'Missing fire door frames unacceptable'

A surveyor said on Friday that it is rare that fire-resistant door frames were missing from 48 newly installed lifts at two public housing estates, and that the situation was unacceptable. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department has referred the lift contractor – Taizoom Elevator Company (HK) Limited – to the police for possible fraud after inspections found that the components were missing from 39 lifts at Pok Hong Estate in Sha Tin and nine lifts at Tsui Ping (North) Estate in Kwun Tong. The department said the firm submitted fire-resisting rating certificates for the doorsets, but only the fire doors themselves had been installed – the corresponding door frame components were missing. Vincent Ho, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Building Safety told RTHK that the installation of lift doors requires fundamental skills only, saying that the incident reflected the lack of supervision. He explained that door frames function together with a landing door that is installed at each floor of a building to provide fire resistance. “This door frame is basically to complete the fire [resistance] functions. Without it, it would not perform the long-term fire resisting function of the lift door, so it must be an integral installation with the lift door,” he said. “So as a whole, the door frame has to be installed.” The veteran surveyor went on to say that a complete elevator installation will prevent fire or strong smoke from entering the lift shaft. With decades of experience in the industry, Ho said he has never come across situations like this in the past, adding that only professionals will see the door frames that are located inside the lift shaft. He said the installation of door frames is not a difficult task. Such a procedure for one building would only take days if the elevators can be suspended for a sufficient amount of time. Electrical and building services engineer Ho Wing-ip, for his part, has expressed disappointment over the incident, saying that it showed the failure of the industry’s inspection and oversight mechanisms. He believes the frontline workers, supervisors, the firm, as well as government departments involved should carry out a serious review and explore improvement measures. Edited by Aaron Tam

2026-10-16 17:09:00