Shenzhen is considering equipping its firefighters with a 100-meter turntable ladder to fight major fires similar to the Shanghai high-rise apartment blaze that killed 58 people Nov. 15.
The ladders used by firefighters were not long enough to reach victims trapped in the building in Shanghai s Jing an District and failed air rescues by helicopters had left rescuers helpless, yesterday s Shenzhen Economic Daily reported.
While urging the firefighting department to learn lessons from the Shanghai fire, Li Ming, head of the city s public security bureau, said he would propose the city government equip firemen with the longer ladder.
A ladder truck is a special vehicle used to fight fires in high-rise buildings, to rescue people from buildings or to carry equipment to higher floors.
The extended height of the world s tallest aerial ladders exceeds 100 meters. However, the ladders are expensive and China s first 100-meter ladder, purchased by the firefighting authority in Hangzhou, cost more than 20 million yuan (US$3 million), the Daily report said. Guangzhou and Wuhai firemen have also been equipped with the ladders.
Shenzhen has more than 40 firefighting turntable ladders, but the highest they can reach is 54 meters, equivalent to the height of a 20-story building.
High-rise buildings and skyscrapers have long been the focus of fire prevention in Shenzhen, said Xu Dongping, head of the city s firefighting department.
Official statistics show that nearly 1,400 fires occurred in Shenzhen from March 2009 to October 2010, killing 19 people and injuring 32, and causing 27.96 million yuan in damage. Of these, 84 fires involved high-rise buildings, most of which were apartment blocks.
Investigators probing the Shanghai fire that ravaged the 28-story high-rise residential building say an energy-saving project that used illegal contracts, unsafe materials and unqualified workers was mainly to blame.
Shanghai fire chief Chen Fei earlier told a news conference that the fire started at around the 10th floor and then spread quickly because bamboo scaffolding had been covered with flammable nylon netting.
Shenzhen has banned the use of polyurethane, a flammable material used in construction and decoration. Xu said all public places and entertainment venues would be ordered to remove the material.
