Firefighters trade water hoses for sanitizer spray

For the past two weeks, Shanghai firefighter Shi Chengcheng has not held a water hose in his hands, but a spray gun filled with disinfectant.

Since Puxi, the area of the metropolis west of Huangpu River, was locked down amid the resurgence of COVID-19, Shi's job has temporarily changed from putting out blazes to disinfecting environments.

On Wednesday afternoon, when China Daily arrived in the Jixian community in the city's Huangpu district, Shi was leading a team of about 10 firefighters, all wearing protective clothing and carrying tanks of disinfectant, as they gave the area a thorough spraying.

Extra attention was paid to sanitizing drains, garbage cans and public-use objects that are often touched by residents, such as chairs, tables and doorknobs.

Besides disinfecting communities in the district, Shi and his team are also responsible for sanitizing hotels, alleyways and hospitals in the area.

The government has emphasized that disinfection is key to curbing the spread of the Omicron variant, so Huangpu's firefighters and rescue workers were dispatched earlier this month to carry out the mission.

Shi said he and his team sanitize five to six places every day and that additional work is needed if there are urgent disinfection situations, such as new cases discovered in a building.

In mid-April, the Shanghai government announced a two-week disinfection campaign citywide. It emphasized that buildings with COVID-19 cases must be thoroughly sanitized. Furthermore, major public areas and workplaces such as office buildings, construction sites and care centers for senior citizens also need to be disinfected.

In response, Shi said that about 30 more firefighters were added to the disinfection team in the past week, and sanitization is being carried out more frequently.

"The epidemic is a fight for everyone. I feel responsible for helping safeguard Shanghai, my hometown, and serving residents here, whether I have a water hose in my hands or disinfectant spray," the 30-year-old added.

Since April 8, Shi and his colleagues have disinfected more than 1.41 million square meters in the district－an area equivalent to more than 2,100 soccer fields.

Before the campaign, environmental disinfection had been highlighted as one of the city's major missions during the outbreak. The government clarified that if a positive COVID-19 case is found in a building and moved to a hospital, the building must be sanitized in a timely manner.

While Shanghai is strengthening its local workforce to sanitize compounds and public areas, a team of 33 rescue workers from Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, is working on disinfecting the city.

"We arrived in the city on April 12, and we started our disinfection work the next morning," said He Xingsheng, the team leader, adding that they have worked about 10 hours a day over the past two weeks.

"Besides disinfecting areas required by the Shanghai government, we use our spare time helping residents sanitize their communities," he added.