A joint fire-fighting exercise was launched by a fire control delegation from Toulouse, France, and the Fire Control Department of Chongqing, Thursday in Chongqing, a city in southwest China.

It is the first Sino-French joint exercise on fire control held in China.

During the exercise, a wreck was simulated btween a truck loaded with dangerous chemicals and a car. Both drivers were supposed to be severely injured, and chemicals were supposed to have leaked out.

Upon receiving the fire alarm, the firemen of both countries hurried to the spot and conducted intense rescue work. Through half an hour hard work, the leaked chemicals were properly disposed in time, and the two injured drivers were sent to the hospital for treatment, which led to a successful end of this joint exercise.

In recent days, the firefighters from Toulouse have conducted friendly exchanges with the Fire Control Department of Chongqing, providing training on the cleanup of chemical accidents, rescues after road accidents and fire-fighting on rivers.

The exercise was held to test the results of the training, an official said.

Since Chongqing and Toulouse became sister cities in 1982, the two have carried out frequent cooperation and exchanges in the fields of economy, culture, science, technology, education and medicine.

In 2000, the two cities signed cooperative agreement on fire control training. Since then, Chongqing has sent two delegations to Toulouse for training. Meanwhile, fire control officials from Toulouse also visited Chongqing for three times to share experience with their counterparts.

Ghislaine Magne, director of the civil fire control bureau of Toulouse, said she is very glad to share experience with the firemen of Chongqing.

Wang Qinlin, vice-director of the Public Security Bureau of Chongqing and head of the Fire Control Department, said, "fire control work in France has many advantages which we can learn from." Such exchanges and cooperation will help improve fire control work in China, he said.

Source: Xinhua