Hong Kong’s urban search and rescue (USAR) unit is preparing to gain United Nations accreditation early next year, providing the city with greater capacity and status in international disaster response, outgoing deputy fire operations chief Angus Wong Chun-yip has disclosed.

The accreditation, from the UN’s International Search and Rescue Advisory Group, would certify the team as “medium” level—permitting it to operate autonomously for up to seven days during overseas deployments.

Wong, who is retiring at age fifty-eight after thirty-one years with the Fire Services Department, said that while the mission of rescue has remained constant, technological advances have revolutionised operational planning, safety and communication.

“If we get UN accreditation we can play a more important role when we join international search and rescue missions, such as a commander in a joint command unit, a divisional commander or chief commander,” he said.

Hong Kong submitted its application for accreditation in November 2023.

UN assessors are expected to visit for evaluation in the first quarter of next year, according to local rescue leadership.

The proposed “medium” classification allows the team to sustain around–the–clock operations for seven days at a disaster site, perform rigging and structural work, search with dogs, and cut structural steel.

Wong recounted highlights of his career, including deployment in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and leading missions to Turkey and Myanmar in more recent years.

He described how rescuers have adapted new tools—drones, satellite communications, earthquake detectors and sniffer dogs—that greatly enhance field coordination and safety even in volatile conditions.

To prepare, the department plans a simulated forty-eight-hour field exercise in Hong Kong, under constraints mirroring accreditation criteria—no external resupply, full self-sufficiency and time-pressured operations.

The evaluation will take place at the Fire and Ambulance Services Academy in Pak Shing Kok.

Wong also flagged institutional progress: the Fire Services Department now serves as an approved training provider for the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers’ fire division.

Under the scheme, selected officers could attain institutional qualifications within four years, accelerating career pathways.

According to Wong, this reform will elevate professional standards among fire and rescue personnel.

As Wong steps down, the department’s quest for UN accreditation looms as a defining legacy—one that could shift Hong Kong’s role from local responder to respected global contribution in disaster relief.