I usually arrange to take my holidays in March

Hong Kong (HKSAR) - For Paul Lau Chung-pak, the Easter, Christmas, New Year or Lunar New Year holidays are no different from any other working days. Once he receives a call to report for duty, he wastes no time in rushing back to his Wan Chai office. This has happened time and again in the past two decades.

Asone of the front-line staff rostered to man the emergency hotline of the Home Affairs Department (HAD), he manages to get back to work from his home in the New Territories very quickly to ensure the hotline's smooth operation - during typhoons or rainstorms, when the landslip warning is in effect, or when the temporary cold or heat shelters are in use.

His absolute preparedness explains why he is never late for work.

"Just like last Sunday (April 17), the day the Hong Kong Observatory issued the amber rainstorm warning, I stayed at home to browse the Observatory's webpage to monitor the latest weather condition as soon as the sky turned dark," he said.

Joining the former City and New Territories Administration (later renamed HAD) as a Clerical Officer in 1991, he has been working in the Central Telephone Enquiry Centre for two decades. Apart from handling day-to-day telephone and email enquiries from the public, he also looks after the operation of the emergency hotline.

Paul and his colleagues have been dubbed the "Little Tiger Team". "In the mid-1980s, a TV station groomed five actors as the 'Five Tigers'.

As there were also five members on shift to man the emergency hotline, colleagues came to call us the 'Little Tigers'," he recalled.

Paul is now the team leader, and some veteran team members have already transferred to other positions or retired.

Throughout his long service Paul has handled countless enquiries. During typhoons and rainstorms, the public will usually ring the hotline enquiring the opening hours and locations of temporary shelters. The passage of Typhoon York across Hong Kong in September 1999 is one of the most unforgettable experiences for Paul.

He and his colleagues set a record of handling more than 5 000 telephone enquiries in one night. "The hurricane signal number 10 was issued. Telephone calls flooded in one after another.

When I stood down, my neck was sore. I'll never forget it."

In hot summers and cold winters, people may call the hotline to enquire whether temporary cold or heat shelters are open and if so, their opening hours and addresses. In summer, HAD will open temporary night heat shelters if the very hot weather warning issued by the Hong Kong Observatory remains in force at 4.30pm.

Similarly, in winter, temporary cold shelters will be open when the Observatory issues the cold weather warning or forecasts the temperature to drop to 12 degrees Celsius or below in urban areas. The enquiry hotline will also be activated.

Telephone calls after midnight are not uncommon. Paul said, "A kindhearted citizen once called the cold shelter hotline, saying a street sleeper somewhere might not have enough clothing and blankets.

We then contacted the relevant department to follow up immediately. Though I don't know if the street sleeper really fell sick, I have to try my best to help."

Temporary cold shelters are frequently open during the usually chilly weather at Lunar New Year, and Paul has spent a number of New Year's Eves and New Year Days at work. "No celebration, no special feeling," he said with a smile.

"As no one can perfectly forecast weather changes, I don't make early holiday plans, especially during the typhoon season.

I usually arrange to take my holidays in March or November, when there are few storms or downpours."

Though his job has inevitably disrupted his life, such as twice having to leave wedding banquets early to report for duty, he says family support and understanding are indispensable.

"My family used to complain at the beginning. When my children were young, they asked: 'Where is dad?' Even my friends were somehow uneasy that I had to stand by round-the-clock.

After so many years, I got used to it and my friends know I work on-call."

Paul's dedication also brings him satisfaction. "Although many people search for information on the Internet, the hotline can still help many people including those who are not Internet users and the elderly, or people living in remote areas or the New Territories," he said.

While saying that the "Little Tigers" should have a sense of job responsibility, initiative and a willingness to do more, he added, "Most important of all, we should continue to enrich our knowledge, so that when a citizen calls, we will be able to handle the enquiry well."