The fear of fire.
The motionless bodies on stretchers covered with white sheets, the wailing sirens of ambulances speeding away into the night, the heart-wrenching cries of relatives—all these things combined to create a haunting image for me when I arrived at the scene of the fire on Tran Thai Tong Street.
Authorities have released figures for the number of victims who died in the fire: 7, then 10, then 13.
That scene reminded me of 2012, when I myself experienced a major fire. Even now, thinking back, I still feel shaken.
At that time, I owned a preschool located in two newly built high-rise buildings. When I rented them, the buildings lacked complete electrical and plumbing systems, and the fire safety system was particularly rudimentary and outdated. These were two buildings belonging to a state-owned entity that rented out rooms to students, so it seems the developer didn't pay much attention to the quality of the equipment.
Because it involved the children, in addition to the modern kitchen area, I also suggested installing a separate fire alarm system for the school, and I proactively invited firefighters to provide training for the teachers and staff. These actions later helped many people escape danger.
One afternoon in May 2012, the school's private fire alarm system suddenly went off loudly when smoke was detected in the pipe housing the building's main electrical box. Immediately, following training, we evacuated 150 children from the building via the stairwell and notified the building's security guards. At the time, many people around us looked at us suspiciously, because the building's main fire alarm system was completely silent. Even when we manually pressed the alarm button, it seemed unresponsive. Hundreds of residents of the entire high-rise building were completely unaware of the impending disaster.
After evacuating all the students, we returned with the security guards and ran up to each room in the 21-story building to urge everyone to evacuate. At this point, thick smoke began billowing from the electrical conduits, and people were running and crying. Dozens of students who couldn't escape via the stairwell rushed to the balconies and jumped onto the roof below. The scene was extremely chaotic. It was a long time before the fire department arrived. Fortunately, the incident only resulted in property damage and no casualties.
Without adequate fire safety knowledge, coupled with a bit of luck, the damage would be far beyond material losses.
The fire at the karaoke restaurants on Tran Thai Tong Street will not be the first, nor will it be the last. Just a short time ago, there was also a fire at a karaoke restaurant on Nguyen Khang Street.
Fire and explosions are a constant risk at karaoke restaurants – places that use many highly flammable materials such as soundproof walls and ceilings made of foam, and sofas and tables; not to mention the huge advertising signs covering the facades of the buildings with a tangled mess of carelessly connected electrical wires. The row houses on the street, already sealed on three sides, now have their facades sealed as well. All of this leads to the possibility of fire and explosion at any time. And fire and explosions will certainly cause serious damage.
The situation at the karaoke bar on Tran Thai Tong Street becomes even more distressing when considering that the establishment lacked fire safety permits and a business registration license. Another question arises: who is responsible for allowing this situation to occur?
Someone will have to take responsibility for the incident. But tragedy and loss will continue if people only assign blame after individual incidents without considering and addressing the broader reality that, in many aspects, the occurrence of such events has been largely due to a lack of accountability.
According to VNE
