Legislation to control firms handling potentially dangerous materials should be considered, said a lawmaker who also urged the government to rethink a decision to allow the Airport Authority to store aviation fuel less than 30 meters from a steel smelter in Tuen Mun.

Choy So-yuk of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong spoke out after inspecting a tire recycling plant in Tai Po that was devastated in a four-hour blaze extinguished early yesterday.

No one was injured but 17 people were evacuated from the blaze, which was tackled by 155 firefighters.

At the height of the fire, crews were seen dousing Hong Kong and China Gas Company fuel and oil tanks 300 meters away.

Former director of fire services Anthony Lam Chun-man said this was a precautionary measure to ensure the fire's heat did not expand and pressurize gas or rupture fuel containers.

Choy said she was concerned over the management of similar waste collection, processing and recycling plants.

"At the moment anyone can set up a waste plant and there are virtually no controls. There are major safety issues at hand and the government should consider issuing licenses to regulate businesses that handle these potentially dangerous materials," she said, adding that this was the third fire at a processing plant in a little over nine months.

On July 4 Fan Ling residents were woken shortly after 1am when several liquefied natural gas containers exploded during a four-hour fire at a recycling plant in Ping Che. Leaking aerosols were the cause of a November 29 fire at a Yau Tong metal recycling site.

"[The government] should take into consideration the neighborhoods that surround these facilities," Choy said.

She also weighed in on a controversial plan to locate about 388,000 cubic meters of aviation fuel less then 30 meters from Tuen Mun's Shiu Wing Steel's 24-hour smelter.

"This is a serious concern. Judging from what happened this morning, obviously, the proposed fuel depot should be reconsidered," Choy said.

Despite facing a judicial review, unanimous opposition from Tuen Mun District Council, two contradicting British risk assessors and steel mill workers fearing for their lives, the government has authorized the Airport Authority to build 12 tanks and an underwater pipeline to link up with storage facilities in Sha Chau.

A spokeswoman for the authority said it will construct the project in line with the most stringent of standards.

Lam said the risk was low because the smelter was isolated to an insulated concrete lined core.