National Fire Rescue Agency: Major fires are subject to "listed supervision + upgraded investigation" to strictly prevent accountability from being just a superficial response

People’s Finance News, April 8 — At a policy briefing held today (the 8th) by the Ministry of Emergency Management and the National Fire and Rescue Administration, relevant officials from the National Fire and Rescue Administration said that the “Opinions on Further Strengthening Fire Safety Work at the Grassroots Level,” recently issued by the General Office of the State Council, sets clear requirements for fire departments to carry out investigations and handling of fire incidents in accordance with the law. The Opinions aim to improve four fire incident investigation mechanisms and promote a transformation of the fire safety governance model toward pre-incident prevention.

First, for ordinary fires, focus on “tough rectification.” We will strengthen investigations into technical and management responsibilities, thoroughly examine the underlying causes, improve production processes and revise and enhance improve standards through investigations, ensure that measures follow lessons learned, and achieve proactive, precise prevention and control.

Second, improve and refine the filing-and-review system for relatively larger fatal fire incidents. Starting this year, before deliberation, for each relatively larger fatal fire incident, the accident investigation report must be submitted to the National Fire and Rescue Administration for review and final checks, and national fire investigation experts must be dispatched to participate in guidance, in order to prevent investigations from remaining superficial and accountability from stopping at simply pointing out responsibility.

Third, for major fires, “list for supervision + upgraded investigation.” For each major fire, the State Council’s Work Safety Committee lists it for supervision, and the National Fire and Rescue Administration establishes an on-site supervision team. For cases involving serious circumstances and causing major social impact, an upgraded investigation will be conducted. After the case is concluded, the investigation results and detailed facts of the fire will be released to the public, to respond to concerns in an open and transparent manner.

Fourth, clarify “accountability exemption for due diligence.” For firefighting law-enforcement personnel who have strictly fulfilled their duties in accordance with the law, if they meet the conditions, they may be granted exemption from liability or given lighter treatment, thereby encouraging officials in frontline fire services to take responsibility and act, and avoiding the abnormal phenomenon of “there is responsibility in inspection, but no responsibility in not investigating.” (CCTV News)