Fire Police Department officially speaks out about new fire prevention standards

A representative of the Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue Police Department (PCCC&CNCH, Ministry of Public Security) said that recently, many organizations and enterprises, especially foreign-invested enterprises, have raised difficulties and problems in the process of implementing legal regulations on fire prevention and fighting (PCCC), especially in projects using fireproof paint.

To quickly resolve the problems, the Fire Police Department met and discussed directly with a number of embassies and business associations (Korea, Japan...) that had difficulties and problems.

A series of karaoke bars in Hanoi were forced to close due to not meeting fire safety requirements.

Through discussion, the Fire Police Department found that the main reason leading to the above difficulties is that the consulting unit and the investor have not promptly grasped the legal regulations on fire prevention and fighting, and have selected contractors with limited capacity, leading to failure to comply with the regulations.

The Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department has issued specific instructions.

For projects and constructions that have been granted a Fireproof Paint Inspection Certificate according to Decree 79/2014/ND-CP (before January 10, 2021), the inspection results will continue to be used to conduct fire prevention and fighting acceptance for the project or construction.

For projects and works that have design documents prepared and approved after Decree 136/2020/ND-CP takes effect (from January 10, 2021), there must be a fire-resistant design document for the load-bearing structure of the work, which is the basis for selecting fire protection solutions for the structure according to design standards and regulations or a set of data serving the design that has been built according to regulations.

Many karaoke bars are struggling to repair to meet new fire prevention standards.

The representative of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department gave an example, the dossier must meet details such as using paint, mortar, fireproof panels or what kind of materials, and how to do it?

The investor submits the fire-resistant design dossier, orientation of fire protection solutions for the structure, and other components of the dossier according to the provisions of Decree 136/2020/ND-CP to the competent Fire Police agency to conduct fire protection design review. Based on the results of the tested, inspected (verified) structural samples, the contractor organizes the construction of fire-resistant protective covering for the load-bearing structure of the construction according to the design dossier and conducts fire protection acceptance according to regulations.

For specific cases, the Fire Prevention and Fighting and Rescue Police Department requests the investor to provide detailed fire prevention and fighting design documents of the project so that all parties can find appropriate solutions in accordance with fire prevention and fighting laws, and soon put the project into use.

Fire Police Team of Hai Ba Trung District Police (Hanoi) inspected a karaoke bar.

The Fire Police Department added that recently there were opinions that in just 18 months, the Ministry of Construction issued 3 Fire Prevention and Fighting Regulations, causing difficulties for people when applying them.

Regarding this issue, a representative of the Fire Police Department explained that on April 6, 2020, the Ministry of Construction issued Circular No. 01/2020/TT-BXD on promulgating National Technical Regulation QCVN 06:2020/BXD on Fire Safety for Houses and Constructions, replacing QCVN 06:2010/BXD and taking effect from July 1, 2020.

After a period of implementation, finding that there were some points that were not suitable for practice, on May 19, 2021, the Ministry of Construction issued Circular No. 02/2021/TT-BXD on promulgating National Technical Regulation QCVN 06:2021/BXD (replacing QCVN 06:2020/BXD).

On November 30, 2022, the Ministry of Construction continued to issue Circular No. 06/2022/TT-BXD on promulgating QCVN 06:2022/BXD (replacing QCVN 06:2020/BXD).

The content of QCVN 06:2022/BXD has many points that resolve difficult-to-implement regulations on fire prevention and fighting that businesses are still stuck with.

First, reduce the fire resistance requirements for fire curtains, glass walls, and glass doors.

“The old regulation required the use of fireproof curtains that reached EI 60; glass doors and glass walls had to ensure the fire resistance limit EI, but the new standard allows fireproof curtains to reach EI 60, 30, 15; glass doors and glass walls only require the fire resistance limit EW which is easier to achieve, suitable for glass products,” a representative of the Fire Police Department analyzed.

Many businesses expressed confusion with the new Fire Prevention and Fighting Standards. Photo: Ho Giap

Second, the new standard reduces the fire resistance requirements for buildings, especially manufactured homes.

Specifically, according to the old standards, for industrial buildings of production class C, if the house is 1 floor, the maximum fire compartment is allowed to be 5,200m2; if the house is 2 floors, the maximum fire compartment is allowed to be 3,500m2.². The new standard allows a 1-storey house to have a fire compartment of up to 25,000 m², 2-storey house with fire compartment up to 10,400 m² and only requires fire resistance level III, IV corresponding to the fire resistance limit of the load-bearing structure of 45 minutes or 15 minutes, making it easy to implement measures to protect fire-resistant structures.

Third, the new standard reduces the fire resistance limit of non-load-bearing exterior walls. Previously, all constructions required exterior walls (glass) to have a fire resistance limit, causing difficulties in construction investment in terms of construction and investment costs.

Currently, QCVN 06:2022/BXD has specific regulations, significantly reducing the cases requiring fire resistance limits. At the same time, when the constructions have ensured fire safety distance, fire resistance limits are not required for this structure;

Fourth, reduce the requirements for fire safety distance. For buildings that do not meet the requirements for fire safety distance, many other fire prevention solutions can be selected as alternatives, such as using fire walls, fire prevention structures, as well as equipping additional automatic fire suppression systems.

Fifth, add regulations to allow some cases where it is only necessary to design one exit (staircase) or arrange an open escape staircase.

Sixth, reduce the requirement for outdoor fire-fighting water supply systems for mountainous and rural areas as well as small-scale projects.