Shanghai firefighters succeeded in pumping fire-extinguishing
foam to a height of 360 meters - a new national record - during a
drill at the unfinished Shanghai World Financial Center yesterday
afternoon.
Shanghai firefighters spray
flame-suppressing foam from a 360-meterhigh platform at the
under-construction Shanghai World Financial Center during a drill
yesterday. With skyscrapers springing up all around the city,
firefighters have been testing newly imported equipment and
increasing their capability to battle highrise blazes. In the
background are the tops of the Jin Mao Tower and the Oriental TV
Tower, the city's two tallest structures.
The previous record was set on November 9, 2005, when local
firefighters elevated the chemicals to 269 meters in a simulated
blaze at the Shanghai Shimao International Plaza on the Nanjing
Road Pedestrian Mall.
Fire officials said yesterday's exercise was aimed to test how
high and how fast the foam could be powered up by a new engine that
was imported from abroad. The drill was termed a success, showing
that city firefighters could ensure the safety of what is destined
to be the tallest building in China.
The Shanghai World Financial Center is expected to soar 492
meters to 101 stories. It is being designed to hold 40,000 people
and is expected to be completed in March 2008.
Yesterday afternoon, firefighters laid hoses connecting a
compressed-air foam engine parked near the building. Long hoses
were hoisted from the ground floor to the 84th floor along the
exterior wall of the building. The exercise began at 3pm, and foam
reached the 54th floor in two minutes and could be seen spraying
from the 84th floor two minutes later.
"The Shanghai World Financial Center is equipped with advanced
fire control facilities, including alarms and sprinkler systems;
however, today's success in sending foam to such a height means a
more powerful safeguard is available for the security of the
tallest building," a fire official surnamed Li said.
(Shanghai Daily April 20, 2007)
