For the purpose of earnestly strengthening this Municipality’s work of fire fighting and prevention, further clarifying the job responsibility of governments at all levels and their relevant competent administrative departments and  social units for the work of fire fighting and prevention, safeguarding the safety of the masses’ life and property, and ensuring the economic development and social stability, in accordance with the provisions of such laws and regulations as the “Fire Fighting and Prevention Law of the People’s Republic of China”, the “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safe Production” and the “Regulations of the State Council on Investigating and Affixing the Administrative Responsibility for Exceptionally Serious Safety-related Accidents” and the spirit of the “Suggestions on Further Carrying out the Job Responsibility System for the Work of Fire Fighting and Prevention” made by the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Supervision and the State Administration of Safe Production Supervision, and in the light of the actual circumstances of this Municipality, we hereby put forward the following suggestions on further carrying out the job responsibility system for the work of fire fighting and prevention in this Municipality:

I. The job responsibility of various organs, organizations, enterprises and institutions for the work of fire fighting and prevention

1. Various organs, organizations, enterprises and institutions (hereinafter referred to as Unit) are the job responsibility subjects of the work of fire fighting and prevention within their own Units, the main persons-in-charge of the Units are the responsible persons of the fire fighting and prevention work within their own Units.

2. All Units shall abide by the laws, rules and regulations on fire fighting and prevention, and fulfill according to law the duties for safety from fire accidents. They shall establish a sound system for safety from fire accidents, clarify and carry out the level-by-level and post responsibility for safety from fire accidents, determine the responsible person in charge and full-time (part-time) managerial persons for safety from fire accidents, strengthen the self-management, self-check and self-rectification for safety from fire accidents so as to ensure the safety of their own Units from fire accidents.

3. The fire facilities, fire extinguishing equipment and warning signs for safety from fire accidents shall be kept in good repair and effective. Evacuation passageways and safe exits shall be marked in the places for commercial use, and shall be prohibited from being blocked, occupied for other purposes and locked so as to ensure a smooth passage.

4. Any potential fire hazards shall be eliminated in time. Where there exist potential fire hazards that can be rectified on the spot, they must be rectified on the spot; where there exist potential fire hazards that cannot be rectified on the spot, the measures, plans, funds and responsibility for the rectification must be implemented. During the period of rectifying potential fire hazards, effective measures must be adopted to ensure no fire accidents to occur; in case of inability to guarantee against occurrence of fire accidents, the hazardous spots shall be stopped from use by themselves until the elimination of potential fire hazards.

5. Publicity and education and training in the interest of fire fighting and prevention shall be strengthened to enhance the employees’ awareness of safety from fire accidents and strengthen the employees’ capability of self-protection and self-saving so that the employees can report fire, put out fire at its initial stage and save themselves by escaping from fire. The commercial places shall actively publicize among customers the common knowledge about fire prevention, fire extinguishment and escaping from fire. Schools and kindergartens shall, by means of various forms, strengthen the education on the common knowledge about safety from fire accidents for students and children.

6. After the outbreak of a fire, it is imperative to alert the police, and organize and direct the persons present on the scene to evacuate and put out the fire at its initial stage.

7. A fire-prone unit shall keep a fire prevention file, identify the key spots that are vital to safety from fire accidents, set up warning signs for fire prevention, and strictly implement the system of making daily inspections for fire prevention, and keep a good record of such inspections. It shall also establish and manage its own full-time (voluntary) fire brigade, and provide corresponding fire equipment and materials, formulate the predetermined schemes for fire extinguishment and emergency evacuation and organize one fire drill every half a year.

8. The crowded places and the units producing, using, operating, storing, and transporting dangerous inflammable and explosive chemicals shall take the initiative in signing the “Guarantee for Safety from Fire Accidents” with public security organs or public security substations and consciously fulfill the promise for safety from fire accidents; shall carry out the daily inspections for fire prevention, regularly conduct all-round inspections for fire prevention and rectify in time any acts in violation of regulations; shall conduct the training in the interest of safety from fire accidents for the employees, formulate the predetermined schemes for fire extinguishment and emergency evacuation, and organize one fire drill every half a year.

9. The crowded places such as shops, catering and public recreational places with the floorage of between not less than 300m2 and not more than 1000m2, and the storehouses of dangerous inflammable and explosive chemicals with the floorage of not less than 100m2(with the exception of those unsuitable for treatment with water) shall be fitted with water sprayer or simple water spray installation.

