Are gas stations in Nghe An safe?

(Baonghean) - At about 1:30 pm on June 3, 2013, a large fire broke out at gas station No. 2B Tran Hung Dao Street, Hoan Kiem District (Hanoi). Accordingly, the fire that broke out at the gas station was up to 20 meters high and quickly spread and burned down the surrounding houses. Although Hanoi mobilized the Fire Police force along with many modern fire fighting equipment at the highest level, and arrived at the scene as soon as possible, after nearly 5 hours, the fire was controlled and completely extinguished.

The initial cause of the fire was determined: when the tanker was loading gasoline into the tank, the gasoline leaked through the drainage ditch into the adjacent restaurant and caught fire. The fire burned back to the gasoline truck and spread to the underground tank of the gas station almost immediately. Fire experts were amazed as to why, in such high temperatures, the tanker, which was carrying hundreds of cubic meters of gasoline, did not explode. And if it did explode, who knows what would happen?

Although the human loss was not great and this was not the first gas station fire in Hanoi, this was a huge fire of terrible magnitude. It really sounded an urgent alarm bell about fire safety at gas stations not only in Hanoi.

Looking at others makes me think of myself. According to statistics from the authorities, in Nghe An there are currently over 300 retail petrol stations. Most of them are located in cities, towns and townships. Of which, Vinh City accounts for about 10%.

According to the prescribed design standards, gas stations must be at least 100 meters away from crowded areas, at least 10 meters from civil works, and 50 meters or more from public works; 1.5 times the height of high-voltage power lines; 100 meters from fire and explosion hazards; and if adjacent to other construction works, they must have a surrounding wall higher than 2.2 meters. If following this standard, will the retail gas stations and pumps in Nghe An ensure compliance with the above regulations?

Discussing this issue, a Fire Police officer of Nghe An Police affirmed: Currently, 100% of petrol retail stations in Nghe An ensure the above standards. Violating stations have been handled. However, according to our naked eye records, in Vinh City as well as other inner-city areas in the province, the number of petrol retail stations violating the above standards is not small. That is not to mention other violations of the Fire Prevention Law or Decree 52/CP of the Government such as the use of flammable objects, mobile phones at petrol stations, for example.

And, even if 100% of petrol retail stations in Nghe An have met the prescribed standards as the above fire prevention officer said, the danger of fire and explosion at petrol stations in Nghe An is still lurking around us every second, every minute. Because of the careless habits of some consumers, the negligence of many petrol stations. It is not even excluded that some officials of the competent authorities do not seriously inspect and punish violations.

In Hanoi, before the fire at 2B - Tran Hung Dao, it was estimated that over 50 out of 500 retail gas stations were forced to relocate as soon as possible. That is not to mention the serious errors discovered at gas stations in the area after the fire. In Nghe An, do the authorities need to conduct a survey and re-evaluate the safety of over 300 gas stations?

Although it is too cliche, I still want to repeat the saying "don't wait until the cow is gone before building the barn" so that authorities and business owners can take care of it.

Viet Long