Inspections launched across China in wake of Beijing hospital fire

Safety inspection campaigns have been launched across China to identify and eliminate potential fire risks in medical institutions and places where people congregate.

The inspections follow a deadly fire on Tuesday at Beijing Changfeng Hospital that claimed 29 lives. The fire in the private hospital in Fengtai district was believed to have been caused by welding sparks during renovation work in one of the hospital's buildings, Beijing authorities said on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has directed all regions nationwide to promptly carry out fire safety inspections, giving top priority to crowded places, including hospitals, nursing homes, schools, entertainment venues and high-rise buildings.

Hospitals are public places with a high concentration of people, according to information on fire protection at hospitals and nursing homes posted on the website of the National Fire and Rescue Administration. Once a fire breaks out, accidents such as falls, stampedes, burns and even deaths can occur easily.

There are many combustible materials inside hospitals, such as quilts and mattresses in wards, as well as flammable chemical reagents in operating rooms and pharmacies, according to an article by Liu Tao, an official of the fire and rescue corps in Baoding, Hebei province, reported by Jiemian.com news website on Wednesday.

"The objects easily cause fires and explosions if not properly managed," Liu said in the article.

Moreover, due to the large amount of medical equipment with high loads of electrical applications in hospitals, aging electrical lines and unbalanced power loads will also increase the risk of fire disasters, Chen Liuyi, a former senior engineer with the fire and rescue corps in Shiyan, Hubei province, was quoted as saying by Jiemian.com.

"Fire drills should be strengthened in hospitals. In case of fire, emergency evacuation and fire extinguishing plans should be started immediately, and related working groups should take charge of their responsibilities," Chen said.

In Jingzhou, Hubei province, teams of firefighters carried out inspections on Wednesday night at local medical institutions. They mainly checked the operation and maintenance of fire safety facilities.

Of the 31 medical institutions inspected, more than 100 violations of fire safety rules were discovered. Seventy-six places with fire risks were ordered to make corrections, according to a firefighting team in Jingzhou.

In Fuyang, Anhui province, an urgent notice was released by authorities on Wednesday requiring related government departments to carry out thorough checks on places where people congregate, such as inpatient buildings at hospitals, accommodations for the elderly and college dormitories.

The checks were focused on multiple fire risks, including the use of combustible materials in decor, the storage of flammable and explosive materials and blocked escape routes.

The notice also required related departments to enhance the promotion of fire safety knowledge to the public, with the aim of improving preparedness to escape or how to best survive an accident.