Consolation urged after nursing home arson

Civil affairs authorities on Tuesday urged civil service agencies to offer better consolation services in the wake of a deadly nursing home fire that killed 11 in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The Ministry of Civil Affairs asked civil affairs service agencies at all levels to meet both their clients' material and spiritual needs. Arson was confirmed as the cause of the fire on July 26, which also revealed that potential risks exist in civil affairs service agencies' safety management, according to the ministry. The ministry called for offering better consolation services, such as interpersonal and emotional counseling, for their clients, adding that psychological counseling and dispute resolution services in such agencies need to be strengthened. Safety management also needs to be enhanced in rural nursing homes, children's welfare associations and social welfare institutions for the elderly and children, the ministry said. Local authorities were asked to map out practical measures in order to find potential safety hazards in civil affairs service agencies, according to the ministry.