More firefighters are desperately needed in the southern province of Guangdong to meet the ever-increasing need for fire control, an official said Friday.

"The province is seeing a big shortage in its firefighting force," said Lei Shengwu, general director of the Guangdong provincial fire control station.

The authority is gearing up to recruit more firefighters, especially since Guangdong has entered a risky period of fire disasters, Lei said.

The provincial fire control station has only about 8,200 firefighters, Lei said.

"We need many more than that to meet the increased fire control demand," Lei said.

Firefighters respond to more than 40,000 fires each year, and that number is expected to grow rapidly in the years ahead, Lei said.

About 4,000 new firefighters have been hired this year, accounting for half of the existing firefighting force, said Ding Panming, deputy general director of the provincial fire control station.

The newly employed firefighters have helped ease the shortage, Ding said.

"But the problem of the shortage of firefighters will remain for a long time," Ding said.

Guangdong, which has a population of more than 90 million, needs at least 36,000 firefighters, Ding said.

Recruiting firefighters is difficult, given the risky nature of the job, Ding said.

"The job is really tough and risky. Some workers have resigned shortly after they are hired," Ding said.

The recruitment of firefighters in rural areas is also difficult, because those areas have less financial resources, Ding said.

Contracted firefighters from rural areas are paid up to 2,000 yuan ($290) a month, with social and medical insurance benefits, Ding said. Firefighters in the urban areas earn more, he said.

In another development, the provincial fire control authority will develop eight special firefighting teams this year, Ding said.

"The teams will cover special areas like chemical and underground building fires," Ding said.

Guangdong, one of the major manufacturing hubs in south China, has had a rising number of deadly fires in recent years.

In a recent case, 13 women were killed when a fire engulfed a factory in Gurao township of Shantou in eastern Guangdong province on May 21.

More than 150 firefighters using 13 fire engines responded to the emergency and the flames were extinguished nearly three hours later.

(China Daily July 25, 2009)