Fire Protection Regulations of the People's Republic of China

Chinalaw Provided By Chinalaw Computer-Assisted Legal Research Center, Peking University. FIRE PROTECTION REGULATIONS OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (Adopted at the Fifth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on May 11, 1984, and promulgated by the State Council on May 13, 1984) Contents Chapter I General Provisions Chapter II Fire Prevention Chapter III Fire Protection Organizations Chapter IV Fire Fighting Chapter V Fire Supervision Chapter VI Awards and Punishments Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions CHINALAW No. 197 ISSUING-DEPT: STATE COUNCIL OF CHINA ISSUE-DATE: 05/13/1984 IMPLEMENT-DATE: 10/01/1984 TEXT: CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS [Article 1] These Regulations are formulated to strengthen fire protection, safeguard socialist modernization and protect public property and the lives and property of citizens. [Article 2] The policy of "put prevention first and combine prevention with elimination" shall be implemented for fire protection. [Article 3] Fire protection shall be effected and supervised by public security organs. Fire protection of the various units of the People's Liberation Army, state-owned forests and the underground areas of mines shall be effected and supervised by the departments in charge of them with the assistance of public security organs. CHAPTER II FIRE PREVENTION [Article 4] When building, extending or rebuilding a city, the city planning and construction departments must concurrently plan and build public fire protection facilities, including fire stations, a water supply for fire fighting, fire service communications, and passageways for fire apparatus. In urban areas where existing public fire protection facilities are insufficient or unfit for actual needs, such facilities shall undergo technical renovation, rebuilding or expansion. [Article 5] The design and construction of new, expanded or reconstructed buildings shall conform to the stipulations of the Fire Prevention Code for Architectural Designs issued by the relevant authorities of the State Council. [Article 6] The design and construction of houses in the countryside shall conform to the stipulations of the Fire Prevention Code for Rural Architectural Designs issued by the relevant authorities of the State Council. [Article 7] Outdoor fires in forest areas or on grasslands shall be prohibited during the fire prevention periods in those areas. If it is necessary to build a fire under special circumstances, approval shall be obtained from the people's governments at the county level or their authorized organs, and strict surveillance measures shall be taken in accordance with relevant regulations. [Article 8] New factories, warehouses and special purpose stations and wharves designed for producing, storing, loading and unloading combustible or explosive chemicals shall be built in safe places and shall be examined and approved by the local city or county people's government. If existing establishments gravely interfere with fire safety, the departments in charge shall take effective measures to solve the problem. [Article 9] Units that produce, use, store or transport combustible or explosive chemicals must comply with the regulations issued by the relevant authorities of the State Council concerning the safe control of combustible and explosive chemicals. Persons ignorant of the properties of combustible and explosive chemicals and their safe handling methods shall not be allowed to take part in the handling and safekeeping of such chemicals. [Article 10] The departments in charge of communications and transport, fishery, investigation of marine resources, and prospecting shall regulate fire safety measures according to the particularities of aircraft, vessels and vehicles and shall instruct employees and passengers to strictly abide by those measures. [Article 11] In public places where people congregate, fire escapes and exits must be kept unobstructed. Rules governing the use of fire and electricity and the control of combustibles and explosives shall be established and strictly adhered to. Inspections and patrols shall be reinforced to ensure safety. [Article 12] Units that produce combustible or explosive chemicals shall include with their products information on the ignition points, flash points and explosion limits of the products and precautions against fire and explosion. [Article 13] Enterprises and institutions using new materials, new equipment or new technology must investigate their specific fire hazard characteristics and take proper fire safety measures. [Article 14] A responsibility system for fire prevention shall be enforced in government organs, enterprises and institutions. Residents' committees in cities and villagers' committees in rural areas shall be responsible for mobilizing and organizing the inhabitants to effectively prevent fires. [Article 15] Government organs, enterprises and institutions shall install appropriate types and quantities of fire-fighting apparatus, equipment and facilities as needed for fire suppression. CHAPTER III FIRE PROTECTION ORGANIZATIONS [Article 16] Enterprises and institutions shall organize volunteer fire brigades or select volunteer firemen from among their staff to be responsible for fire prevention and suppression. The necessary expenses shall be borne by the enterprise or institution concerned. [Article 17] Large and medium-sized enterprises and relatively large institutions which have high fire risks and are situated rather far from a local public security fire brigade (station) shall, in light of their needs, set up full-time fire brigades responsible for fire protection in their establishments. The necessary expenses shall be borne by the enterprise or institution concerned. [Article 18] Public security fire brigades (stations) shall be set up in newly constructed cities and extended and reconstructed urban areas on the principle that within five minutes of receiving an alarm a fire engine should be able to reach the fringes of the area for which its fire brigade (station) is responsible. In cities where the existing fire brigades (stations) do not conform to the above provision, more fire brigades (stations) shall be added in stages. In towns and industrial and mining areas, public security fire brigades (stations) shall be set up according to needs. Existing fire brigades (stations) which do not have enough fire fighting apparatus, equipment and facilities shall make up the insufficiency gradually. CHAPTER IV FIRE FIGHTING [Article 19] When any unit or individual detects a fire, he or it should immediately and accurately report it to the fire brigade and take an active part in fighting the fire. When a fire breaks out, the unit concerned shall promptly mobilize people to fight it. Neighbouring units should give it active support. Upon receiving an alarm, a fire brigade shall promptly rush to the scene of the fire to fight it. [Article 20] Fire fighting at the scene of a fire shall be organized and directed by the fire supervision body. The commanding officer at the scene of the fire shall have the authority, according to circumstances, to deploy the fire brigades of enterprises and institutions in a coordinated effort to extinguish the fire. [Article 21] The commanding officer at the scene of a fire shall have the authority to decide on the dismantling of buildings and structures adjacent to the scene of the fire if such dismantling is needed to avoid major losses due to spread of the fire. In an emergency, he shall have the authority to mobilize forces from the departments of communications and transport, water supply, electric power supply, telecommunications, medical and first aid services and environmental sanitation. [Article 22] When fire engines or fire boats are rushing to the scene of a fire, other vehicles, vessels and persons shall make way for them. If necessary, fire engines and fire boats may use roads, open grounds and waterways normally closed to traffic. Traffic controllers shall ensure the quick passage of fire engines and fire boats. [Article 23] Fire engines, fire boats and other fire-fighting apparatus, equipment and facilities may not be used for any purpose unrelated to fire protection, except in emergencies and for providing disaster relief. [Article 24] A unit that has experienced a fire shall, in accordance with the stipulations laid down by the relevant authorities of the State Council, provide medical care and/or pensions for the people wounded or disabled in the course of fighting the fire who were not employees of the state; the unit shall also provide pensions for the families of those killed in the process who were not employees of the state. If the unit that experienced the fire was not responsible for having caused the fire or is truly unable to bear such expenses, or if the fire was caused by a resident, the medical care and pensions shall be provided by the local people's government. CHAPTER V FIRE SUPERVISION [Article 25] The public security organs at the county level and above shall set up fire supervision bodies to be responsible for fire supervision. [Article 26] The fire supervision bodies at various levels shall exercise the following functions and power (1) supervise and inspect fire protection activity in the various departments, units and civilian houses in accordance with these Regulations and relevant government regulations; (2) spread knowledge of fire protection among the public and oversee the elimination of fire hazards by relevant establishments; (3) examine the fire safety measures and technical standards adopted by various departments, enterprises and institutions; (4) supervise and inspect construction projects in the design and construction stages for implementation of the Fire Prevention Code for Architectural Designs and take part in the examination and acceptance of the completed projects; (5) supervise and inspect the planning and construction of public fire protection facilities in urban construction and see to the maintenance and improvement of urban public fire protection facilities by urban construction and management departments; (6) keep informed on fire situations and compile statistics on fires; (7) direct fire-fighting forces and train their officers and firemen; (8) organize and direct fire fighting in a unified way; (9) organize investigations into the causes of fires; (10) direct research in the science and technology of fire protection and evaluate and popularize the results of such research; and (11) oversee quality control in the production of fire-fighting apparatus and equipment. [Article 27] Upon discovering a fire hazard, the fire supervision body at any level should promptly notify the units or individuals concerned to take measures to eliminate the hazard within a prescribed period. [Article 28] The fire supervision bodies at various levels shall be staffed with fire supervisors who possess professional fire protection knowledge. The fire supervisors shall supervise and inspect fire protection activity in the units and civilian houses in their assigned areas. CHAPTER VI AWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS [Article 29] Units and individuals that have made contributions to or performed outstanding services in fire protection shall be commended and given awards by public security organs, higher authorities or their own units. [Article 30] In cases of serious violation of these Regulations and refusal to carry out corrective measures as notified by the fire supervision bodies, the persons responsible shall be punished by the public security organs in accordance with the Regulations on Administrative Penalties for Public Security or shall be subjected to administrative sanctions by relevant authorities. In the case of a fire due to a violation of these Regulations, the persons responsible shall be investigated for their criminal responsibility in accordance with the law. In cases of minor violations, the persons responsible shall be punished by public security organs in accordance with the Regulations on Administrative Penalties for Public Security or shall be subjected to administrative sanctions by relevant authorities. CHAPTER VII SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS [Article 31] The Ministry of Public Security shall, in accordance with these Regulations, formulate rules for their implementation and shall submit them to the State Council for approval before they are put into effect. [Article 32] These Regulations shall come into force as of October 1, 1984. On the same day, the Fire Supervision Regulations adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on November 29, 1957, shall be invalidated.