BEIJING — The death toll from fires in 2020 dropped to 1,183 in China, down 13.6 percent from the previous year, authorities said Jan 22.

China saw about 252,000 fire accidents in 2020, down 1.4 percent year-on-year, incurring a direct property loss of 4.01 billion yuan ($620.59 million), down 0.5 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

High rises saw a remarkable rise in fires last year with 6,987 fire incidents reported, accounting for 2.8 percent of the total fires, up 13.6 percent from the previous year.

Meanwhile, 49.3 percent of the total fires befell in the rural regions.