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Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the management system and organizational structure of fire services have also undergone several changes, evolving as the times progress. **The official establishment of the Fire and Rescue Bureau represents an important milestone in China’s fire and rescue sector; it marks a new chapter in the history of fire and rescue in our country, bringing about new changes to this field. On January 6, 2023, the official website of the Ministry of Emergency Management announced the appointments and dismissals of **staff members by the State Council. Wang Xiangxi has been appointed as the first political commissar of the **Fire and Rescue Bureau, Qiong Se as the director of the **Fire and Rescue Bureau, and Xu Ping as a political commissar of the same bureau. The personnel arrangements also reflect the trends in institutional reform: the former directors of the two subordinate bureaus served as the director and political commissar of the new institution, indicating that the new institution was formed by merging those two subordinate bureaus. At the same time, the head of the Emergency Management Department serving as the first political commissar of the new agency indicates that the new agency is under the jurisdiction of the Emergency Management Department. **Fire and Rescue Bureau: A vice-ministerial-level agency under the Ministry of Emergency Management of the People’s Republic of China. It is the 22nd bureau to be managed by a ministry or commission. With the establishment of the Fire and Rescue Bureau, there is one more bureau that is under the management of a ministry or commission as assigned by the State Council. The number of **ministry-managed** levels has increased to 22. In addition to the **bureaus** managed by ministries and commissions entrusted by the State Council, the State Council also has **bureaus** that it manages directly. The 22 bureaus are as follows: (1) Bureaus directly under the State Council: 4 Bureau of Statistics, Bureau of Medical Security, Bureau for Rural Revitalization, and Bureau of Government Affairs. (II) Bureaus under the jurisdiction of State Council ministries and commissions (18). These bureaus are all managed by the ministries and commissions entrusted with such duties by the State Council; specifically: 1 is managed by the General Office of the State Council: the Petitions Bureau. 2. **The National Development and Reform Commission oversees 2 agencies:** the Bureau of Grain and Material Reserves, and the **Energy Bureau**. 3. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology oversees 2 agencies: the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, and the **State Tobacco Monopoly Administration. 4. One agency is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Security: **Immigration Administration Bureau. 5. The Ministry of Natural Resources oversees 1 agency: **The Bureau of Forestry and Grasslands.** 6. The Ministry of Transport oversees 3 agencies: **Railway Bureau, Civil Aviation Administration of China,** and Postal Service. 7. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism oversees 1 agency: **The Bureau of Cultural Relics**. 8. **2 agencies under the Health Commission’s jurisdiction:** the Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the **Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control** ； 9. The Ministry of Emergency Management oversees 2 agencies: **Mine Safety Supervision Bureau** and **Fire and Rescue Agency**. 10. The People’s Bank of China oversees 1: **Reinvestment Management Bureau. 11. **The State Administration for Market Regulation oversees 2 agencies:** the Drug Administration and the **Intellectual Property Office**. There is also the China Meteorological Administration, which is one of the vice-ministerial-level **bureaus directly under the State Council. However, since it is a public institution similar to those under the administrative system, and its name starts with “China” rather than “**, it is not strictly speaking a **bureau. Therefore, in reality, there are only 22 **bureaus** in our country in the true sense. ****What is the difference between the bureau and the China ** Bureau? Why are some called “departments (commissions),” while others are called “general administrations (bureaus)”? What are public institutions, and what are directly affiliated agencies? How can one distinguish the functions and levels of these institutions? 1. **** are agencies directly under the State Council, such as the **Forestry Bureau**, or bureaus managed by State Council ministries, such as the **Energy Bureau**. Of course, there are exceptions; for instance, the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China is a directly subordinate agency, but it does not start with **, mainly because, given its functions and in order to demonstrate sovereignty, it begins with the name of the People’s Republic of China. 