10. The units that engage in large-scale production, are exposed to considerable danger of fire and are far away from public fire stations must, according to relevant regulations of the State, set up, by themselves or jointly with other units, full-time fire brigades. The full-time fire brigades shall accept the command and direction of public security organs, and shall not be removed or merged without authorization.

11. The construction management units in the development zones and industrial zones shall, strictly according to the State fire technical standard and norm, construct the municipal fire pipeline network and fire hydrant system. The suburban areas that are short of fire water resources shall set up fire water tanks by themselves or jointly with other departments, or set up fire truck passageways and water-drawing berths on the banks of the rivers that are rich in water resources, so as to ensure the supply of fire demand.

12.The super-high-rise building construction units or high-rise building public construction units that are installed with the automatic alerting system of fire alarm, and the public construction units and underground units with the floorage of  not less than 5000m2 shall actively participate in the city’s network of the automatic fire alerting system.

13. The units that sponsor, undertake and provide the venues for large-scale activities with potential fire hazards shall, at the time of concluding contract, determine the responsibility of all parties for safety from fire accidents. The sponsoring units shall, prior to holding the activities, submit an application report to public security fire organs at least seven work days ahead of time, and can only hold the activities upon passing the check on safety from fire accidents. During the period of activities, the management in the interest of safety from fire accidents shall be strengthened, and the fire prevention measures shall be implemented.

II. The job responsibility of neighborhood (villager) autonomous organizations and residential property management enterprises for the work of fire fighting and prevention

14. Neighborhood (villager) committees shall conscientiously implement the spirit of the “Suggestions on Further Strengthening the Work of Fire Fighting and Prevention  in Communities” made by the Municipal Public Security Bureau and the Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, appoint full-time (part-time) fire management persons, strengthen the publicity and education on the laws and regulations relating to fire fighting and prevention and the knowledge about fire prevention among residents (villagers), urge communities, rural units and individual persons to abide by fire fighting and prevention laws and regulations; draw up and publish residents’ (villagers’) conventions on fire prevention and safety and organize residents (villagers), compulsory fire brigades and voluntary fire brigades to conduct various kinds of activities for fire fighting and prevention.

15. The property owners’ conference(property owners’ committee) of the residential quarters shall actively organize and urge all the property owners or users to do well in ensuring the safety of residential property from fire accidents, cooperate with and support the neighborhood committee to launch the community work of fire fighting and prevention, urge property management enterprises to fulfill the various items of obligations for fire safety management and service set in the contract, and according to relevant laws, regulations and technical standards and norms, decide in time to use the housing maintenance fund to conduct maintenance and renewal to fire facilities.

16. The residential property management enterprises shall, according to relevant laws, regulations and the contract for property management service, strengthen the publicity and education on safety from fire accidents among the property owners or users, opportunely advise against and stop the acts in violation of the laws and regulation relating to fire fighting and prevention and the provisions on the management in the interest of safety from fire accidents; shall conduct inspection for safety from fire accidents in  the public-use spots in the property management areas, ensure a smooth passage at evacuation passageways, safe exits and fire truck passageways, and keep the fire facilities in good condition and effective. Where it is necessary to use the housing maintenance fund to conduct maintenance and renewal to fire facilities, a report shall be submitted in time to the property owner conference (property owner committee) for decision.

III. The job responsibility of relevant competent administrative departments for the work of fire fighting and prevention

17. Competent administrative departments of education at all levels shall bear the responsibility of organization, leadership and coordination in the work of fire fighting and prevention at schools. The education on safety from accidents shall be incorporated into the schooling content to educate students to understand and grasp the basic knowledge about safety from fire accidents, the basic self-protection technique such as escaping from fire accidents. The supervision and administration over the schools’ work of fire fighting and prevention shall be strengthened, schools shall be regularly organized and urged to conduct inspection for safety from fire accidents, and the job responsibility system for the work of fire fighting and prevention shall be implemented level by level to eliminate potential fire hazards.

18. Safe production supervision departments at all levels shall be responsible for the safety supervision and administration of dangerous chemicals, and organize the drawing up and implementation of the predetermined scheme of emergency rescue for dangerous chemicals. They shall, according to law,  strengthen the safety supervision and administration on dangerous chemicals in such links as production, use, operation and storage, conduct the examination on the setting up and rebuilding and extension of the producing and stocking enterprises of dangerous chemicals, and jointly with the quality and technical supervision departments, examine and decide according to law the location of the professional enterprises producing the packing materials and containers of dangerous chemicals, and issue according to law the permit of safe production and the operation permit of dangerous chemicals to the producing enterprises of dangerous chemicals.

