Virtual reality helps training of Shanghai fire investigators

In a college's virtual reality lab, a trainee investigator is immersed in a three-dimensional fire scenario based on a real blaze that happened at a residential block in downtown Shanghai last year.

A controller allows the trainee to explore and interact with the computer-simulated environment, such as opening a door or picking up an object from the ground.

The idea of using VR technology to train investigators came from Gu Yaoyao, a fire investigation expert with Shanghai's Fire and Rescue Bureau. Over the past nine years, Gu has participated in a host of investigations to help determine the origins and causes of fires and explosions.