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edevelopments with a change in scope or lease condition.This mandatory requirement has since been enforcedthrough the process of building plans for suchdevelopments/re-developments and with littledifficulties.6-4 The problem of inadequacy of EVAs due totopographical constraints is not considered a serious onein respect of new developments in the so-called virginareas. Nowadays, most sites for development are unlikelyto be inaccessible by vehicles. In the course of ourinvestigation, this Office has also been informed by theFSD that, insofar as fire fighting is concerned,particularly when high-rise building developments areinvolved, FSIs and equipment should and can make a majorcontribution.6*5 This is because, according to the modern firefighting philosophy, firemen will increasingly have torely more on such inbuilt systems of an advanced standardthan the fire appliances outside a building, particularlyinsofar as the giving out of a fire warning and/orprevention of a fire are concerned. The reality is suchthat fire-fighting ladders can never compete with theever increasing height of modern high-rise buildings.6.6 The real problem, however, does lie in thoseredevelopment projects in the v old' areas (i.e. developedareas) where there are no changes in the lease conditionsfor such projects and/or where there are genuinetopographical constraints in the provision of EVAs tothese places such as the "stepped street areas' along thehillside of the Hong Kong Island. Because of theinaccessibility to these places by emergency and rescuevehicles (and indeed all types of vehicles), the problemof fire safety and ambulance needs cannot therefore beunder-estimated and ignored.6.7 In analysing this problem hard against itshistoric background, this Office has studied theeffectiveness of the existing means used by thegovernment departments to resolve the problem ofinadequacy of EVAs in respect of the redevelopmentswithout a change in the lease conditions. All such meanshave their own limitations. As an obvious example, theexisting residual powers, which can be exercised by theBA in disapproving building plans under S. 16 (1) (g) ofthe BO for proposed developments in such areas for fire- 83 -