Along with department stores, restaurants and pubs, China's firefighters will be busy in the approaching Christmas period.

Fire control departments will step up inspection of public spaces and enhance fire control education ahead of Christmas, a Ministry of Public Security statement said Thursday.

Firefighters nationwide are ready to extinguish fires and rescue people in distress and will try their best to prevent accidents, the statement said.

Ahead of Christmas, fire control departments will check fire control facilities at major recreational venues, restaurants, shopping malls and religious venues, the statement said.

Those with defects that threaten public safety will be suspended from operation, the statement said.

During Christmas, firemen will also launch around-the-clock patrols and step up nighttime inspections, it said.

"Pubs, cinemas, department stores and churches will attract large numbers of people and open until late at night during Christmas, which raises the risk of fires," the statement said, citing two examples of serious fires at Christmas.

On Dec. 25, 2000, a fire at a department store in Luoyang City in central China's Henan Province killed 309 people.

On Dec. 25, 2005, a bar in Zhongshan City in south China's Guangdong Province caught fire, causing the deaths of 26 people.