Apartment buildings violating fire prevention and fighting regulations are still allowed to operate. Is the construction industry responsible?

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The situation of high-rise apartment buildings continuously burning, causing great loss of life and property, has caused great concern to public opinion in recent days. In an interview with VOV reporters on this issue, Dr. Pham Si Liem, Vice President of the Vietnam Construction Association, said that it is necessary to strengthen inspection and comprehensive review of fire prevention and fighting work, and at the same time clarify the responsibilities of relevant units when there are signs of violations.

PV:Sir, public opinion says that the rate of apartment buildings ensuring fire safety is very low. What is your opinion on this issue?

Dr. Pham Si Liem:Apartments are crowded places with vertical traffic, so it is not convenient to escape in case of an accident. Therefore, the design and construction of apartments must be strictly regulated in terms of fire prevention and fighting. However, currently, regulations exist but still lack control.

In fact, before letting people move in, there must be acceptance and handover procedures. After the project has been accepted according to the design and requirements, the acceptance agency will issue a license for the investor to put the project into use. However, in many places, we finish construction and move in without knowing whether it has been evaluated and licensed or not. Therefore, this step must be tightened.

This is the responsibility of the construction industry. Because, when the construction industry issues a building permit for an apartment building, it will re-examine the design, as well as other items to see if they meet the standards or not, then it will issue a building permit. Therefore, it is necessary to go through the construction permit control stage before controlling the compliance with the construction permit. Unfortunately, in reality, we have not done it fully, especially when such incidents have occurred in the past, so it is necessary to rectify it soon.

PV:So where should the consideration of responsibility begin, sir?

Dr. Pham Si Liem:Basically, the responsibility lies with the government and the construction management agency. Because, this is the agency that issues the construction permit. Why does the agency still issue the permit even though it does not meet the requirements, or does that agency not have a permit but they continue to build without inspection, how can it be managed? Therefore, the construction management agency must take responsibility, however, who is helping this construction agency? That is the local ward, commune, and local government.

When the ward or commune authorities see a problem, they must inspect it. If the ward authorities know about it, or know about it but do not report it, then the ward authorities must take responsibility. If they are reported but do not handle it, then the licensing authority must take responsibility.

In case the design is incomplete but still licensed, the licensing unit is responsible. The investor must also be responsible, but that is only in the market aspect, but in terms of state management, the state agency must be responsible.

PV:What recommendations do you have to limit fires in apartment buildings, sir?

Dr. Pham Si Liem:Fires in apartment buildings involve three stages. The first stage is whether the design and construction are correct or not to ensure fire prevention and fighting. However, if the design is correct but the occupants cause a fire, the fire will still occur. Therefore, the second stage is whether the management and use of the building meet fire prevention and fighting requirements or not. Is the fire prevention equipment working or not? Is there a water tap, but does the tap have water?

The third step, which belongs to the government, is whether there is equipment to put out a fire when it occurs. In fact, if any step is weak or does not meet the requirements, the management must be strengthened more closely, and the equipment must be checked regularly. Raise people's awareness in fire prevention and fighting.

PV: Yes, thank you!