Chapter 1434: Chapter 228: Investigation (Part 2)
At two in the afternoon, they went to research the Water Fire Rescue Team.
Compared with the Criminal Investigation Team, Han Yu, who also serves as chairman of the Binjiang Branch of the China Water Fire Association, is much more familiar with the Fire Brigade he personally set up back then.
Just like the Criminal Investigation Team, the Water Fire Rescue Team, including the Branch Captain, Instructor and Deputy Division Commander, has only four official police officers, with no auxiliary police, and they haven’t even been assigned a police car.
Branch Captain Li Mingsheng is an old acquaintance. He first worked as a police officer at the Binjiang Port Police Station, later transferred to the Gaoru Port Police Station, working his way up from squad leader to deputy director, and then was transferred to be Director of the Dongqi Police Station. After working in Dongqi for a few years, he was just transferred back last year.
Instructor Wu Yugu is also no stranger; he had always worked in the Political Office before.
Deputy Division Commander Old Xu is even more familiar; he used to be, like Fang Guoya, a Deputy Captain of the Jingjiang Fire Rescue Brigade, and it was Han Yu who helped arrange his transfer into the Changhang Bureau.
Clerical officer Ge Xiaoqian is a young female police officer, and Han Yu is not unfamiliar with her either.
Because when Xiao Yu was an instructor at Changhang Police Academy, she was his student, and she is the girlfriend of Xiao Chen, Xiao Yu’s student and subordinate. She is a child of the Changhang System; after graduation she was assigned to the Guzhou Branch. After she and Xiao Chen confirmed their relationship, Xiao Yu asked Deputy Principal Liu of the Changhang Police Academy—who had once concurrently served as deputy director of the Binjiang Branch—to help get her transferred over.
The four of them each have their own responsibilities.
While presiding over the team’s work, Li Mingsheng is also responsible for Fire Supervision and for administrative approvals and even administrative penalties related to Firefighting.
The team has only four official police officers in total, so there isn’t that much ideological and political work. Instructor Wu Yugu is mainly responsible for fire safety publicity. Deputy Division Commander Old Xu is in charge of waterborne fire suppression and responsible for guiding the construction of the enterprise fire brigades within the jurisdiction.
Seeing her "shishu" (teacher-uncle), Ge Xiaoqian’s pretty face flushed bright red; embarrassed to look up, she pretended to be very serious and took notes.
Li Mingsheng and Wu Yugu felt even more awkward when they saw Han Yu, holding their briefing materials and stopping short of speaking several times.
Old Xu is a military transfer official with a rather straightforward temper. He looked up and said, "Director Han, I’m sorry, we didn’t expect it would turn into this. We’ve embarrassed you. We’ll conduct a self-criticism."
Six months ago, a cargo ship registered in Nanhe caught fire while refueling at the Huanggang Water Station in Binjiang Waters.
After receiving the alarm, Old Xu immediately, according to the contingency plan, requisitioned the Binjiang Port Enterprise Fire Brigade and the fire-fighting tugboats of the Binjiang Port Tug Company. After two hours of firefighting, they successfully extinguished the blaze.
Because the command was proper and the firefighting timely, the Superior commended the Water Fire Rescue Team and the Binjiang Port Enterprise Fire Brigade. Old Xu and four others, including Fang Guoya, who performed outstandingly in the firefighting, were even awarded third-level merit by the Superior.
As chairman of the Binjiang Branch of the China Water Fire Association, Han Yu is fully informed about every fire that occurs in Binjiang Waters and along the shoreline. At the time, he had even called to congratulate them, and even joked with Old Xu and Fang Guoya that since they had earned merits, they would have to treat him to a meal.
It was a pretty good thing, yet unexpectedly, problems arose in the fire accident investigation.
In the fire accident investigation determination made at the time, the Captain of the cargo ship that had caught fire raised objections and took the Water Fire Rescue Team to court.
The Chonggang District Court ruled in the first instance that the Water Fire Rescue Team lost the case. Unconvinced, Li Mingsheng felt indignant; Director Qi and Political Commissioner Jiang also thought at the time that losing the case was stifling. Now the case has been appealed to the Binjiang Intermediate Court, and judging from the information they have obtained through various channels, it is very likely they will lose again, and may even have to bear litigation costs as high as 500,000 yuan.
A citizen sued the government, and he won.
This is big news!
The Superior is paying close attention, and so is the media. Director Qi is under tremendous pressure; he even brought it up during dinner yesterday.
Han Yu hadn’t expected something like this to happen in his old unit. In a low voice he said, "Since it’s happened, we have to face it. Regret doesn’t help. Let’s first talk about what exactly happened."
"Yes."
Steadying his mind, Li Mingsheng said with a bitter expression, "On January 16 this year, the Yu Zhoukou cargo vessel 5058 berthed at the Huanggang Water Station for refueling. The 5058 was empty at the time, with a very high freeboard. The station staff couldn’t climb up, so they listened to the Chief Engineer of the 5058 and handed the fuel nozzle over to the Chief Engineer and engine room crew of the 5058. They then directly inserted the fuel nozzle into the oil tank opening, which directly led to the fire."
Looking at the administrative judgment of the court of first instance, Han Yu asked, "How did you conduct the investigation?"
"We investigated according to regulations and procedures. During the investigation, we found that there was non-compliant fuel in the 5058’s oil tank. We took samples and sent them for testing. The testing agency found that the flash point of that fuel was 26°C, so under ambient temperature it would evaporate and mix with air to form an explosive combustible gas accumulation. When the crew of the 5058 were refueling, they violated regulations by filling directly through the oil tank opening, thereby causing static electricity accumulation and discharge, which ignited the combustible gas in the tank and caused an explosion and fire."
"Who participated in the investigation?"
"Me, Old Qian, Fang Guoya, and Master Liu from the Binjiang Fire Department."
"Then how did you determine the fire accident?"
"Based on the situation at the time, we determined that the two crew members of the 5058 who violated operating procedures bore direct responsibility for the fire. The Boatswain, who also served as safety officer at the station, failed to conscientiously perform safety inspection duties during refueling and bore indirect responsibility for the accident."
"And then?" Han Yu pressed.
"The ship’s side refused to accept it and applied for a re-determination, and even went to Hanwu. The Changhang Police Water Fire Fighting Corps sent experts over, and they upheld the determination we had previously made. The ship’s side still refused to accept it and went ahead and sued us."
No wonder they were under such great pressure; turns out the Changhang Police Water Fire Fighting Corps had been drawn in as well.
This lawsuit cannot be lost, because once they lose, the ones losing won’t be just the Binjiang Branch.