2. In China, these are generally institutions directly under the State Council, such as the China Earthquake Administration; of course, there are exceptions, with the People’s Bank of China being a department of the State Council. Similarly, institutions such as the **Administrative Academy** and the National Natural Science Foundation of China are also directly affiliated public institutions, but they start with **. In accordance with the \"Notice of the State Council on Organizational Structure\" issued by the State Council on March 22, 2018, the organizational structure is as follows: the State Council has an General Office, constituent departments of the State Council (26), special agencies directly under the State Council (1), agencies directly under the State Council (16), administrative offices of the State Council (2), public institutions directly under the State Council (9), and bureaus managed by various ministries and commissions of the State Council (16). Among them, the agencies directly under the State Council include: the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, the **State Administration for Market Regulation,** the **General Administration of Sport,** the **Administration for International Development Cooperation,** the Counselors’ Office of the State Council, the **State Taxation Administration,** the **National Radio and Television Administration,** the **National Bureau of Statistics,** the **National Healthcare Security Administration,** and the **Administration of Government Offices Affairs.** The **bureaus** under the jurisdiction of State Council ministries include: the Petitions Bureau, the **Energy Bureau**, the Tobacco Monopoly Administration, the **Forestry and Grassland Administration**, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the **Cultural Relics Administration**, the Coal Mine Safety Inspection Bureau, the **Drug Administration**, the Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, the **National Defense Science, Technology and Industry Bureau**, the Immigration Administration, the **Railway Administration**, the **Postal Service**, the **Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine**, the **Foreign Exchange Administration**, and the **Intellectual Property Office**. Additional information: **Specific tasks of the bureau 1.** The bureau is an administrative agency responsible for certain aspects of work, and it enjoys a degree of independence. The competent ministry manages matters such as the major policies and work arrangements related to the **bureau’s operations, primarily through meetings convened by the minister (director), and the minister (director) of the competent ministry is accountable to the State Council. 2. **In principle, the bureau does not directly seek instructions from the State Council. **When the bureau encounters matters that require approval from the State Council in its work, the relevant ministry shall submit a document to the State Council ； In case of an emergency, when the **bureau needs to seek instructions directly from the State Council, it shall also report to the competent ministry. 3. **The Bureau may, in accordance with laws and administrative regulations, decisions, and orders issued by the State Council, formulate departmental rules, directives, and orders within its authority; after being approved by the competent ministry, these are issued externally by the competent ministry or by the **Bureau authorized by it**. **The bureau uses seals bearing the national emblem, and the specifications of these seals are determined in accordance with the regulations set by the General Office of the State Council. 4. Relevant documents and telegrams issued by the State Council are sent directly to the ** Bureau, and the ** Bureau is notified to attend relevant meetings convened by the State Council. 5. **The appointment and removal of the director and deputy directors shall be handled in accordance with the regulations regarding the authority for managing cadres.** ； **The appointment and removal of directors of departments within the bureau are approved by the **bureau, and reported to the competent ministry and the Organization Department for record-keeping ； Other personnel matters are managed by the **Bureau. **The party work in the agency’s headquarters is under the unified management of the party committee of the competent ministry. 6. The foreign affairs work of the **Bureau shall be handled in accordance with** the relevant regulations on foreign affairs management; the existing channels for funding foreign affairs activities and the authority to approve such matters remain unchanged. Except for major foreign affairs activities that require approval from the competent ministry, **the Bureau can carry out foreign cooperation and exchanges directly. **When officials at or above the deputy ministerial level of the bureau go on overseas trips, the relevant ministry shall submit the request to the State Council for approval ； For other personnel going on overseas trips, procedures shall be followed in accordance with relevant regulations. 7. **The existing channels for funds, finance, supplies, and administrative expenses of the bureau shall remain unchanged in principle. With the establishment of the **Fire and Rescue Bureau, changes may occur within the fire service (The views expressed come from Ming Ge Talks about Fire; they do not represent the views of this platform). First, the independence of the national fire services will be further enhanced, and the standardization of team management will be strengthened even more. The rapid response capabilities of fire teams will also be improved. Although the new **Fire and Rescue Bureau remains under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Emergency Management, according to Article 1 of the “Notice of the State Council on the Relationship between Bureaus Managed by Ministries and Agencies and Their Competing Ministries,” the competent ministries mainly exercise control over major policies and operational arrangements related to these bureaus through meetings held by their ministers (or directors), with the ministers (or directors) being accountable to the State Council. Therefore, the Ministry of Emergency Management exercises oversight over the **Fire and Rescue Bureau primarily through the minister himself, either directly or by holding meetings; in other words, other department heads and members of the