Shanghai firefighters succeeded in pumping fire-extinguishing foam to a height of 360 meters - a new national record - during a drill at the unfinished Shanghai World Financial Center yesterday afternoon.

Shanghai firefighters spray flame-suppressing foam from a 360-meterhigh platform at the under-construction Shanghai World Financial Center during a drill yesterday. With skyscrapers springing up all around the city, firefighters have been testing newly imported equipment and increasing their capability to battle highrise blazes. In the background are the tops of the Jin Mao Tower and the Oriental TV Tower, the city's two tallest structures.

The previous record was set on November 9, 2005, when local firefighters elevated the chemicals to 269 meters in a simulated blaze at the Shanghai Shimao International Plaza on the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall.

Fire officials said yesterday's exercise was aimed to test how high and how fast the foam could be powered up by a new engine that was imported from abroad. The drill was termed a success, showing that city firefighters could ensure the safety of what is destined to be the tallest building in China.

The Shanghai World Financial Center is expected to soar 492 meters to 101 stories. It is being designed to hold 40,000 people and is expected to be completed in March 2008.

Yesterday afternoon, firefighters laid hoses connecting a compressed-air foam engine parked near the building. Long hoses were hoisted from the ground floor to the 84th floor along the exterior wall of the building. The exercise began at 3pm, and foam reached the 54th floor in two minutes and could be seen spraying from the 84th floor two minutes later.

"The Shanghai World Financial Center is equipped with advanced fire control facilities, including alarms and sprinkler systems; however, today's success in sending foam to such a height means a more powerful safeguard is available for the security of the tallest building," a fire official surnamed Li said.

(Shanghai Daily April 20, 2007)