Beijing Party chief hits nail on the head

THE NOV 18 FIRE at a cold storage basement in a building in Beijing's Daxing district, which claimed 19 lives, was reportedly caused by faulty wiring and flammable materials. After an investigation, 20 people have been detained by the police. Beijing Daily commented on Tuesday:

The building, which housed a number of workshops and cubicles, as well as the cold storage basement, was rife with safety hazards. The subsequent citywide investigation of such buildings suggests that many of them are simultaneously used for storage, production and housing, and many have been found to have safety risks, from combustible materials in workers' dormitories to overstaffed, ill-maintained workshops-cum-dormitories.

Fire risks like these mean that even a tiny spark could result in a fatal blaze. Illegally built warehouses and apartments must be either demolished or renovated so that they meet safety standards.