19. Fuel gas administrative departments at all levels shall strengthen the safety supervision and administration on the fuel gas products in such fields as production, circulation and use, find out and eliminate in time the potential perils that may lead to fuel gas leakage, explosion and fire accidents, and steadily enhance the fuel gas product quality and the industrial management level.

20. Quality and technical supervision departments and the competent administrative departments of industry and commerce at all levels shall strengthen the supervision and administration on fire fighting and prevention products in the fields of production and circulation, sternly crack down on the acts of producing and selling fake and inferior fire fighting and prevention products, and enhance the overall quality of fire fighting and prevention products.

21. Competent departments of culture, public health, economy and trade, tourism, civil defense, and construction shall, according to law, strengthen the supervision and administration on the work of fire fighting and prevention in their own industries and systems. With the public recreational places, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, underground space and the workplaces of construction projects as the key point, the above-mentioned competent departments shall, according to their respective duties, direct and urge relevant units to strengthen the work of safety from fire accident, urge the rectification of the potential fire hazards, and guarantee the safety of their own industries and systems from fire accidents.

22. Administrative departments of civil affairs, and housing, land and resources at all levels shall actively participate in the supervision and direction of the work of fire fighting and prevention launched by neighborhood (villager) autonomous organizations and residential property management enterprises, and push ahead with the work of fire fighting and prevention in the urban communities and rural areas.

23. Competent administrative departments of development and reform, and planning at all levels shall organize the perfection and implementation of the planning for fire fighting and prevention, and according to law, make strict checks on the examination and approval of the planning. Any planning that lacks the content of fire fighting and prevention or is irrational in layout, shall not be examined and approved; in examining and approving construction projects, the requirements of the planning for fire fighting and prevention shall be complied with, and the land for the use in fire fighting and prevention be ensured.

24. Competent administrative departments of development and reform, finance, construction, water affairs, civil engineering, communications at all levels shall actively push forward the construction, administration and maintenance of urban public fire facilities such as public fire stations, fire water resources, fire truck passageways and fire communications, ensure the availability of all items of fire funds, lose no time in solving the problem of historical “arrears”, and guarantee the public fire infrastructure facilities are intact and in good condition.

25. Competent administrative departments of justice, labor and social security, and science and technology at all levels shall, according to law, list the laws and regulations relating to fire fighting and prevention and the knowledge about safety from fire accidents into the content of the work of popularizing law and science.

26. Competent administrative departments of press and publication, broadcasting, film and TV and culture at all levels shall, according to law, strengthen the direction, supervision and urging of all kinds of media to conduct the publicity on fire fighting and prevention, actively push forward with social publicity and education on fire fighting and prevention, and enhance in an all-round way citizens’ quality of safety from fire accidents.

27. With regard to the work of fire fighting and prevention in the systems of water surface, railway, civil aviation, and army, their competent administrative departments shall be responsible for the supervision and administration over the work of fire fighting and prevention in their own systems, according to the provisions of relevant laws and regulations.

 IV. The job responsibility of public security fire agencies and public security substations for the work of fire fighting and prevention

28. Public security fire organs at all levels and all public security substations shall, under the organization and leadership of the public security organ at the same level, and according to the provisions of relevant laws and regulations, conscientiously fulfill the duties of exercising supervision over the work of fighting, preventing and extinguishing fire, doing rescue work and so on.

29. Public security fire organs at all levels and all public security substations shall, according to law, conduct supervision and inspection on the situation of all units’ abiding by the laws, rules and regulations relating to fire fighting and prevention, and investigate and handle the acts in violation of the laws, rules and regulations relating to fire fighting and prevention. Among them, public security fire organs shall be responsible for conducting supervision and inspection on the work of fire fighting and prevention in the fire-prone organizations, and public security substations shall be responsible for conducting fire supervision and inspection on the work of fire fighting and prevention in the units other than the fire-prone organizations.

