Screenshot of the State Council's Work Safety Commission

 
The State Council's Work Safety Commission issued a notice on its website on Saturday, launching a special campaign to investigate and rectify major fire hazards in high-rise buildings.

The notice was issued when the public attention is on a devastating fire at the Wang Fuk Court residential compound in Hong Kong's Tai Po on Wednesday, causing at least 128 deaths as of Friday afternoon and 79 injuries.

According to the notice, the campaign focuses on high-rise civilian buildings where people live or work, including residential buildings as well as public buildings used for offices, healthcare, commerce and other purposes, with particular emphasis on those undergoing external wall renovation or internal partial renovation. The initiative aims to comprehensively strengthen fire safety management in high-rise buildings and safeguard people's lives and property.

The inspection and rectification efforts focus on four key aspects - the use of combustible materials in newly installed external wall insulation systems during external wall renovation, presence of flammable and combustible items, efficiency of indoor and outdoor fire hydrant systems and daily fire safety management of high-rise civil buildings.

For example, the focus is on inspecting and rectifying the use of prohibited materials, techniques and equipment such as bamboo (wood) scaffolding and non-flame-retardant dense safety nets.

Also, the focus is on inspecting and rectifying the indoor and outdoor fire hydrant systems and automatic sprinkler systems that lack water or have insufficient pressure, according to the notice. Also, the inspection is aimed at finding out whether fire alarm systems and mechanical smoke control systems not functioning properly.

Severe violations of laws and regulations discovered during inspections must be strictly supervised and dealt with in accordance with the law. Those who fail to take timely measures to eliminate major accident hazards will be held accountable and face serious consequences, it said.

The fire in Hong Kong has drawn a great deal of public attention in recent days. Regarding the preliminary cause of the blaze, the Hong Kong Security Bureau responded that it is believed the fire started on the lower floors of Wang Cheong House in Wang Fuk Court, then spread to the scaffolding and quickly ignited the foam panels outside the windows. Meanwhile, the high temperatures caused bamboo scaffolding to burn, and broken bamboo poles fell, igniting other scaffolding and making firefighting difficult.

In recent days, some WeChat official accounts of local fire departments across the country such as Shenzhen in Guangdong Province and Shandong Province, along with some social media influencers, have been publishing guides on fire prevention and escape procedures for high-rise buildings.

Global Times