【News】Notice from the Office of the State Council Safety Committee on the Work Accomplished in 2017 regarding the Comprehensive Management of Electrical Fires

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Circular from the Office of the State Council Safety Committee on the Work Done in 2017 regarding the Comprehensive Management of Electrical Fires, Document No. Anwei Ban [2018]4. To the safety committees of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; to the relevant member units of the State Council Safety Committee; and to the relevant central state-owned enterprises: In accordance with the “Notice from the State Council Safety Committee on Carrying Out Comprehensive Management of Electrical Fires” (Anwei Ban [2017]4) and the requirements set forth at the video conference on comprehensive management of electrical fires held by the Office of the State Council Safety Committee, all local authorities and relevant organizations have attached great importance to this issue, taken proactive actions, and made comprehensive arrangements to carry out work related to the comprehensive management of electrical fires. The Coordination Group for the Comprehensive Management of Electrical Fires strengthens daily coordination to advance these comprehensive management efforts, keeps track of the progress made, and conducts thorough analysis and evaluation based on information reported by various locations, as well as data obtained through regular monitoring and inspections. The relevant information is reported as follows: First, the Party committees in various regions and the relevant departments have attached great importance to this matter and have coordinated efforts to carry out comprehensive management. Party and government leaders have shown concern; the offices of the safety committees in these regions have reported to the responsible persons of the local Party committees on the arrangements put in place by the State Council’s Safety Committee regarding the control of electrical fires, requesting that plans be formulated and meetings held in order to mobilize departments at all levels and across various industries to carry out targeted actions. The main party and government leaders in regions such as Guizhou, Fujian, Hebei, and Hunan have issued directives, calling for effective efforts to address electrical fire hazards through comprehensive management measures, so as to ensure tangible results. At all levels, **comprehensive coordination teams for the control of electrical fires have been established, with the relevant responsible officials serving as team leaders. The members of these teams consist of the heads of various agencies affiliated with the safety committee, such as those in charge of public security, housing and urban-rural development, industry and commerce, safety supervision, and fire protection, thereby enhancing organizational coordination and overall management. Second, comprehensive deployment and advancement: The **commissions or safety committees at all levels in the 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) across the country, in accordance with the unified directives of the State Council’s Safety Committee, held mobilization meetings, formulated implementation plans, and carried out comprehensive arrangements for the comprehensive management of electrical fires. Responsibility systems were established at each level, with duties assigned to specific positions and individuals, so as to ensure that pressure is transmitted at every level and responsibilities are fulfilled. Hainan and Yunnan issued the plans in the name of their respective provinces, while the other 29 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) issued them in the name of their Work Safety Commissions, specifying the scope of governance, key areas for improvement, working measures, and responsibilities. The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Water Resources, the **National Health and Family Planning Commission**, the **Energy Administration**, the **Oceanic Administration**, and other agencies fully utilize their respective functions, carefully develop work plans, and make vigorous efforts to advance governance within their own sectors. **Central enterprises such as State Grid Co., Ltd., China Three Gorges Corporation, and Sinochem Group have all formulated work plans as required, earnestly advanced the prevention and control of electrical fires, and promptly submitted summaries of their work. Third, departments work together to promote governance. Local authorities and relevant departments adhere to the principles of leadership, departmental supervision, unit responsibility, and comprehensive management, while strengthening cooperation among different departments. Beijing has established a mechanism comprising \"work summary review meetings, updates on work progress, brief reports on achievements, and rapid alerts on inspection findings\" to boost the enthusiasm and initiative of various districts and departments in their work ； In Hainan Province, both the government supervision efforts and the comprehensive supervision of work safety by the Provincial Work Safety Committee regard the prevention of electrical fires as a key component, thus jointly promoting coordinated governance among various departments. At the county level across the country, as the primary entities responsible for comprehensive management, these authorities organize relevant industry departments to conduct regular analyses and assessments, hold meetings for discussions, carry out supervision and inspections, share information, coordinate actions, and enforce laws jointly, thereby creating a coordinated effort for comprehensive management. II. Strengthen supervision over the production of electrical products. First, enhance control at the source: regulatory agencies should increase their inspections of electrical products and the companies that