SHENYANG - The provincial legislature of Northeast China's Liaoning province has passed a new regulation to prevent any firefighting units from using members under 18 years of age.

This new firefighting regulation will go into effect on March 1. It states "all organizations and individuals have the obligation to aid in firefighting. But residents under the age of 18 should not be mobilized to take part in combating natural disasters".

In 1988, a 14-year-old boy, Lai Ning, was severely burnt trying to protect State property in a fire and lost his life. For years, he was held up as a model for children around the nation to follow. But in recent years more and more people are arguing that protecting children is more important than any kind of asset.

Qian Xinglin, deputy director of Liaoning Province People's Congress law committee, spoke highly about this revision.

Students run from a smoking building during a fire drill at Fushun No 1 High School, Liaoning province, on Tuesday. Yao Jianfeng / Xinhua