Chongqing - When disaster strikes, the first test of a city’s resilience often comes at the neighborhood level. In Chongqing, residents and local response teams are using regular training, emergency drills and building-specific plans to spot risks early and coordinate more effectively before a real crisis unfolds.

Disaster preparedness starts with residents’ questions

"Turn the handle of the hand-crank alarm clockwise, and the faster you turn it, the louder the alarm. Listen." At 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 14, a hand-crank alarm suddenly sounded at Beiting Xiyuan residential compound in Beiting Community, Luohuang Town, Jiangjin District. 

It was not a real emergency, but a hands-on safety exercise under Luohuang Town’s 100-day campaign to strengthen community-based disaster prevention and response.

More than 100 residents attended, each holding a Guide to Identifying Common Safety Hazards in Everyday Life, which explains how to identify and respond to 24 common hazards with easy-to-understand text and illustrations.

Members of the Jiangjin Blue Sky Rescue Team then demonstrated CPR on a training mannequin and taught the Heimlich maneuver. Residents watched closely, with some recording the demonstrations on their phones. They were also invited to practice the techniques themselves.

Members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team conduct a hands-on safety training session in Luohuang Town, Jiangjin District, on Aug. 14. (Photo/Chongqing Daily)

During the question-and-answer session, resident Peng Zhongming asked for a practical demonstration. “I've seen fire extinguishers before, but what should I do when I actually need to use one? Could you show me? I'd like to learn.”

"Sure, let's do it now," a staff member replied. A few minutes later, community official Yu Yong brought a fire extinguisher to the center of the courtyard and demonstrated how to use it: "Pull out the safety pin, stand upwind, aim at the base of the flames and squeeze the handle. Stay calm and sweep from side to side."

Peng was invited to try it himself, pulling the pin, aiming and pressing the handle. "It's not as complicated as I thought," he said. "I've practiced it myself today, so now I know what to do."

The event was Luohuang Town’s 12th session under the 100-day campaign, which has reached more than 5,000 residents. Instead of following a fixed lecture format, the sessions allow residents to raise practical questions and receive immediate guidance from staff.

Every high-rise gets a tailored emergency profile and plan

“Smoke is coming from a window on the seventh floor of Building 2. Please check immediately!” At 9 a.m. on August 12, the simulated alert from the monitoring room at Longqiao Huayuan residential compound launched a high-rise fire evacuation drill in Huilongqiao Community, Jiansheng Town, Dadukou District. 

Residents cover their mouths and noses as they evacuate under the guidance of community workers during a high-rise fire drill in Chongqing. (Photo/Xinhua)

Jiansheng Town has 118 high-rise buildings, many of them older resettlement housing with large elderly populations, making emergency evacuation particularly challenging, said Zhou Qiuyu, an official responsible for emergency and fire safety in the town.

To improve response times, Jiansheng created a building-specific emergency profile and response map for every high-rise, known as the “one building, one file, one map” system. 

Each file records the number of households and permanent residents, as well as available property management and town support personnel. The accompanying map identifies the compound layout, water, electricity and gas facilities, evacuation routes and emergency resources, giving responders essential information before they enter the building.

At 9:03 a.m., security guards carrying fire extinguishers and crowbars found the seventh-floor stairwell filled with simulated smoke. Property managers alerted fire, medical and police services, then used the building’s emergency file and map to locate and shut off electricity and gas supplies in common areas.

Two minutes later, community officials, neighborhood grid workers and police arrived with hand-crank alarms, loudspeakers and gongs. They directed evacuations, restricted access to entrances and elevators, and cleared fire lanes of illegally parked vehicles.

Town-level personnel established an on-site command center at 9:30 a.m., coordinating firefighters and teams responsible for evacuation, security, traffic, logistics and utilities. A 20-meter cordon was imposed, roads were controlled and a temporary first-aid station was set up on a basketball court.

By 10 a.m., firefighters declared the simulated fire extinguished with no risk of reignition. Teams then assessed temporary accommodation needs, removed access restrictions and began follow-up work.

“The drill tested how the ‘one file, one map’ system works in practice and strengthened community fire response for high-rise buildings,” Zhou said.

Jiansheng plans to extend the system to every high-rise and create emergency plans tailored to each residential compound. Building coordinators and volunteers will join town officials, community workers and property managers in implementing fire-safety measures at the neighborhood level.

(Li Jiayan, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)