China reports 74,000 fires caused by electrical faults in first 10 months

BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- China reported 74,000 fires caused by electrical faults in the first 10 months of this year, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) Wednesday.

A total of 370 people died and 226 were injured in these fires. Direct economic losses reached 1.12 billion yuan (170 million U.S. dollars), the statement said.

A three-year nationwide campaign to reduce the number of fires triggered by electrical faults is underway. The campaign, launched by the State Council's Work Safety Commission, aims to prevent fires and safeguard people's lives and property, according to the statement.

An MPS official said, during the campaign, related departments will strictly carry out the approval and accreditation of electronics producers, curtail the illegal production of sub-standard and faulty products, and strengthen the supervision of electrical products used in construction projects.

The campaign is expected to improve the quality of electrical products and make them safer to reduce the number of fires on a large scale, said the official. Enditem