Shanghai residents ill-prepared for fire, shows survey

SHANGHAI - Around half of Shanghai residents couldn’t locate fire-fighting equipment in buildings where they work or live, revealed a survey that was undertaken after a fire in a high-rise building here left at least 53 people dead.

Most city residents have not participated in fire escape exercises, reported Shanghai Daily Thursday citing the survey carried out by Shanghai University’s social science investigation centre.

A massive fire Monday engulfed a 28-storey building and left 53 people dead and over 70 injured.

The high-rise building, which housed 156 families of retired school teachers and is situated at the intersection of Jiaozhou Road and Yuyao Road, was being renovated at the time of the incident.

The survey stated that around 85 percent of the respondents said they had never taken part in a fire drill.

While barely five percent have received training in fire-control and escape procedures, about 25 percent admitted they knew nothing about how to escape in the event of a fire.

Regarding fire-fighting equipment at workplaces and home, 52 percent of the respondents said there was nothing installed in nearby hallways. Nearly 48 percent of the respondents said that they didn’t know how to handle fire-control equipment.

A disaster prevention expert said that though fire drills were held in the city at times, many were held under “ideal circumstances” such as in open areas in the suburbs.