Safety drive: Assistant Directors of Housing Lee Cert-quinn (second left) and Wong Bay (second right) are joined by Deputy Chief Fire Officer Li Hung-sum (centre) and the Housing Authority's fire safety ambassadors Nancy Sit and Eric Suen to promote housing estate fire safety.

False alarm incidents have dropped sharply in public housing estates from an average of four cases per quarter per estate in 2005 to 2.5 cases in the second quarter this year, Assistant Director of Housing Lee Cert-quinn says.

This was achieved after the Housing Authority enhanced efforts in raising tenants' fire-safety awareness and upgrading fire installations.

Speaking at an estate fire safety campaign launch ceremony today, Mr Lee said tenants are encouraged to take proper care of these installations and to learn to use them correctly.

Statistics show that negligence attributed to the majority of the 1,500 public housing fires last year. Cooking fires were the biggest single cause totalling more than 960 cases, followed by improper handling of cigarette ends, matches or candles which accounted for over 140 cases, and fires involving electrical appliances and wires accounted for over 70 cases.