In pics: granny firefighters in Xiamen

Recently, a selection of pictures depicting a special fire brigade in Xiamen, Fujian province went viral online.

Differing from ordinary ones, the firefighting squad situated in Shantou residential community, the city's Xiang'an district, is made of a group of grannies. The average age is over 50, with the oldest aged more than 70.

The brigade was initiated ten years ago on a voluntary basis. According to Qiu Lihua, 70, capitain of the team, its establishment came about due to certain reasons.

The community, located on a small island, had poor transportation connecting it with outside. Plus, most of young men in the area, at the time, had to migrate to work in bigger cities. Under such scenarios, the fire brigade was set up.

Over the past ten years, the firefighting squad has always been on the frontline of extinguishing fires as well as promoting fire disaster prevention knowledge across the community.

To date, it has been involved in hundreds of emergency reliefs.

The granny firefighters from Shantou residential community, Xiang'an district of Xiamen carry out a routine drill on Feb 28. [Photo/Xinhua]