THE Shanghai Fire Brigade yesterday launched its latest campaign to become more professional by staging a major recruitment drive.

A total of 700 positions — 530 for firefighters and the rest for fire truck drivers — are now available, Shanghai Daily learned from a local job fair organized by the fire department on Changxing Island yesterday afternoon. And already 30 applications have come in.

Unlike many other countries, most firefighters in China are recruited through a military-style compulsory service.