produce them, in order to prevent low-quality electrical products from reaching the market from the outset. Inspection teams were sent to companies that produce electrical products in Beijing, Chongqing, Shaanxi and other areas to conduct random checks, verify their CCC and other quality certification qualifications one by one, strengthen oversight of such companies, and enforce strict market access rules. Second, special inspections are carried out; regions such as Shanxi, Shanghai, and Qinghai have stepped up the frequency of inspections and random checks on wire and cable manufacturing enterprises ； Guangdong formulates the \"Work Plan for the Special Rectification of Wire and Cable Products in Guangdong Province\" ； Liaoning, Henan and other regions have organized centralized meetings with the managers of wire and cable manufacturing enterprises across the province ； Provinces such as Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Sichuan have organized household appliance manufacturing enterprises across the province to carry out self-inspections and self-corrections, as well as special inspections. Thirdly, the remedial actions have yielded significant results. By the end of 2017, a total of 9,711 electrical product manufacturing enterprises across the country were inspected; 814 such enterprises were found to be engaged in illegal or unlawful activities, 81 of them were shut down, 542 cases were filed for prosecution, over 49,000 defective electrical products were seized, and over 29,000 of them were destroyed. III. Strengthen supervision in the distribution sector of electrical products. First, carry out high-level inspections: The industrial and commercial authorities in Beijing, Heilongjiang, Anhui and other regions organized personnel to investigate the basic situation of the local market for electrical product distribution. Inspection teams led by department heads were formed to conduct special inspections of companies that sell electrical products, as well as stores and warehouses. Second, special rectification campaigns are organized. Industrial and commercial departments across the country carry out various such rectification activities in light of local conditions. Inspections are being carried out in bulk electrical product markets in Jilin, Shandong, Shaanxi and other regions ； Jiangsu adopts a combination of targeted centralized sampling inspections and flexible decentralized sampling inspections to examine physical stores and online sales platforms ； Hubei has organized a “Red Shield Quality Rights Protection Campaign” for electrical products such as wires, cables, switches, and sockets” ； Guizhou launches a targeted campaign against stores selling household appliances such as lighting fixtures and electrical wires ； Industrial and commercial departments in Henan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and other places have joined forces with multiple departments to carry out joint law enforcement, focusing on a special campaign targeting electric vehicle products. Thirdly, the results of the enforcement efforts were significant. By the end of 2017, industrial and commercial authorities across the country had inspected over 180,000 markets, warehouses, stores, and online sales outlets dealing in electrical products. More than 3,400 entities engaged in illegal or irregular sales activities were identified; 160 of them were shut down. Over 37,000 defective electrical products were seized, and another 12,000 such products were destroyed. A total of 1,289 administrative penalties were imposed, resulting in fines amounting to over 13.59 million yuan. IV. Promoting comprehensive management in the areas where electrical products are used. First, **it is necessary to encourage regions such as Shanghai, Chongqing, and Sichuan to include comprehensive management of electrical fires as part of projects aimed at benefiting the public**, by investing funds in the installation of public smart electric vehicle charging systems and intelligent electricity usage devices ； Concentrate on upgrading the electrical wiring in key areas such as nursing homes, old residential complexes, areas at the urban-rural border, urban villages, and rural settlements. By the end of 2017, across the country, electrical wiring in over 130,000 public and civilian buildings and in 42,000 villages had been renovated. In total, more than 60 million meters of wiring were upgraded, and over 100,000 electrical fire monitoring systems were installed. Second, public security fire departments strengthen law enforcement and guidance. These departments carry out inspections related to the use of electricity, and encourage streets, communities, and various social organizations to conduct self-inspections and self-corrections. By the end of 2017, public security fire control authorities had identified over 460,000 instances where the installation, use, and related wiring design, laying, maintenance, and inspection of electrical products failed to meet fire safety technical standards and regulatory requirements. They also guided and urged various entities and communities to identify and rectify over 770,000 potential electrical safety hazards on their own. Thirdly, other departments carry out their respective tasks to strengthen comprehensive management in the areas of use. Power supply departments in places such as Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, and Hubei have launched targeted inspections and rectification efforts regarding the safety of electrical lines and equipment, investing substantial funds in upgrading power supply lines, substations, meters, and other transmission and distribution facilities as well as receiving/sending electricity systems ； Education departments in Zhejiang, Gansu, Ningxia and other regions have urged all schools in their respective areas to carry out thorough self-inspections and self-corrections ； The education