Work Safety Commission supervises Beijing hospital fire investigation

Inspections launched across China in wake of Beijing hospital fire

The Work Safety Commission of the State Council has decided to supervise the investigation of a deadly fire that occurred on Tuesday at Beijing Changfeng Hospital that claimed 29 lives, CCTV News reported on Friday.

The commission will send staff to participate in and help guide the work of the investigation team set up by Beijing. It also urged authorities to immediately carry out the investigation, quickly identify its cause and seriously punish those who are responsible for it.

The fire in the private hospital in Fengtai district is believed to have been caused by welding sparks during renovation work in one of the hospital's buildings, Beijing authorities said on Wednesday.

Many safety inspection campaigns have been launched across China in an effort to identify and eliminate potential fire risks in medical institutions and other places where people congregate.

As of Tuesday this year, over 396,000 fire reports have been received, leaving 639 dead and 678 injured in China and causing 2.21 billion yuan ($321 million) in damages, according to data from National Fire and Rescue Administration on Thursday. The death toll and injuries have seen a rise of 3.5 percent year-on-year.

The administration warned that deadly fire accidents have been reported in Beijing and Zhejiang province, indicating severe situations in fire prevention.

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, a domestic 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.

Since the fire, 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 highrise buildings.

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.

The checks were focused on multiple fire risks, including the use of combustible materials in decoration, 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 the ability to escape or to perform self-rescue in case of an accident.

"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.