Six months after fatal fire, a third of mini-storage centres in Hong Kong found to breach safety rules
Operators complain crackdown has left the industry on brink of collapse, with customers facing steep rise in charges
But operators criticised the crackdown and said the strict enforcement would mean steeper costs for customers.
The storage business has boomed in recent years as people seek ways to combat limited living space amid spiralling property prices.
Summing up the inspection results on Thursday, the Fire Services Department highlighted some key major irregularities that posed serious safety risks: emergency exits with substandard locks; narrow corridors between storage zones; hose reels that failed to give enough coverage; and obstructed windows.
In the event of a fire, such problems would obstruct escape routes, get in the way of rescue work and facilitate the spreading of a fire.
The Lands Department found that almost a quarter of 871 storage facilities had contravened land lease conditions as some storage facilities cannot be housed in buildings zoned for industrial use.
