Capital aims to avoid fires triggered by fireworks during Spring Festival

Drivers will not be allowed to fill up their gas tanks while Spring Festival fireworks are exploding in large numbers around them in a move that the Beijing Administration of Work Safety says could prevent a tragedy.

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The administration has also outlawed the setting off of fireworks within 60 meters of a gas station.

It is the first time the city has included such rules in a public notice about the management of dangerous chemicals.

The capital's work safety agency said late last week that people will not be allowed to set off fireworks nor sell them within the 60-meter cordon.

Signs announcing the new rules will be posted close to gas stations.

In addition, members of the Beijing Administration of Work Safety will patrol near gas stations and look out for sources of fire as well as ensure there is adequate fire-fighting equipment on hand.

The new rules will be in effect from eight days before the Feb 3 Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival on Feb 17.

A staff member at the China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) gas station in Xiaoying said he had not heard about the new rules but pointed out that the company is always vigilant during Spring Festival.

"In the past, we have usually stopped fueling services at certain point on Lunar New Year's Eve and not resumed until the fifth day of the lunar new year," he said.

The employee also said staff usually explain to drivers about the risks of fuelling up while fireworks are flying and of why the gas station is closed.

"We haven't received any information from the company yet," he said. "I'm not sure yet what they are planning to do this year."

Meanwhile, the Beijing Emergency Medical Center has revealed its plans for Spring Festival, saying that 200 ambulances and 600 paramedics will patrol the city on Feb 2 offering first-aid treatment to anyone who needs it.

Li Jianren, an emergency doctor from the center, said it will especially target people who have been injured by fireworks and firecrackers on Lunar New Year's Eve.

"All the injured people will be sent to Beijing Tongren Hospital, which is good at ophthalmology, and Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, which is famous for treating burns and scalds," said Li.

The usual number of ambulances will be on duty during the holiday, and they will be supplemented by an additional 50 on standby.

In addition, more people than usual will be available to answer the phone on emergency hotlines.

"We have also shifted the key patrol areas from the city center to suburban areas, in response to our analysis of what has happened during past years," Li told METRO.

The center helped more than 40 people who were injured by fireworks in 2010.

Li said the number of people injured each year has been falling and people's injuries have been less severe.

Fireworks and firecrackers that will be on sale for use during Spring Festival were shipped to stores inside the Fifth Ring Road on Saturday and will be sold between Jan 29 and Feb 17.

People will be allowed to set off fireworks between Feb 2 and Feb 17.