Fire-hit historic buildings may apply for FDC funding: IC chief
Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Deland Leong Wai Man told reporters that any historic building damaged by fire such as the one early yesterday may apply for assistance from the Cultural Development Fund’s (FDC) Financial Support Plan for the Improvement of Historic Buildings.
Leong made the remarks on the sidelines of a regular meeting of the government-appointed Cultural Development Consultative Council at the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) in Nape. Reporters asked her about the issue after a listed building in the city centre was gutted by a smouldering fire which affected adjacent heritage buildings.
At about 5 a.m. yesterday, the Fire Services Bureau (CB) received a report of a fire at a street-level shop on Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro (widely known as San Ma Lou, its name in Cantonese). The entire avenue is a listed cultural heritage ensemble.
According to a CB spokesman, firefighters rushed to the scene and immediately began extinguishing the blaze. The spokesman added that during the operation, they discovered an electrical leak, which prevented them from entering the shop directly. As a result, firefighters sprayed water on the flames from the outside and deployed a ladder truck for their protection.
After telling power utility CEM to cut off the electricity supply, firefighters used tools to force open the door and tackle the fire from the inside, the spokesman said. The operation involved 44 firefighters, 10 emergency vehicles and a drone. It took the firefighters about two hours to get the fire under control.
A Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman confirmed to the Post by phone yesterday afternoon that due to the smoky blaze, the city’s main thoroughfare was completely closed to vehicular traffic from 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Limited traffic access began around 9:00 a.m., but only buses were allowed to enter the avenue. The avenue was only fully reopened at 2:15 p.m.
The affected structure is a three-storey cultural heritage building. According to the spokesman, the fire started in a shop within the building and spread to the second and third floors of adjacent heritage buildings.
The CB spokesman told the Post that a short circuit in an air-conditioning unit’s wiring was believed to have caused the blaze, adding that the affected area on each floor measured approximately 5 metres by 15 metres. The spokesman said that no-one was injured in the blaze, adding that the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Lands and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU), and CEM were notified during the fire-fighting operation and attended the scene to prepare follow-up action.
Regarding the buildings affected by yesterday’s fire, Leong said that her bureau conducts safety inspections of all cultural heritage buildings at least twice a year, adding that the first round of inspections for this year has already been completed. However, she pointed out that the buildings affected by yesterday’s fire are private property, and by noon her bureau had not yet been able to contact the owners, Leong said.
In due course, the Cultural Affairs Bureau, in conjunction with the Lands and Urban Construction Bureau and other relevant entities, will enter the building to assess the extent of the damage, Leong told the media at about midday. She added that if the façades of the affected buildings are found to have been damaged, the owners will be required to carry out restoration work using the original designs and materials.
She noted that under the current mechanism, the bureau is unable to conduct internal inspections of privately owned heritage buildings without the owners’ consent.
In the next phase, according to Leong, her bureau will step up its fire safety advisories to heritage buildings’ private owners and will discuss ways with the Fire Services Bureau to improve fire safety mechanisms for densely built heritage buildings in the city’s old quarters. The owners concerned may apply for assistance from the FDC’s Financial Support Plan for the Improvement of Historic Buildings, though approval would depend on the urgency of the damage.
According to an FDC statement on April 10, the financial support plan has two application rounds per year. The first round this year ran from April 13 to June 12, while the second round will run from September 14 to November 13. The statement added that the scheme operates on a subsidy basis, covering 50 percent to 80 percent of the budgeted expenditure, with a maximum subsidy of two million patacas and a funding period of up to 18 months. If the budget is fully allocated, the application period will close early, the statement noted.
This photo obtained from Facebook yesterday shows firefighters battling a smoky blaze gutting a heritage building on San Ma Lou early yesterday. The Post cannot independently verify the authenticity of the image.
