Carina residents burst into tears when Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh visited.

On the morning of March 25, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh visited the scene of the Carina apartment building (District 8, Ho Chi Minh City) to inspect the aftermath of the fire that killed 14 people.

After working with the Ho Chi Minh City government and related agencies, he went to the building opposite - where Carina residents were staying because they could not return home - to visit and encourage them. He also personally delivered the Government's support to each resident.

Sitting nervously in the third row, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu (42 years old, resident of block C) raised her hand to express her opinion to the Deputy Prime Minister, as he prepared to leave the meeting. Mr. Binh lingered.

"Dear Deputy Prime Minister, I hope you can give me some guidance. For the past few days, everyone has been anxious and has not dared to return to their homes. We have no place to stay. We are very worried and don't know what to do...", Ms. Thu said, about to cry.

Although there was no significant property damage, the 14 deaths in the fire left Ms. Thu and many other families frightened. The investor has yet to meet with residents to work out the damage and discuss compensation. The houses were devastated by the fire, without electricity or water, leaving residents homeless.

"We hope to immediately replace the apartment management department, it needs to be more professional. Fire prevention must be absolutely ensured so that people can live in peace," Ms. Thu said, crying.

As soon as the neighbor finished speaking, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Mai (40 years old, resident of Lot A) immediately spoke up: "The investor has not come out to work with the residents, showing irresponsibility. We want a three-way meeting between the residents, the government and the investor to resolve the consequences. We cannot delay any longer, I hope the Deputy Prime Minister will direct the residents to help."

Next, the middle-aged man stood up, his voice quite indignant as he mentioned that after the fire, people realized that the safety system of the Carina apartment building was almost non-existent.

"The apartment building has no emergency lights to guide residents to escape, the automatic fire sprinkler system is not working... the quality of the construction is problematic. We now have no place to live, and our children's education is disrupted," he said.

Listening to each person, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh once again shared the loss of life, property damage and the spirit of the residents. He reassured everyone to stay calm in the situation to overcome the consequences.

Turning to the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City and District 8, the Deputy Prime Minister asked them to quickly take measures to provide electricity and water, creating all conditions for people to return to their apartments.

"The next solution is to strictly check the work to ensure absolute safety for residents, and rearrange everyone's lives as soon as possible. Peoplein need of medical help, from injuries to psychological trauma", Mr. Binh directed.

Big lesson about apartment quality

Previously, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong and leaders of many departments and branches went down to the basement of Carina apartment building, where the fire broke out.

Mr. Binh requested that agencies quickly investigate the cause, strictly handle violations, and prevent similar incidents.The large heat source in a fire can affect the structure of the building, so it is essential to ensure absolute safety before letting residents move in.

The Deputy Prime Minister assessed that the authorities had tried hard to put out the fire, but the number of deaths and injuries "was too great, too painful".This is a great lesson in apartment inspection, from luxury to social housing.

The Deputy Prime Minister also asked the authorities to pay attention when the incident happened yesterday afternoon.fire inhotel8 floors. "The whole country is in the hot season, so there are many places where fires and explosions occur. Ho Chi Minh City and other localities must strengthen propaganda on fire prevention, especially for businesses that trade in flammable and explosive goods such as materials, scrap, chemicals...", the Deputy Prime Minister requested.

Mr.Propose that the Ministry of Public Security and the Ho Chi Minh City government commend and reward the fire fighting spirit of the fire police in recent times, especially individuals such as a security guard who died while saving many people in the fire.

This morning, the Deputy Prime Minister went to burn incense for the deceased male security guard and visited the hospitals to visit the victims in emergency care.

Carina Plaza Apartment is located on a land area of ​​over 19,000 m2 on Vo Van Kiet Street, District 8. The building consists of three blocks from 14 to 20 floors high, with commercial and entertainment areas... and more than 700 apartments.

The fire broke out at 1am on March 23 in the basement of an apartment building, killing 13 people and injuring more than 50; 13 cars and 150 motorbikes were burned. This was considered the most serious incident in the past 15 years, after the ITC fire disaster that killed 60 people.

According to initial investigation, when the fire broke out, the stairwell doors leading to the upper floors were opened due to being blocked by bricks, causing a strong smoke to rush up. The automatic fire suppression system was almost non-functional, and there were no on-site fire fighting forces, so when firefighters arrived, the fire and smoke were already very heavy.

Major General Phan Anh Minh (Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Police) said that the cause of the fire in the basement could not be ruled out as being caused by an explosive device.