authorities in Beijing organize electrical safety education and training before and after school holidays. Combined with activities such as integrating fire safety into military training and conducting the first fire safety lesson of the school year, these efforts aim to widely disseminate basic knowledge about electrical safety ； Health and Family Planning departments in Liaoning, Yunnan, Xinjiang, and other regions, in collaboration with education, work safety supervision, civil affairs, tourism, and other relevant departments, conducted special inspections targeting issues such as improper electricity management by regulated entities in the industry, unauthorized wiring of electrical circuits, and the use of electrical products lacking proper certification ； The civil affairs department of Guizhou Province has allocated 100 million yuan in special funds for the safety renovation of fire-fighting facilities and electrical wiring in nursing homes across all townships; so far, renovations have been completed at 794 such facilities. By the end of 2017, relevant departments across the country had identified and addressed more than 240,000 electrical safety hazards. V. Improving electrical fire safety in construction projects: First, it is necessary to improve the standards related to building electricity. Various regions are carrying out efforts to review these standards; in light of the requirements regarding building quality and safety as well as the safe operation and maintenance of building electrical systems, further research should be conducted to continuously refine the engineering standards related to building electricity. Guangxi issues the \"Fire Safety Standards for Electric Bicycle Parking and Charging Areas\" ； Guangdong is drafting regulations to strengthen electrical safety management, as well as standards for the renovation and upgrading of old electrical wiring, and standards for the construction of electric vehicle shelters (garages) and centralized charging facilities. Second, it is necessary to strengthen the management of construction quality. Housing and Urban-Rural Development departments in Shanghai, Fujian, Hubei, and other regions have carried out initiatives to improve project quality and safety. They strictly enforce accountability regarding quality responsibilities among all parties involved—including construction firms, surveyors, designers, contractors, and supervisors—and intensify supervision and law enforcement inspections to ensure the quality of electrical construction. Third, strengthen the supervision and guidance of property service companies. Places such as Beijing, Hunan, and Yunnan urge local authorities to guide property service companies in improving the daily management and regular maintenance of common electrical equipment in residential complexes, to strictly adhere to technical operating standards, and to replace worn-out components of electrical distribution equipment in a timely manner ； The housing and urban-rural development departments in Shanxi, Zhejiang, Chongqing and other regions have carried out centralized safety training for construction electricians, effectively improving the skill levels of those working in electrical tasks in construction projects. VI. Fostering a strong atmosphere for publicity and training: First, strengthen media outreach. Various regions make full use of media resources to carry out extensive fire safety publicity through various channels such as radio, television, newspapers, and the internet. Jiangxi, Tibet, Gansu and other regions coordinated with local media to widely disseminate common knowledge regarding safe electricity use ； Regions such as Henan, Guangdong, and Guangxi have issued announcements on the comprehensive management of electrical fires in order to expand the reach of awareness campaigns. By the end of 2017, various regions had published over 20,000 articles in media outlets at the provincial level and above. Of these, more than 9,000 articles were broadcast in the news programs of provincial television stations; over 200,000 roll captions were displayed, and 100,000 public service advertisements were shown ； We made active use of online platforms such as Weibo and WeChat to deliver over 100 million pieces of information regarding electrical fire hazards and fire safety knowledge to the public. Second, it is necessary to strengthen the exposure of potential hazards. Local authorities should make full use of the media’s role in providing oversight, and vigorously expose those enterprises and organizations that have electrical safety hazards. Hebei, Jiangsu, Shandong and other regions have held multiple press briefings, organizing relevant media to conduct in-depth interviews across various locations and expose certain enterprises involved in the production and sale of electrical appliances. Since the launch of these comprehensive control measures, more than 400 companies have been exposed in central media outlets across the country, and over 800 have been highlighted in provincial media outlets. More than 27,000 enterprises and stores involved in the production and distribution of electrical products have been subject to mandatory discussions, thereby exerting significant public pressure on those companies and entities involved in the production, sale, as well as installation and use of electrical products. Third, it is necessary to strengthen education and training. In various regions, centralized training and group interviews are used as primary means to systematically train relevant personnel, such as responsible persons and managers of enterprises and organizations, as well as electrical industry workers. This helps ensure that production and sales enterprises strictly adhere to laws, regulations, and relevant quality standards when producing and selling electrical products. It also ensures that construction and user entities exercise strict control over the