(1)Where potential fire hazards are found in the course of the supervision and inspection, the party concerned shall be ordered to make rectification on the spot; where on-the-spot rectification cannot be made, the party concerned shall be ordered to make rectification within a prescribed time limit and be ordered to adopt effective measures to prevent the occurrence of fire accidents during the period of rectification; in case of failure to make rectification after the deadline, the party concerned shall be subjected to administrative punishment according to law. Where there are major potential fire hazards that cannot be rectified within three months, or the commercial places have been ordered to make rectification within a prescribed time limit but fail to do so, the party concerned shall be ordered to stop the production, or business or use; where it is necessary to order a partial stop of production or business or use, a partial stop of production or business or use shall be ordered. Where the decision on the imposition of punishment for acts against fire fighting and prevention is not implemented within the prescribed time limit, an application shall be made to the court for enforcement.

(2)In the case of ordering the commercial places to stop production or business that may have a considerable effect on economic and social life, a report shall be submitted in time to the local government above the district or county level for it to make decision according to law.

(3) Where major potential fire hazards are found in hospitals, old-care homes, schools, kindergartens, nurseries, metros, units with inflammable and explosive goods while such units really have not the capability of working out a solution by themselves, or where the major potential fire hazards in local areas affect public security and are hard to rectify, a timely report shall be submitted to the local government above the district or county level for coordination and settlement.

30. Public security fire organs and public security substations at all levels shall go deep into the Units and communities and rural areas to publicize and popularize the laws, rules and regulations relating to  fire fighting and prevention and the knowledge about safety from fire accidents.

31.The public security fire organs shall strictly carry out the system of being on duty for war preparations, ensure personnel and equipment remaining in the good condition of war preparation at all times; shall familiarize themselves with the situation of the roads, fire water resources and key Units in the areas under their jurisdiction, draw up and perfect the predetermined scheme for extinguishing fire, strengthen on-the-spot drills; and after receiving a report of fire, shall lose no time in arriving at the scene, and go all out to rescue the persons in danger and extinguish fire.

V. The job responsibility of governments at all levels for the work of fire fighting and prevention

32. Governments at all levels shall practise the leadership responsibility system of the work of fire fighting and prevention, and their main leaders and leaders assigned with the personal responsibility shall be responsible for the work of fire fighting and prevention in their administrative area.

33. Governments at all levels shall incorporate the work of fire fighting and prevention into the plans for national economy and social development in their administrative areas, establish the mechanism for guaranteeing the funds for fire fighting and prevention, and ensure the coordinated development of the work of fire fighting and prevention and the economy and society in local areas.

34. Governments at all levels shall establish and implement the system of joint conference on safety from fire accidents. The leaders assigned with the personal responsibility for the work of fire fighting and prevention of the governments at all levels shall take the lead, regularly organize the research and arrange the strengthening of the work of fire fighting and prevention in the own areas, and conduct every year at least one round of inspection and appraisal on the situation of the fulfilling of the duty for fire fighting and prevention on the part of the relevant departments of the government at the same level and the subordinate governments (sub-district offices).

35. Governments at all levels shall organize and urge the relevant departments of the government at the same level and the subordinate governments to implement according to law the “Planning of Shanghai Municipality on Fire Fighting and Prevention”. When drawing up the regional planning, all districts or counties shall incorporate into it the content of planning for the work of fire fighting and prevention, and implement it in synchronization with the construction of key cities, new cities and other towns.

36. Governments at all levels shall organize and urge the relevant departments of the government at the same level and the subordinate governments to strengthen according to law the construction of public fire infrastructures such as urban public fire stations, municipal fire water resources, fire truck passageways, fire communications, fire equipment, and steadily promote the city’s capability of fighting against fire accidents.

37. Governments at all levels shall actively explore the establishment of the contract system for the ranks of firemen, strictly control the removal and merger of the full-time fire ranks of industrial enterprises, push forward with the construction of the full-time fire ranks of town/townships, develop the community’s compulsory fire ranks, vigorously strengthen the construction of fire ranks of multiple forms, and promote in an all-round way the personnel quality and fighting capability of the fire ranks in this Municipality.

38. Governments at all levels shall research and coordinate in time the settlement of the major problems relating to fire fighting and prevention and the major potential fire hazards in their own areas, and coordinate in time the handling of the suggestions on imposing punishment by ordering relevant units to stop production or business, submitted by public security fire organs.