Party committee at the Ministry of Emergency Management cannot interfere with or make changes to the work of the **Fire and Rescue Bureau, which thus maintains a high degree of independence. At the same time, the documents issued by the State Council regarding the appointment and removal of deputy-ministerial level officials include a clause stating that Wang Xiangxi is appointed as the \"First Political Commissar of the Fire and Rescue Bureau\", which implies that other leaders of the Ministry of Emergency Management as well as its internal departments do not have any authority over this Fire and Rescue Bureau. If one does some research, it will be found that in our country, the position of First Political Commissar is mainly implemented in military regions, military sub-regions, and the former ** forces. Generally speaking, the secretary of the provincial party committee also serves as the First Political Commissar of the provincial military region, the secretary of the municipal party committee acts as the First Political Commissar of the municipal military sub-region, and the secretary of the county party committee serves as the First Political Commissar of the county’s armed forces department. However, in the case of the former ** forces, the First Political Commissar is usually held by the head of the local public security authorities; for example, the head of the provincial public security department acts as the First Political Commissar of the provincial ** force headquarters, while the head of the municipal public security department serves as the First Political Commissar of the ** detachment. In either case, such a position exists solely for coordination purposes, and the person holding it does not participate in the actual work and management of the military regions, military sub-regions, ** force headquarters, or detachments. From this perspective, it is clear that Minister Wang Xiangxi of the State Council, who serves as the First Political Commissar of the ** Fire and Rescue Bureau, is following the management model used by public security authorities and ** forces. In other words, Minister Wang Xiangxi does not actually participate in the management of the ** Fire and Rescue Bureau; rather, when the bureau needs to report matters to the State Council, it is Minister Wang Xiangxi who forwards those reports. This arrangement ensures that other leaders and members of the Emergency Management Department cannot interfere with the work of the ** Fire and Rescue Bureau. Correspondingly, there will be new changes in local fire and rescue agencies at all levels in the future; that is, the local emergency management departments will be responsible only for forwarding documents to the fire and rescue agencies, while other department heads do not have the authority to interfere in the management of the fire and rescue teams. II. **At the ministerial level, the fire and rescue agencies have been upgraded in status; accordingly, in the future, the fire and rescue agencies at the provincial, municipal, county, and township levels will also see such upgrades, with teams being transformed into departments or bureaus. At present, the establishment of fire and rescue bureaus signifies an upgrade for these agencies at the **level – they are no longer merely agencies but rather relatively independent departments.** In accordance with the rules of our unified management system, Article 3 of Document No. Guo Fa [1998] 12 stipulates clearly that the **Bureau may, in accordance with laws and administrative regulations, decisions, and orders issued by the State Council, formulate departmental rules, directives, and orders within its authority; after being approved by the competent ministry, these shall be issued externally by the competent ministry or by the Bureau authorized by such ministry**. **The bureau uses seals bearing the national emblem, and the specifications of these seals are determined in accordance with the regulations set by the General Office of the State Council. In accordance with the above provisions, the **Fire and Rescue Bureau can independently formulate departmental regulations, instructions, and orders, which are then either issued by the Ministry of Emergency Management or, with the authorization of that ministry, by the Fire and Rescue Bureau itself**. The Fire and Rescue Bureau uses seals bearing the national emblem; in other words, at the national level it functions as a simplified department. At the local level below the provincial stage, fire and rescue agencies at various levels will no longer be considered “fire and rescue agencies” under the emergency management departments, but rather “fire and rescue departments” of the respective local authorities. They can operate independently without interference from the emergency management departments, thereby resolving the problems caused by these departments taking over fire station buildings, interfering in the appointment of personnel in fire and rescue brigades and units, and hindering direct communication between fire and rescue agencies and local authorities to address fire-related matters. It can be predicted that within one or two years, fire and rescue agencies across the country will no longer be referred to as “headquarters,” “brigades,” or “units,” but rather as “Provincial Fire and Rescue Departments,” “Municipal Fire and Rescue Bureaus,” and “County (District) Fire and Rescue Bureaus.” For the commanders at all levels of the fire and rescue services, they will also be addressed as “deputy directors,” “ chiefs,” or “secretaries,” rather than “chief commanders, unit leaders, or brigade commanders” and “political commissars or instructors.” When the fire and