electrical products they bring in and use, thereby preventing the use of counterfeit, substandard, or products that do not meet quality standards. Places such as Tianjin, Heilongjiang, and Anhui have organized activities to promote safe electricity use in communities, carrying out fire safety training related to electricity use within residential areas ； Henan Electric Power Company carries out the “Three Electrifications, Three Entries” campaign ； In cities such as Shanghai, Hubei, and Chongqing, special videos on electrical fire safety, warning films based on fire incidents, and educational materials are produced and printed for free distribution. By the end of 2017, more than 60 provincial-level specialized training sessions on electrical safety had been organized, over 1,800 at the municipal level, and more than 11,000 at the county level. The comprehensive management of electrical fires is progressing smoothly and has achieved notable results, but there are still some prominent issues. First, some regions do not place sufficient importance on comprehensive governance efforts. In some grassroots areas, responsibilities related to comprehensive governance are not properly fulfilled; work arrangements remain at the level of issuing documents and holding meetings, with no substantive measures being taken. As a result, comprehensive governance efforts are poorly organized. Second, in some regions, the comprehensive governance plans formulated by industry authorities lack specificity; they fail to fully grasp the requirements of comprehensive governance efforts. Additionally, there is insufficient effort in urging and guiding social entities to conduct inspections and rectifications regarding electrical safety hazards. Third, in some regions, coordination and cooperation among industry departments are inadequate; mechanisms for information sharing, situation reporting, joint investigations and handling, and case referral have not been fully established, resulting in weak joint law enforcement efforts. Fourth, some social entities fail to properly fulfill their primary responsibilities regarding fire safety. They do not conduct thorough self-inspections and corrections as part of comprehensive governance efforts, nor do they make a serious effort to identify electrical safety hazards. As a result, issues such as unauthorized wiring, prolonged overloading of electrical circuits, illegal entry of electric bicycles into buildings and residential units, and improper charging practices still persist ； Some companies, in their pursuit of economic gains, continue to produce and sell counterfeit and substandard electrical products, creating \"inherent\" safety hazards. At present, the task of preventing and controlling electrical fires remains arduous; among the four major fires that occurred in 2017, two were caused by electrical faults. All regions must fully recognize the severity and complexity of electrical fire hazards, remain vigilant at all times, further strengthen their sense of responsibility and urgency, and take effective measures to ensure tangible progress in the comprehensive management of electrical fires. Next, focus should be placed on the following areas of work: First, it is necessary to continue to deepen and advance the comprehensive management of electrical fires. All regions should, in accordance with the overall guidelines set forth by the State Council’s Safety Committee regarding the comprehensive management of electrical fires, as well as the goals, tasks, and requirements outlined in their local implementation plans, continue to advance these comprehensive management efforts. It is necessary to further clarify the responsibilities and tasks of the relevant industry regulatory agencies in this regard, strengthen inter-departmental coordination mechanisms, ensure that responsibilities are fulfilled, and make every effort to implement all necessary measures. Second, it is necessary to continue to promote the establishment of rules and regulations in collaboration with industry sectors. The comprehensive management of electrical fires has entered the stage of establishing regulations and systems. All regions should plan systematically, involve relevant industry departments, and, in light of local conditions, further improve electrical management regulations and technical standards, enhance daily management systems for electrical safety, and formulate relevant policy documents. Third, it is necessary to carry out intensive rectification efforts. All regions should, in accordance with the requirements for comprehensive management, form inspection teams to carry out inspections and rectifications in accordance with the law. By making full use of legal, administrative, economic, and public opinion measures, they should conduct focused investigations and prosecutions against those who produce and sell counterfeit and substandard electrical products in stages, destroy such counterfeit and substandard products, take strict action against those responsible for violations, and urge the rectification of major electrical safety hazards. Fourth, it is necessary to continuously intensify efforts in publicity and training. All regions should, in light of the high incidence of electrical fire accidents during winter, increase efforts to promote awareness of electrical safety practices. They should also strengthen training for those involved in the production, sale, and use of electrical products, enhance the sense of social responsibility among manufacturing and sales companies, and ensure strict control over product quality from the source. By doing so, a favorable environment characterized by leadership oversight, departmental supervision, organizational responsibility, and comprehensive management can be created, thereby effectively protecting the lives and property of the general public. Office of the State Council Safety Committee, February 11, 2018