BEIJING - The city's fire department launched its official micro blog on Monday to broadcast information from actual fire scenes and to spread self-rescue tips to residents.

The fire department launched its new media services at weibo.com/beijingxiaofang at news portal Sina.com after a weeklong trial.

Tuo Yunfu, a press officer from the city's fire control authority, said the bureau is looking forward to improving interaction with residents through the new services, which have been branded Beijing Xiao Fang, or Beijing Fire Control.

A special office has been set up to run the micro blog. Four officers will work on 24-hour shifts to cover any significant fires or rescues.

"They all used to sit in offices for most of the time, but from now on, at least one of them will be on the spot to report what's happening at the scene through words, pictures and video clips," Tuo told China Daily.

Another major role the micro blog will play is offering practical fire prevention information and escape tips to the public.

An expert team formed by 30 people, will be on standby 24 hours a day to answer questions from netizens, with topics ranging from fire investigation to fire-fighting equipment.As to information about hidden fire risks, which concern many netizens, Tuo said reports by phone will still be the main channel instead of the micro blog, as will reports of fires breaking out.

More than 4,000 people logged on to the micro-blog service during the first four hours after its launch, and some posts received thousands of forwards and hundreds of comments.

By 6 pm on Monday, the micro blog had attracted 105,000 followers.

Most welcomed the service, with some already starting to inquire about handy fire prevention equipment that can be kept at home. The official micro blog answered questions within minutes.

"In cases of danger and confusion, what we need most are voices from the official and authoritative source. We need such a micro blog," said Li Wenjing, a hostess from CCTV who is publicizing the micro blog.

Some netizens, however, worry that the services may not create better communication between the public and the bureau, and are calling on fire authorities to treat all criticism seriously and try to make changes.

The micro blog was launched about a year after police in Beijing launched their micro blog, which now has about 1.5 million followers.

"New media are a vital channel in public security-related works," said Tuo from the fire bureau.

"We will organize activities for netizens to supervise our rescue work at the scene and visit fire brigades in the future."