China vows to limit workplace fire hazards

The Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday vowed to limit fire hazards in small workshops in China following frequent fatal factory fires.

There is a high risk of fire at factories where workshops, storehouses and workers' dormitories are all under the same roof, as small fires can easily spread in such conditions, an unidentified official with the ministry warned.

The ministry issued a rule giving specifications on fireproof building materials, firefighting equipment and the layout of escape ways in small workshops, as well as workers' use of dangerous goods, such as ethyl alcohol and paint.

Inflammables and explosives should not be stored in processing areas and emergency exits must be kept unobstructed all the time, under the regulation.

Workshop safety is a major issue in China. A shoe factory fire in the eastern city of Wenling, Zhejiang, killed 16 people in January.

In March, another 11 people were killed in a fire in a family-run clothing workshop in south China's Guangdong Province.