Safety stressed at emergency management meeting

The Ministry of Emergency Management Department emphasized the need to learn from recent accidents and maintain a high level of awareness about safety in the wake of a series of deadly fires around the country.

At a meeting to analyze the current safety production situation in China on Wednesday, officials from the ministry stressed the importance of taking concrete steps to identify and rectify risks and hidden dangers, taking targeted measures to prevent and control major safety accidents and effectively protect people's lives and property as well as ensure social stability.

It was pointed out that a number of fire accidents have recently occurred, especially the fire at Changfeng Hospital in Beijing and a factory fire in Jinhua, Zhejiang province. These accidents have exposed outstanding problems in risk evaluation and rectification, and in the implementation of safety standards. Officials said investigations into the cause of the recent accidents is urgently needed, and those responsible must be held accountable in accordance with the law.

The need to draw lessons from the accidents and to thoroughly examine problems that exist in emergency management work was also emphasized. Through thorough self-examination and rectification, officials hope to identify and solve the root causes of accidents and effectively prevent major accidents from happening again. Relevant departments were urged to strictly manage the whole process of risk evaluation, enhance on-site inspection and avoid paper-based checks of rectification efforts.

In addition, special efforts were called for to focus on outstanding problems, such as fire safety and risk evaluation for dams before the flood season. Hospitals, nursing homes, schools, kindergartens, factories, entertainment venues, high-rise buildings and large-scale complexes were identified as key priorities.

Officials stressed the need to focus on flammable and combustible decorations and insulation, as well as blocked life passages and unauthorized welding activities. Through centralized inspections, expert consultations and law enforcement, officials expressed hopes to solve the hidden dangers one by one.