Funding woes hamper efforts to fight fire
By Zhang Xuanchen |
December 10, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A FUNDING shortage was so severe that soldiers were forced to use mops and brooms to battle grassland fires, including one that killed 22 people and injured four others on a plateau in Sichuan Province last Sunday.
Soldier Hou Xiaowei told the Beijing News that he led a team of 62 soldiers equipped with household items - plastic mops, brooms, water-filled buckets and iron shovels - to extinguish the blaze engulfing grasslands 6 kilometers from the county government seat in Daofu County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze.
Usually some skillful flaps with water-soaked tools are enough to contain the fire razing an area about 320,000 square meters, Hou said.
Grassland fires are fairly common in the area each year between November and May because of dry weather and strong winds.
But this time, the fire on the steep hills was too big for Hou's team to contain. Shortly after they thought they had it contained, the blaze was revived by a strong gale. The wind spread the fire and trapped Hou's team, the Beijing News reported yesterday.
Hou's team was joined by another group of about 30 government workers from the local forestry department.
Hou said only special forest police squads are equipped with professional facilities including wind-driven extinguishers and firefighting grenades.
The police squad didn't arrive with the facilities until 22 people died while battling the blaze.
Hou said two days after the blaze was extinguished, the county received 3.69 million yuan (US$554,330) for fire control from the Ministry of Agriculture.
The county couldn't afford professional firefighting equipment before as the local government has little revenue and there was not much financial support from higher authorities.
Soldier Hou Xiaowei told the Beijing News that he led a team of 62 soldiers equipped with household items - plastic mops, brooms, water-filled buckets and iron shovels - to extinguish the blaze engulfing grasslands 6 kilometers from the county government seat in Daofu County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze.
Usually some skillful flaps with water-soaked tools are enough to contain the fire razing an area about 320,000 square meters, Hou said.
Grassland fires are fairly common in the area each year between November and May because of dry weather and strong winds.
But this time, the fire on the steep hills was too big for Hou's team to contain. Shortly after they thought they had it contained, the blaze was revived by a strong gale. The wind spread the fire and trapped Hou's team, the Beijing News reported yesterday.
Hou's team was joined by another group of about 30 government workers from the local forestry department.
Hou said only special forest police squads are equipped with professional facilities including wind-driven extinguishers and firefighting grenades.
The police squad didn't arrive with the facilities until 22 people died while battling the blaze.
Hou said two days after the blaze was extinguished, the county received 3.69 million yuan (US$554,330) for fire control from the Ministry of Agriculture.
The county couldn't afford professional firefighting equipment before as the local government has little revenue and there was not much financial support from higher authorities.
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