Firefighters combat a fire on a bus during a drill in Chongqing, Southwest China. Liu Chan / Xinhua

On Feb 5, a deadly blaze at an 11-story wholesale market in Huizhou, Guangdong province, resulted in 17 deaths, according to Xinhua News Agency. The blaze, which was thought to have been started accidentally by a 9-year-old boy playing with a cigarette lighter, quickly spread to the whole floor. Four firefighters were injured in the operation to rescue five people, according to the report.

According to the ministry, most fires in residential buildings and commercial spaces are caused by smoking in prohibited places, poorly installed or maintained electrical wiring, or the misuse of electrical implements that results in overloaded circuits.

Dai echoed that view: "In most cases, fires are caused by violations of regulations and a lack of preventive awareness. They can usually be prevented."

By contrast, blazes at locations such as warehouses and storage facilities are far more difficult to tackle and pose a greater risk to life because the buildings often contain large amounts of flammable material and the floor plans are complex, so they are full of unexpected dangers, he said.

Urbanization imbalance

"The acceleration of the urbanization process has exposed fire hazards across the country," said Du Wenfeng, a professor at the Fire Engineering Department of the Chinese People's Armed Police Forces Academy in Hebei province.

According to Du, the imbalance of urbanization means that although many cities now boast high-rises, they also have a huge number of low-level buildings and narrow, winding streets that hamper access for firefighters and their equipment.

"Sometimes, a lack of space and poor access means the equipment can't be immediately transported to the scene of an incident, while low ceilings and cramped interiors prevent firefighters from using the equipment when it actually arrives," he said. "In burning buildings, the priority is to evacuate the residents and rescue anyone that has become trapped."

The optimum time to tackle a blaze is within 30 minutes of it breaking out, so obstacles can lead to delays and increase the dangers to firefighters.