Weak security awareness plagues China's public safety

Packed to capacity the old wooden beams of the theatre seemed to moan and creak as 700 students jostled for the best viewing position. On one side there's an altar with burning candles, with the wax dripping on a tangle of electrical wires.

It's an obvious fire hazard that could have caused a tragedy and shocked the fire inspectors. "We were frightened to think of the potential death toll, but the local government seemed quite unconscious of the danger," said Guo Tienan, head of the fire department under the Ministry of Public Security as he described the scene.

Guo and his team were inspecting the Huaqiao Hall in Minhou County, South China's Fujian Province. "We found neither a fire hydrant nor a fire extinguisher in the building," he said.

What troubles Guo more is that although state law clearly puts the onus on local governments to assume responsibility for fire protection, many are shirking their responsibility.

According to statistics from Guo's department, 43.3 percent more firehouses need to be set up in China's prefecture-level cities. Fire extinguishing equipment, especially in tall buildings and underground projects, often failed to meet required standards.

The situation in rural areas is even more serious. According to Guo, nearly 70 percent of fires and 60 percent of deaths caused by fires occur in rural areas.

"If a fire takes place in a village, the only fire fighters people can turn to are in nearby cities, which are usually too far away to help," Guo said.

"Some local governments only focused on speedy economic development even if it means sacrificing safety," he said.

In Northwest China's Qinghai Province police found a deadly traffic accident that killed 12 people was in part caused by poor road design along with careless driving.

"Several accidents have already happened on this section of the road," said Yang Jun, director of the Administration of Communications. "The turn there is too sharp, leaving drivers too little time to react."

A similar tragedy killed 24 and injured nine others last December on the Badaling Expressway on the outskirts of Beijing. A five-kilometer section of the road has been nicknamed the "death valley." The cause was officially listed as brake failure.

Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan publicly admitted that road designers increased the grade of the road in order to reduce its overall length and this could cause brake failure in heavily-loaded vehicles.

Officials with the Ministry of Public Security agree that a potential solution would be to provide stiff penalties for those designers and builders who create safety hazards in order to save time or money.

Last May, Beijing completed a safety check on its 40-year-old subway system and found a number of potential safety hazards.

The evaluation calls for 182 subway trains to be phased out by 2007. The subway system is equipped with respirators, blast shelters, fire extinguishers, warning systems along with smoke emission and fire control systems.

Experts believe that the subway network's security has greatly improved, setting a very good example for other facilities in the prevention of potential public tragedies.

Source: Xinhua