39. Governments at all levels shall establish the emergency rescue mechanism for particularly serious fire accidents, and shall organize the drawing up of the predetermined emergency schemes and conduct drills with regards to the places having a considerable effect on public security, such as high-rise buildings, underground buildings and grounds for producing and storing dangerous inflammable and explosive chemicals, and steadily improve the city’s capability of handling particularly serious fire accidents.

40. Governments at all levels shall organize and do well in the investigation and handling of fire accidents. For a particularly serious fire accident causing death to more than 10 persons(10 included, same below), or serious injury to more than 20 persons, or death and serious injury to a total of more than 20 persons, the Municipal People’s Government shall organize a work group to make investigation; for a major fire accident causing death to between not fewer than 6 persons and not more than 10 persons, or serious injury to between not fewer than 16 persons and not more than 20 persons, or death and serious injury to a total of between not fewer than 16 persons and not more than 20 persons, the district/county government shall organize a work group to make investigation; for a major fire accident causing death to between not fewer than 3 persons and not more than 6 persons, or serious injury to between not fewer than 10 persons and not more than 16 persons, or death or serious injury to a total of between not fewer than 10 persons and not more than 16 persons, the town/township people’s governments or sub-district offices shall organize a work group to make investigation. After the end of the investigation work, an investigation report shall be submitted to the government at a higher level. When a particularly serious fire accident causing death to a total of more than 30 persons happens, it is necessary to submit a report to the State Council asking for the dispatch of a work group to make investigation.

Where the laws and regulations provide otherwise on the investigation and handling on the production and operational units in which occur fire accidents causing casualties of employees, such provisions shall prevail.

41. After the occurrence of a fire accident, the investigation of the fire accident shall be organized in accordance with the principle of “not letting off the case if the cause of the accident is not found out, if the responsible person(s) is not dealt with, if the rectification measures are not implemented, and if the person(s) concerned is not taught a lesson”, so as to find out the cause of the fire accidents, and investigate and deal with the related units and person(s) for liability according to law.

42. The government in the locality where any particularly serious and major fire accident occurs shall make known to the public in time the basic situation, loss, cause, lesson and the handling result of the fire accidents, organize media to conduct objective and accurate reportage, correctly guide social opinions, educate and alert various units and the broad masses of citizens in the local area so as to enhance the masses’ awareness of safety from fire accidents.

VI. The investigation of the liability for the work of fire fighting and prevention

43. Where a fire accident happens in a unit that fails to fulfill the duties for safety from fire accidents according to law, the persons-in-charge bearing direct responsibility and other directly responsible persons shall be subjected to administrative sanction or administrative punishment according to law; where a unit fails to conduct rectification within a prescribed time limit though it has been notified by the public security fire organ or the public security sub-station to do so, with the result that a fire accident occurs, and the case constitutes a crime, the unit shall be prosecuted for criminal liability according to law.

44.Where a neighborhood (villager) committee fails to fulfill the duties for fire fighting and prevention, thus resulting in a fire accident, it shall bear corresponding responsibility according to related laws, rules and regulations; where the property owners’ conference (property owners’ committee) of a residential quarter or a residential property management enterprise fails to fulfill the duties for fire fighting and prevention, it shall bear corresponding responsibility according to related laws, rules and regulations and the agreement made in the property management service contract.

45.A public security fire organ or a public security sub-station that finds potential fire hazards but fails to notify the related units to make rectification or does not enforce law according to the stipulated procedure shall be prosecuted for the liability of fault in law enforcement; where the public security fire organ receives a report of fire but fails to make a move in time, it shall be subjected to administrative sanction; in the case of abusing power for personal gains, neglecting duty, or playing favouritism by bending the law, severe punishment shall be imposed; if its wrongful act constitutes a crime, it shall be prosecuted for criminal liability as provided by law.

46. Where the main leaders and the leaders assigned with personal responsibility for the work of fire fighting and prevention in the governments at all levels and the persons-in-charge of the relevant departments fail to fulfill their duties for fire fighting and prevention, they shall be criticized by a circular notice; if the case is serious, administrative sanction shall be imposed; if their wrongful act constitutes a crime, they shall be prosecuted for criminal liability as provided by law.

47. With regard to the governments and their relevant departments, institutions and state-owned (holding) enterprises in the locality where particularly serious fire accidents occur, their main leaders and relevant State civil servants that bear grave responsibility therefor shall be subjected to administrative sanction if the case is not serious enough to justify the prosecution for criminal liability.