Apartment buildings in Vinh City are constantly worried about fire.
(Baonghean.vn) - The complacency and irresponsibility in fire prevention and control by investors and the poor awareness of residents in high-rise apartment buildings in Vinh City are currently alarming.
In most high-rise apartment buildings, after completion and handover to customers, the windows and balconies of the apartments do not have safety railings. The developers explain that this is due to fire safety design regulations: windows and balconies must be left open so that in case of fire, residents can escape through the balcony or window, and rescue forces can easily access to extinguish the fire and rescue people.
However, most residents believe that leaving balconies and windows open like that is unsafe. Firstly, it makes it easy for thieves to break into the house, and secondly, it is dangerous for children. There have been many cases of children accidentally falling from high-rise buildings and dying because of balconies and windows without railings. Therefore, after buying an apartment, people have to install railings made of iron or stainless steel for windows and balconies, creating sturdy "tiger cages."
This creates a risk in the event of a fire or explosion: if the main door is jammed and cannot be opened, or if the outside hallway is engulfed in flames and smoke, people may inadvertently trap themselves inside the house with no escape route. Rescue forces will also find it very difficult to enter or will spend too much time rescuing people.
Some construction experts suggest that a solution to the "tiger cage" problem is that when building protective fences, people should not weld them shut but instead install emergency exits that can be locked during normal times and easily opened in case of fire.
According to fire safety regulations, emergency exit doors must be lockable and open freely. For buildings taller than 15 meters, these doors must be solid or made of tempered glass and equipped with self-closing mechanisms and airtight seals to maintain higher pressure than the outside corridor, preventing smoke from entering during a fire.
With its intended function, the doors from the hallway to the emergency stairwell should always close automatically when no one is using them. However, according to a survey by reporters, in many high-rise apartment buildings, these doors have malfunctioned after a period of use and have not been repaired. As a result, the smoke-blocking doors to the emergency exit remain wide open all day. Some residents even use bricks, stones, and sometimes even fire extinguishers to prop the doors open for convenience. This poses a risk: if a fire occurs, the entire stairwell emergency exit will be filled with smoke, rendering the escape route useless.
Furthermore, in apartment buildings, many residents "occupy" hallways and stairwells to store bulky belongings. This obstructs rescue vehicles and hinders residents' ability to escape in the event of a fire. The older the apartment building, the more common this "occupation" of hallways and emergency exits becomes.
Although fire safety regulations clearly state: "Escape routes must not be blocked by any structure or obstacle leading to the outside," in most high-rise apartment buildings, the developers and management always lock the doors of the emergency exits to the rooftop.
When asked, the developer replied that because there are water supply systems on the rooftop, they have to be locked to prevent vandalism and also to prevent children from playing on the rooftop and falling, which could be life-threatening.
It should be noted that, based on practical experience, during a fire, if the fire is on a lower floor, people on the upper floors are advised to run to the rooftop via the emergency exit to avoid smoke inhalation and to be rescued. In the Carina apartment building fire in Ho Chi Minh City, many residents died tragically because they got stuck in locked doors while trying to reach the rooftop, ultimately becoming trapped and suffocating from smoke.
Therefore, to protect the property, the investor should use a different solution, such as building a separate protective wall from the property, and for the safety of children, building a surrounding wall. According to fire safety regulations, the emergency exit to the rooftop must always be open.
Currently, in Vinh City, there are several apartment buildings that violate regulations on building density. These buildings are constructed in unsuitable locations, with inadequate infrastructure, cramped grounds, and in some cases, the developers have utilized all available space to build multi-story buildings without any open areas or space for fire trucks to access in case of a fire.
Speaking to Nghe An Newspaper, Colonel Le Xuan Hoai – Deputy Director of the Provincial Fire Prevention and Control Police Department – said: “The complacent attitude of most residents and investors remains a serious concern in high-rise apartment buildings in Nghe An province. Although the Provincial Fire Prevention and Control Police Department has been very active in propaganda and training over the years, violations of fire safety regulations are still common. In many cases, when a fire occurs, firefighters arrive but many fire hydrants in apartment buildings lack water. Bringing water from elsewhere takes a long time and does not guarantee timely action to minimize damage to people and property.”
According to the assessment of the Provincial Fire Prevention and Control Police, the existing problems in apartment buildings in Nghe An province are: After the buildings are put into use, compliance with the maintenance of fire prevention and control equipment and facilities has not been given adequate attention by investors and building management boards; especially when investors "retire from responsibility" and hand over management to the local authorities, it is very difficult to mobilize regular financial resources to maintain and repair the fire prevention and control equipment system according to prescribed standards.
Furthermore, on the morning of March 28th, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Huynh Thanh Dien and leaders from the Departments of Construction, Natural Resources and Environment, and the Vinh City People's Committee inspected the PVNC2-CT02 apartment building of Thanh Vinh Investment, Production and Trading Joint Stock Company (under the Nghe An Petroleum and Mineral Corporation) and discovered that the building had not yet installed a fire prevention and fighting system but was still allowing residents to move in.
In light of the recent series of fires across the country, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Duong, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, has issued a document requesting the Provincial Fire Prevention and Control Police to take the lead in coordinating with relevant agencies to inspect fire safety measures in apartment buildings in Nghe An province. He also requested that relevant organizations and individuals strictly implement fire safety measures; and to rectify and severely punish violations and non-compliance.
