A comprehensive firefighting and rescue exercise for chemical industrial parks, codenamed "Emergency Mission 2026 - Safeguarding the Free Trade Port," was held on August 27 in the Yangpu Economic Development Zone of Danzhou City. The drill deployed a large array of unmanned equipment, including high-temperature-resistant dual-optical drones, quadruped robot dogs, wheeled robot dogs, high-temperature-resistant firefighting robots, and fire suppression robots.
The exercise mobilized 325 firefighters, over 80 firefighting and rescue vehicles, and more than 1,200 pieces of operational equipment. It was conducted jointly with public security, emergency management, medical, and environmental protection departments, strictly aligning with the typical risk profile of the petrochemical industry and featuring a complex and severe disaster scenario.
The simulation began with an explosion caused by a malfunction in the crude oil pretreatment unit at a refining and chemical ethylene plant. Flying debris from the blast ignited surrounding pipe racks and oil tanks, causing material leaks and fires with multiple hazards compounding simultaneously. During the evacuation process, an LNG tanker truck was rear-ended by a freight truck, leading to an explosion and fire. Additionally, a pressure loss in the dock's material pipeline caused a hazardous chemical vessel to leak its cargo, resulting in a flash explosion. With various dangers occurring simultaneously and multiple personnel trapped, the situation on site was extremely critical.
At the drill site, the command center relied on ad-hoc networking technology to establish an integrated "air-space-ground" command and communication network under conditions of public communication interruption. High- and low-altitude drone swarms conducted coordinated three-dimensional reconnaissance, while high-temperature-resistant dual-optical drones, quadruped robot dogs, and wheeled robot dogs penetrated the core explosion zone, transmitting real-time critical data such as tank temperatures and concentrations of toxic and flammable gases.
In the tank cooling operation area, high-temperature-resistant firefighting robots operated close to the fire source, while aerial ladder fire trucks and long-reach fire trucks established an external remote fire control position. At the LNG tanker handling site, fire suppression robots carried out dilution and explosion suppression operations. To address the risk of overpressure explosion of the tanker, the assault team remotely operated a self-developed mobile venting and ignition system from 30 meters away, safely relieving pressure through remote drainage and wireless ignition, keeping personnel away from the core explosion area.
For the ship fire response segment, the "Puxiao No. 1" fireboat's high-capacity water cannons provided sustained firepower, working in conjunction with fixed dock fire facilities and land-based high-lift fire trucks to establish a coordinated sea-land fire control system. Rescue personnel simultaneously injected nitrogen to inert the cabin environment, eliminating the risk of re-ignition from the source, and successfully rescued the trapped individuals.
According to reports, this drill showcased several innovative tactics and methods aimed at addressing the practical challenges of petrochemical fires, such as difficulty in shutting off valves and rapid re-ignition. After several hours of continuous response, all hazards were fully resolved.
A relevant official from the Hainan Provincial Fire and Rescue Corps stated that the exercise set up seven categories of disaster scenarios and nearly 50 practical subjects, extensively deploying various unmanned equipment in actual combat. The drill provided a full-process validation of the new quality combat capability in chemical firefighting and rescue, which replaces traditional manpower-intensive tactics with technological equipment.