Keeping Society’s Saviors Safe

　　China needs more experienced professional firefighters who find their job worth the risks

　　Although firefighting is a career filled with danger and sacrifice， the loss of two young firefighters who fell to their deaths while battling a high-rise apartment blaze in Shanghai still shocked and moved the country.

　　On May 1 afternoon， Qian Lingyun， 23， and Liu Jie， 20， were trying to extinguish a 13th floor blaze sweeping through an apartment block when tragedy struck.

　　A member of the public captured the tragic moment when the pair were swept off a balcony. Another anonymous witness said that one firefighter was pushed toward the balcony by a sudden explosion before his colleague tried to grab his hand and save his life. However， the weight was too much for him to hold， and the pair were pulled from the apartment and fell to the pavement below.

　　Their deaths unavoidably dealt another tragic blow to the city’s fire department， which had already lost two young firemen， aging 18 and 23 respectively， earlier this year. On February 4， the two were killed by a building collapsing while they worked to extinguish a warehouse fire.

　　According to the Ministry of Public Security， 144 firefighters from the armed police forces died on duty between 2008 and 2012. According to a report by People’s Police magazine in 2013， the average age of firefighters who have died in the line of duty since 2006 was 24， with the youngest being only 18 years old. In comparison， of the 25 career firefighters killed in the United States in 2013， only five were younger than 30 and only five had less than five years of service.

　　Ma Tingguang， an assistant professor of fire prevention and safety technology with Oklahoma State University of the United States， said that the deaths of the heroic pair might have been avoided if they had had a better knowledge of backdrafts--an explosive resulting from rapid re-introduction of oxygen to a fire in an oxygen-depleted environment， such as the breaking of a window or opening of a door to an enclosed space.

　　He went on to say that the tragedy highlighted a major issue among China’s firefighting forces： the majority of firefighters in China are soldiers of the armed police forces， who devote their two-year military service to the learning process of putting out fires and saving people’s lives during natural disasters. While only a very small proportion of these firefighting soldiers can be promoted to officer positions and have an extended fire service career， firefighters in China are mostly young and inexperienced， which partly explains the high casualty rates.

　　Jin Weiping， the fire chief of Yuncheng， north China’s Shanxi Province， told Banyuetan， a biweekly magazine produced by the Xinhua News Agency， that most firefighters in his firehouse are barely out of their 20s， have little experience and are equipped with only a limited knowledge of self-protection in the field. “Many of them grow to be more experienced at the end of their military service. A firefighter’s short career in China is inconsistent with the increasingly arduous challenges that need experienced personnel，” said Jin.

　　Gao Ming， the fire chief of Jinan， east China’s Shandong Province， said that as a result of the shortened learning process of firefighters， even some commanders are not qualified； the firefighting forces in general， especially younger firefighters， haven’t developed sufficient self-protection awareness in face of enormous dangers.

　　Gao said that the guidelines and tactics in training firefighters in China are more focused on saving lives of other people and fail to put enough emphasis on the safety of firefighters themselves. As a result， younger firefighters often cannot keep a cool head in face of a complex situation. “Some don’t realize that they are about to reach their physical limits until it is too late. This is why many tragedies take place，” said Gao.

　　To overcome this situation， several provinces such as Shandong， Hubei and Anhui， have experimented on hiring contracted firefighters.

　　However， these firefighters， most of whom renew their contracts every two years， are not well compensated. Most of them quit their jobs within a few years and failed to become career firefighters like they were supposed to.

　　In 2001， Qingdao became the first city in Shandong to hire contracted firefighters under a pilot program. By the end of 2003， a total of 4，444 contracted firefighters had been employed in Shandong. However， only 2，414， equivalent to 46 percent， of these firefighters were still working at their jobs by the end of 2011.

　　Ma Xianhong， the fire chief of Shandong， said that the high turnover of these contracted firefighters， which can be attributed to the high risks involved in the job and the relatively low pay and benefits， has hampered the overall efficiency of the fire service. Ma said that many cities don’t allow contracted firefighters over 28 years old， which results in their early retirement.

　　Several provinces have started to institute regulations to extend the contract term for contracted firefighters and significantly raise their income.

　　A new management method on contracted firefighters was issued in Shandong at the end of last year. It stipulates that the contracted firefighters can choose to sign an indefinite employment contract with the firehouse after signing two successive 10-year contracts.

　　“This means that firefighting can be a lifelong career for those willing to do the job，” said Ma.

　　Similarly， Jiangxi Province issued a regulation on contracted firefighters in February， which says that they are entitled to a hardship subsidy and personal accident insurance， which has already covered all firefighting professionals under military service. The regulation also suggests a three-year term for their first contract and a five-year term for the second contract.

　　Observers suggested that China should establish a certification system for fire service employees such as firefighters， fire officers， fire instructors and public fire educators so that only qualified personnel can fill these positions， their hard-earned experience can be recognized and they can obtain benefits that match their skills and competence.

　　The observers believe that such a system will help the large number of armed police soldiers in the fire service to climb the career ladder and become professional firefighters.

　　The certification of fire service professionals is still being implemented， with the national professional standards of construction firefighters only being issued in 2008. These standards have been used by certification centers established in provinces and municipalities since then. The standards divide construction firefighters into junior firefighters， intermediate firefighters， senior firefighters， firefighting engineers and senior firefighting engineers.

　　Jin， the fire chief of Yuncheng， said that the government should overhaul the management of the fire service employees by learning the experience from aboard in designing positions， providing pay and benefits， offering training programs and providing an upward career channel.

　　By Li Li

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