CHINA

A French nuclear submarine that was devastated by a re in 2020 su ered another re onboard at the end of September as repairs in the port of Toulon neared completion. Around 90 re ghters were called to the scene – headquarters of France’s Mediterranean eet - to extinguish the re on board La Perle, which is thought broke out in an area used for food storage. O cials say there was no risk of radioactivity on board as though the nuclear submarine had fuel on board, its reactors were not working at the time. ey also said it could not be con rmed if the re would a ect La Perle’s scheduled return to active service, which is expected to be in the rst half of 2023.

Tall Buildings Outgrowing Firefighting Capacity

A re at a 218metre-tall skyscraper in Changsha, China, in September, has brought to light the fact that re ghting capabilities across the country have not kept up with the speed of tall building construction. e re at the China Telecom Building was responded to by local re stations, but the vertical height of their ‘Water Dragon’ meant e orts to extinguish the re were unsuccessful, resulting in the building being completely destroyed. Calls have now been made for re ghting vehicles, machinery and equipment to be brought in line with the structures they are expected to perform rescue operations at. Tragedies in China in recent years have repeatedly highlighted the need for better re safety and re ghting operations. In June 2021, communities in Henan called for higher re safety standards a er a martial arts school burned down killing 18 people, while in 2017 similar calls were made a er a re in Beijing killed 19 people. A re in a 28-storey residential building in Shanghai that killed 58 people in 2010 was also the catalyst for demands in re ghting capability improvements.