State Fire Rescue Bureau: Major fire incidents will be placed under special supervision and escalated investigation to ensure accountability reaches all relevant levels.

At the policy briefing held today by the Ministry of Emergency Management and the National Fire and Rescue Bureau, relevant officials from the National Fire and Rescue Bureau introduced that the "Opinions on Further Strengthening Grassroots Firefighting Work" recently issued by the General Office of the State Council clearly requires fire departments to carry out fire accident investigations and handling in accordance with the law. The document also calls for the establishment of four mechanisms for fire accident investigations to promote the transformation of firefighting safety governance towards proactive prevention. Firstly, for general fires, there should be a focus on "rectification after investigation." It is necessary to strengthen technical and management responsibility investigations, thoroughly investigate the root causes, improve production processes through investigations, revise and improve standards, and ensure that work measures follow the lessons learned to achieve proactive and precise prevention and control. Secondly, it is important to establish and improve the system for reviewing records of major fires with fatalities. Starting this year, every accident investigation report of a major fire with fatalities must be reviewed by the National Fire and Rescue Bureau before approval, and national fire investigation experts will be dispatched to provide guidance to prevent superficial investigations and ensure accountability. Thirdly, for major fires, there will be "supervised investigations + escalated investigations." The State Council Work Safety Committee will supervise each major fire, and the National Fire and Rescue Bureau will set up an on-site supervisory team. For fires with severe consequences and significant social impact, escalated investigations will be carried out. After the case is closed, the investigation results and details of the fire will be made public to respond to public concerns in an open and transparent manner. Finally, the policy clarifies the concept of "diligence and non-liability." Fire law enforcement officers who have strictly performed their duties in accordance with the law may be exempted from liability or receive lenient treatment if they meet the conditions. This is to encourage frontline fire cadres to take responsibility and avoid the abnormal phenomenon of "finding fault when inspecting, and no fault when not."