matters.

No evidence will be presented nor witnesses examined during this initial conference.

The conference will be open to the public. A live broadcast will also be available on the ground floor of the City Gallery, and in the Lecture Theatre of the Hong Kong Central Library, authorities said.

Interested members of the public must register online in advance, with about 400 seats to be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, the government added.

Contact the writer at stacyshi@chinadailyhk.com