'Red alert' for fire and explosion risk in Nghe An

Fires broke out one after another.

Most recently, on the night of July 8, a wedding photo studio on Tran Phu Street suddenly caught fire. Firefighters had to work hard to control the fire and prevent it from spreading to other houses.

On the afternoon of July 5, traders at Hung Dung market were also in chaos when a grocery kiosk caught fire. It took 4 hours, with the participation of professional firefighters and the support of local people, to put out the fire. This fire did not cause any human casualties, but traders lost billions of dong.

Many fires have occurred in markets, hotels and houses recently. Photo: Archive

Earlier, on the morning of July 4, a fire broke out at the wood drying kiln area of ​​Song Hieu Forestry Processing Enterprise in Hoa Hieu Ward (Thai Hoa Town). The fire started from a wood drying kiln, spread to other areas, and burned fiercely. Fire Police Team No. 3 (Thai Hoa Town Police), the Town Military Command and the K12 warehouse unit mobilized hundreds of officers, soldiers and 3 professional fire trucks to the scene to coordinate with local people to put out the fire. After more than 1 hour, the fire was extinguished...

According to statistics from the Nghe An Fire Prevention and Fighting Force, from the beginning of 2019 to now, there have been 30 fires in Vinh City, causing 1 death and property damage of about 6.71 billion VND. In the whole province, there were 211 fires and explosions in the first 6 months of the year. Of which, 31 were in civilian areas, causing 1 death and damage of 6.71 billion VND; 71 forest fires and vegetation fires caused 1 death and burned hundreds of hectares of forest; 109 fires in electrical systems, landfills, houses, etc.

Many potential risks

According to analysis by Nghe An Police, in addition to the main causes of forest fires due to prolonged hot weather, strong southwest winds and dry, flammable vegetation, the main causes of fires are electrical short circuits (72%); violations of regulations when using heat sources and fire sources (19%), and other causes (9%).
The risk of fire and explosion in Vinh city is still very complicated, especially in crowded residential areas, markets, and shopping centers. According to a survey by reporters, markets managed by the People's Committees of wards and communes are not yet unified; some markets do not have a management board, leading to a lack of attention to fire prevention and fighting. Some markets have degraded and do not ensure fire safety such as Quang Trung market, Cua Bac market, Quan Lau market...

In particular, the situation of goods gathering in kiosks in markets is chaotic, encroaching on fire roads; gathering flammable goods is common in markets in the city, especially Vinh market.

Closely packed kiosks and shabby tents pose a fire risk at Vinh market. Photo: Lam Tung

Fire prevention and fighting teams at some facilities lack the skills to operate and use the equipped fire prevention and fighting equipment; The awareness of compliance with fire prevention and fighting regulations of a part of the residents living in the apartments is still low, specifically: These facilities have all been approved and accepted before being put into operation, however, during use, some residents have used bricks, stones, furniture to block and open the fire escape doors, making the smoke prevention effect ineffective, and the fire escapes of some apartments have been occupied...

There is still a situation of arranging food stalls (using gas stoves, coal stoves for cooking) near business areas, not ensuring fire safety distance... Organizing on-site fire fighting drills is still a formality and a coping measure.

The walkways at the fire escape stairs of some apartment buildings are now even narrower, occupied by households to store household appliances. Photo: Lam Tung

Some establishments have converted their functions and usage from residential houses to restaurants, hotels, motels, and karaoke businesses, which are subject to fire safety design approval according to Clause 2, Article 15 of Decree No. 79/2014/ND-CP, but have not implemented or are unable to implement the conditions for ensuring fire safety such as: unable to renovate or add escape routes, have not been granted a license by the competent authority to convert their functions, so they do not have enough procedures to submit a fire safety design approval dossier...

To avoid fire and explosion incidents during the hot season in Vinh City, the Fire Police and Rescue Force recommends that people regularly check and repair power sources, and all flammable materials must be kept at least 0.5m away from power sources.

Residential areas with many shacks, coal stoves, and wood stoves should not be kept indoors and should be kept away from other flammable materials. People should use electricity at the lowest level to avoid electrical short circuits due to overload.

Nguyen Xien Street, near Vinh Market, where wooden furniture is sold, is at high risk of fire. Photo: Van Truong

Households, companies, and factories absolutely must not store dangerous substances that can cause fire or explosion (such as gasoline, oil, mini gas cylinders). For households that sell flammable goods (clothes, mattresses, blankets), products must be arranged far from fire sources, heat sources, power sources, and must have necessary escape routes. Electrical systems must be installed and used properly.

In the first 6 months of the year, the province had 31 civil fires, 71 forest fires, 109 fires in electrical systems, landfills, and houses. Of these, the main cause of fire and explosion was electrical short circuits (accounting for 72%).