Fire department plans 5-year overhaul

BEIJING - Airborne and underground firefighting units will be established in the city to further strengthen its ability to fight blazes.

Under the Beijing fire department's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), 54 new fire stations will be established in the next four years, which include a helicopter firefighting and rescue team and six stations for combating fires underground.

"Beijing will face even tougher challenges in the near future with the steady spread of high-rise buildings and underground spaces," Zhang Gaochao, chief of Beijing fire control bureau, said at a news briefing on Friday.