The Ministry of Public Security Wednesday urged a nationwide fire risk overhaul after two separate blazes in large structures killed two people and injured dozens of others in China.
The ministry's fire department said in a statement that fires at public recreation venues, shopping centers and high-rises during the lunar New Year holiday caused great loss to the nation and had a bad impact on society.
It urged local bureaus to take immediate and effective measures for fire prevention and control, including a risk inspection of key venues like shopping centers, markets and construction sites.
It also urged stepped-up publicity campaigns to raise public awareness of fire prevention and learn escape techniques.
On Monday night, a 30-story building that houses a nearly-completed luxury Mandarin Oriental Hotel, part of the new headquarters of the state broadcaster China Central Television in Beijing, was set alight by fireworks. A fireman died and seven people, including six firemen and a construction worker, were injured.
In another development, a fire at a mixed commercial-residential building last Friday in Wuhan City, central China's Hubei Province, killed a 35-year-old man and injured 15 others, including 11 civilians and four firefighters and police.
(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2009)