rescue services go to other departments to handle matters, they will no longer feel embarrassed due to being considered inferior. III. The expansion of institutions and staffing, as well as the addition of new positions, will naturally lead to changes at the **level: the director of the Fire and Rescue Bureau under the former Ministry of Emergency Management was promoted to the vice-ministerial level. The Fire and Rescue Bureau has seen an increase in leadership positions at the departmental level. As a result, although all officials in the Fire and Rescue Bureau and the Forest Fire Brigade may not be able to have their ranks directly upgraded, they can still have more leadership positions at the departmental level. Numerous officials at the divisional level are no longer restricted by position limits when it comes to promotions, which can be considered as a fast track for fire and rescue officials to get promoted and receive higher salaries. For fire protection agencies at all local levels, thanks to the authority to establish departments directly, functional units that were not previously set up, such as \"offices, complaint handling offices, information disclosure offices, information technology offices, party committees of the agencies, and fire service employee unions\", will also be established accordingly. You can take a look at the **official website of the Immigration Bureau**; after the former Border Control Bureau under the Ministry of Public Security was restructured into the Immigration Bureau, there are a total of \"8 departments and 1 commission\", 3 public institutions, and 3 management agencies. It can be said that both positions and roles are **increasing, with complete pathways for cadre promotion open. If things proceed in this direction, the “Fire Investigation Technology Sections” that were not established in various local units may be set up or strengthened. IV. The problems that arose during the previous reforms of the fire protection system will also be resolved. At present, the reforms carried out in previous years have left behind a considerable number of issues, all of which relate to the vital interests of fire protection officials and firefighters, and to some extent have affected the progress of fire protection reforms. For example, regarding the payment of social insurance benefits for officials at all levels and firefighters, the lack of corresponding policy documents, coupled with only the central government’s principle of \"equal treatment for all\", means that as of now, in most areas, the \"five insurances and one fund\" benefits for firefighters and fire service personnel have not been fully paid or supplemented, failing to address their concerns. Another example is the issue of various allowances and pensions for firefighters who have sacrificed their lives or died in the line of duty; due to the lack of corresponding central government guidelines, the implementation of these policies varies from place to place. As a result, in most areas, firefighters are unable to have their allowances and pensions calculated or received, which undermines their motivation to work. Another example is the issue of license plates for fire and rescue vehicles. Due to previous inefficiencies in the institutional framework, different regions implemented policies differently; in many places, assistance from the local emergency management departments was required to obtain new license plates for fire trucks. However, because fire truck license plates come with benefits such as free passage, some emergency management departments withheld these license plates on their own, which forced fire and rescue agencies to be cautious when responding to emergencies and delayed the smooth progress of their rescue operations. In short, the transformation of large organizations into smaller departments leads to an upgrade in the status of those organizations; positions and ranks are increased accordingly, and various business functions and roles are integrated, which is beneficial for everyone. Congratulations! However, while good things are good, it’s not easy to do them well. The newly established **Fire and Rescue Bureau was formed by merging the Fire and Rescue Bureau and the Forest Fire Fighting Bureau under the Ministry of Emergency Management. Integrating the two previous teams and their personnel represents a challenge that cannot be ignored. But once the arrow is released, there’s no way to bring it back; since it has been established, we must face it bravely. It is hoped that the two fire and rescue teams will be integrated successfully, so that forest firefighting can be developed into a rapid-response force, an elite unit that serves as the vanguard in fighting forest fires, as well as in earthquake rescue, mountain rescue, water rescue, and geological disaster relief. Expand urban fire rescue capabilities to cover both urban and rural areas, as well as provide specialized expertise for fire prevention and suppression in buildings. In short, now the **Fire and Rescue Bureau has its own signboard, its status has been upgraded, its workforce has expanded, and the positions within it have become more senior; yet comprehensive reforms are still ongoing, with further changes being implemented. Therefore, by focusing on the goals of addressing all types of disasters and ensuring effective emergency response, as well as achieving high standards in safety and emergency management, we will adhere to professional development, improve the quality of training and practical operations, thereby better protecting people’s safety and bringing benefits to them, with high-level safety measures serving as a foundation for high-quality development.