BEIJING — The State Council has issued a regulation on fire control accountability.

Governments at all levels are to be responsible for the fire control situation in their respective administrative regions, and heads of governments are held accountable for fire disasters in their regions, according to the regulation.

Public security departments at county level or above are obliged to supervise and manage the fire control work in their regions, it said.

“Those who are found accountable for disasters will be punished and those suspected of crimes will be referred to justice,” the regulation said.

From January to October this year, a total of 219,000 fires had been reported across China, killing 1,065 people and injuring 679, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Statistics from the ministry show fires in residential buildings accounted for 43.5 percent of the total; those in rural areas accounted for 31.9 percent; with electricity the main cause of the fires, taking up 33.6 percent.