Firefighters’ training, equipment under question after deadly Tianjin blasts
The rapid chain of explosions that destroyed a warehouse district in the port of Tianjin could become one of the world’s deadliest disasters for fire crews, with at least 21 firefighters confirmed dead and scores of others still missing.
Now questions are being raised about whether the crews were properly trained and equipped to deal with the emergency at a warehouse that stored a volatile mix of chemicals, including compounds that become combustible on contact with water.
For a third day Monday, angry relatives of the 64 missing firefighters flocked to a hotel to demand information about their loved ones from government officials.
“I’ve gotten no information from the authorities whatsoever,” said Liu Runwen, whose 18- year- old son, Liu Zhiqiang, has been missing since he responded to the fire Wednesday night.
Liu said his son joined the force two years ago on the recommendation of a friend and embraced the danger despite safety concerns.
“He was proud to be a firefighter who could serve the people,” Liu said.
The father had questions about whether his son was sufficiently prepared, and he complained that TV reports failed to mention contract firefighters like his son alongside full- fledged firefighters “as if they never took part at all.”
As of Monday, 114 people had been confirmed dead in the blasts, which destroyed several warehouses, crumpled shipping containers and shattered windows several kilometres away. Police have cordoned off the area of stills mouldering fires in a mixed industrial and residential zone, and more than 6,000 people have been forced into temporary shelters or are staying with friends and family.
State media have already called the accident the single deadliest for firefighters since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
The death toll for fire crews could go much higher if many of the 70 missing are confirmed dead.