More professional firefighting service needed
Updated: 2015-01-06 07:48
By Fan Xinhai(China Daily)
|
||||||||
However, the limited term of service has led to the too-frequent turnover of most Chinese firemen. According to statistics, in 70 fires that involved firefighter casualties between 2005 and 2013, more than 64 percent of all the firefighters who were killed had served less than four years. In some cases, there was hardly even a qualified and experienced officer leading a group of "boy scouts" to quench a terrible fire - surely a contributing factor in the number of deaths.
Simply assigning more firefighters to local fire departments may not be a feasible solution, given the various limitations in local manning quotas and the lack of proper management. Under the current circumstances, it is better to start promoting higher education of a firefighting major in military academies so as to produce more qualified commanders. Second, advanced fire equipment should be assigned to junior firefighters in their training. More importantly, the personnel makeup in the fire services needs to be optimized to accommodate more firemen on the front line.
Moreover, a higher level of professionalism needs to be achieved by the firefighting departments at all levels, as this would enhance efficiency and reduce the turnover rate to allow more time for the firemen to receive proper training.
Last but not least, improvement of firefighter's occupational health will also be a boost to their competence as a whole. Firefighting is a risky profession and the normal health examination, which is still adopted by many fire departments, only focuses on firemen's physical health. Hence, perceptually invisible illnesses such as the mental and chemical damages that firefighters suffer during an action, should be cared about as well.
The author is the director of Qinghai Public Security Fire Corps Hospital in Xining of Qinghai province.
- Inspection teams to cover all of military in anti-corruption drive
- Tornado, heavy rain batters Central China's Hunan
- Beijing's five-year plan: Cut population, boost infrastructure
- Palace Museum discovers relics buried for over 600 years
- Disney promises ‘safe, pleasing service of high quality’
- Couple detained for selling their two sons
- Rousseff: Accusations against her 'untruthful'
- Almost one-sixth of Brazil's confirmed microcephaly cases linked to Zika
- Impeachment trial against Rousseff recommended to senate
- With nomination secured, Trump to aim all guns at Hillary Clinton
- Obama sips Flint water, urges children be tested for lead
- Massive protests against Abe mark Japan's Constitution Memorial Day
- Raging wildfire spreads to more areas in west Canada
- World's first rose museum to open in Beijing
- Teapot craftsman makes innovation, passes down techniques
- Top 8 iOS apps recommend for mothers
- Five things you may not know about the Start of Summer
- Art imagines celebrities as seniors
- Japanese animator Miyazaki's shop a big hit in Shanghai
- Star Wars Day celebrated around world
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Anti-graft campaign targets poverty relief |
Cherry blossom signal arrival of spring |
In pictures: Destroying fake and shoddy products |
China's southernmost city to plant 500,000 trees |
Cavers make rare finds in Guangxi expedition |
Cutting hair for Longtaitou Festival |
Today's Top News
Liang avoids jail in shooting death
China's finance minister addresses ratings downgrade
Duke alumni visit Chinese Embassy
Marriott unlikely to top Anbang offer for Starwood: Observers
Chinese biopharma debuts on Nasdaq
What ends Jeb Bush's White House hopes
Investigation for Nicolas's campaign
Will US-ASEAN meeting be good for region?
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |