National Fire and Rescue Bureau: 77,000 Fire Incidents Reported Since October, with Significant Increase in Outdoor Fires

On November 22, the National Fire and Rescue Bureau held a regular press conference to introduce the recent fire safety situation and current fire and rescue work.
Wang Wei, Senior Commander of the National Fire and Rescue Bureau’s Office, introduced at the conference that, in terms of the overall fire situation: From October to November 12, a total of 77,000 fires were reported nationwide, resulting in 169 deaths, 256 injuries, and direct property losses of 510 million yuan. Compared with the same period last year, except for a 36.1% decrease in property losses, the number of fires, deaths, and injuries increased by 0.4%, 5%, and 2.8% respectively.
Wang Wei stated that there are five main characteristics: Firstly, outdoor fires have increased significantly. Due to gradually decreasing precipitation and dry vegetation, coupled with agricultural activities such as autumn harvest and sowing, outdoor fires in open spaces, outdoor vegetation, and waste have reached 25,000, up 33.3% month-on-month, accounting for 32.2% of the total fires. The main causes of outdoor fires are leftover fire sources (32.8%), smoking (32.1%), and careless use of fire in daily life (21.1%).
Secondly, residential fires resulting in fatalities are prominent. A total of 28,000 residential fires were reported, with 116 deaths, accounting for 36% of the total number of fires and 68.6% of the total deaths. In terms of the age structure of fatalities, the elderly account for a larger proportion, with 64 deaths among people aged 60 and above, accounting for 55.2% of the total deaths from residential fires.
Thirdly, rural fires continue to rise. A total of 44,000 fires were reported in rural areas, up 8.9% month-on-month. Among them, there were 14,000 fires in rural self-built houses, up 2.0% month-on-month, accounting for 77.2% of the total fires in urban and rural self-built houses. It is worth noting that since October, there have been six major fires nationwide, five of which occurred in rural self-built houses.
Fourthly, fires in business premises have increased. As temperatures drop, indoor activities increase, shopping promotions become more frequent, and human traffic increases, leading to more factors that can induce fires. A total of 116 fires in commercial complexes were reported during this period, up 17.2% month-on-month.
Fifthly, the fire risks in production enterprises and construction sites remain relatively high. As the end of the year approaches, various construction projects and production enterprises are rushing to complete work and production, leading to increased fire hazards. A total of 1,918 fires were reported in production and processing sites, resulting in 8 deaths, and 278 fires were reported in construction sites, up 9.9% month-on-month.