Nation to enhance emergency response teams

Volunteer rescue teams are an important part of the national emergency response system and the government is working to set up a better platform to manage their rapid development, officials said.

"Grassroots emergency response teams have many advantages, such as flexibility and close connection with the public," Chen Sheng, a senior official of the Ministry of Emergency Management, said at a news conference at the first national competition for volunteer rescue teams in Chongqing on Thursday.

"They play an increasingly larger role in rescue and public education. They are an indispensable part of the country's emergency management," Chen said.