Breathing fresh air into fire safety

Shanghai public safety authorities will consider equipping residential buildings more than 20 years old with respirators, an official from the Shanghai Municipal Fire Control Bureau told the Global Times Sunday.

Wang Xiaochuan, a media officer from the Shanghai Municipal Fire Control Bureau said that they would add respirators for older buildings to their fire prevention facilities list this year.

"We will install fixed fire prevention equipment, such as fire extinguishers, in 700 residential high-rises that are more than 20 years old, as they have poorer fire safety facilities than newer buildings, and we'll also try to add respirators," Wang said, adding that details are still under discussion.

The Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau made the pledge in a reply to a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Shanghai Committee last week.

Political advisors Zhang Guoen, Xu Jiahua and Zhang Minquan, proposed that authorities provide respirators for residential high-rises, office buildings, shopping malls and other crowded public buildings during this year's local Chinese People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference sessions.

"We made the proposal because many victims of large fires die from suffocation, rather than from the heat," Zhang Guoen told the Global Times. "Asphyxiation is the cause of 72.5 percent of fire fatalities."

This year, Shanghai will also replace 1,500 damaged fire hydrants around residential buildings, conduct at least one fire evacuation drill in every residential community and establish a team of volunteer firefighters in half of the city's towns and communities.

"We also suggest authorities improve fire prevention education about what residents should do in the event of a fire," Zhang said.