119: Fire-fighting

　　In Chinese, the number 119 is read yao yao jiu, with jiu bearing a similar pronunciation to "save" in pinyin. In Shanghai, the problems facing fire-fighters are towering high-rises almost everywhere along with old and highly populated residential quarters where decrepit wooden buildings were erected more than 50 years ago.

　　The Shanghai Statistical Yearbook for 2002 showed that by the end of 2001, the city boasted 4,226 buildings with more than eight stories, and 1,690 with more than 20 stories, compared with 121 and 3 respectively in 1980.

　　For fire-fighters around the world, skyscrapers pose a daunting challenge, since any height over 50 metres may be out of the reach of their hoses. Furthermore, it may be difficult to get water to a fire on a high floor due to lack of water pressure.

　　Accordingly, experts stressed that the key to successfully putting out a fire on a high floor is closely connected with the quality of fire-fighting equipment already in the building, with sprinkler systems and fire extinguishers playing essential roles.

　　Studies have found that in some countries, such as the US and Australia, more than 99 per cent of fires on high floors were put out by previously installed fire-fighting equipments.

　　To improve skills, an 88-storied building has become part of daily training routines for local firefighters.

　　"We try to reach higher floors by ascending stairs," Jiang Junhao, from one of the city's fire-fighting squadrons, told the Shanghai Star.

　　"Each one of us is required to arrive at the 20th floor within 80 seconds carrying a weight of 10 kilograms, which would make us faster than a lift."

　　During a drill held at the Jin Mao Tower in 2001, as scheduled, a "fire" was found on the 87th floor, about 333.7 metres up. Within 20 minutes, firefighters reached the spot, carried out their rescue work and put out the fire. In this drill, water was successfully pumped to the requisite height.

　　To reduce the risks in high-rises, fire-resistant materials are also recommended as decoration.

　　In Shanghai, a self-triggering fire-fighting system designed for high-rises has been put into use. Within several seconds, an alarm could be sent to the city's fire-fighting directing centre.

　　As for old residential quarters, local authorities have started a project to install sprinklers for prevention.

　　"Safety in lanes have long been a great concern of local authorities, where fires have resulted in great loss in the city," said Zhou Meiliang, a spokesman from the Shanghai Fire-fighting Bureau.

　　Fires in residential quarters have long accounted for around 50 per cent of fires in the city, many of which occur in old lanes. Take the Huangpu District for example - in the years between 1991 to 2001, fires cost 57 lives, and 48 died in fires in such old buildings.

　　On the night of November 27, 1996, such a fire in a lane killed 36 residents, topping the death toll for fires since the early 1980s.

　　"Some 90,000 households in lanes will become safer with the new devices this year," Zhou said.

　　110: Police

　　To Sophia Wang, walking at night used to be frightening because of fears about her safety.

　　"I once had my bag containing wallet and cards robbed not far from my university when I was a student," said the 25-year-old.

　　"Before I realized what was happening, two rushing shadows made away with my belongings."

　　However, the scare has gradually ebbed away.

　　"Because I can see patrolling policemen from time to time, which makes me feel quite reassured," said Wang who now lives near her university.

　　Thanks to the around-the-clock patrolling system, the downtown area of the city has witnessed a great decline - of nearly 30 per cent street - in crime over the past two years.

　　The patrolling system adopted throughout the city since April 2001 is based on a tightly knit network which has been called a grid pattern by the police.

　　"Every two policemen form a basic grid, and they may be in charge of a certain area," said He He, from Huangpu District Public Security Sub-bureau.

　　"In Huangpu, each community is divided into three grids, with the three grids together forming a larger unit."

　　As one of the two districts to firstly implement a pilot scheme for the system early in 2000, Huangpu now has some 450 patrolling policemen rotated among three shifts every day. With each shift, about 100 cops appear on the street for daily patrolling work.

　　"Such a pattern, with so many policemen on the street at any time, make response quicker if any emergency happens," He added. "Now, police on the streets can arrive at the scene within three minutes, shorter than the standard five minutes."

　　In the first three months of this year, the number of street crime cases dropped to 117, a drop of 51 per cent over the same period last year.

　　Last year, a robber broke into a convenience store in the district, yet police arrived at the site before the man could get away with the money.