National drill on firefighting, rescue, and relief.

On August 14th, a national-scale firefighting, rescue, and relief drill took place at the Diamond Plaza building (34 Le Duan Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City), with the participation of over 3,600 people.

Firefighting drill. Photo: VNA

The drill aimed to respond to catastrophic situations, such as fires and explosions in high-rise buildings. The drill was jointly organized by the Ministry of Public Security and the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Le Tan Buu, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Fire Department, Diamond Plaza was chosen as the training location because it is a complex building, serving as a shopping mall, entertainment center, cinema, rental apartments, restaurants, offices, and a multi-specialty clinic. It contains many items that could cause fires or explosions, as well as many flammable materials. Furthermore, the area is frequently crowded with people coming for recreation and shopping.

According to the simulated scenario, at approximately 9:25 AM on August 14th, a technical malfunction resulting in a gas leak caused an explosion and a large fire in the kitchen area on the 5th floor of the Diamond Plaza building. Part of the 5th floor collapsed, and the emergency exits from the 5th floor were damaged by the explosion. The fire spread throughout the entire 5th floor and then to other floors, covering an area of ​​approximately 3,000 square meters. At that time, there were about 2,500 people in the building, including over 100 people on the 5th floor who were injured, and many others trapped in the fire due to blocked emergency exits.

When the fire broke out, units mobilized on-site forces to contain the blaze and rescue the injured, while simultaneously notifying the authorities. Just 5 minutes later, the Ho Chi Minh City Fire Department quickly deployed forces to the scene, including firefighters from the nearest districts and counties. Recognizing the complexity of the fire, the Fire Department promptly reported to higher authorities to coordinate with other forces for timely assistance.

Authorities mobilized two helicopters from the 370th Air Force Division, 99 vehicles of various types, four fire pumps, and other rescue equipment, with nearly 400 officers and soldiers directly involved in firefighting and over 500 people participating in rescue operations. The forces actively rescued victims from dangerous areas, bringing people down using rope ladders, chutes, air mattresses, and climbing ropes. Approximately 40 minutes after the incident occurred, all more than 2,500 people inside the building had been rescued, and the fire was brought under control.

Lieutenant General Dang Van Hieu, Permanent Deputy Minister of Public Security and Head of the Steering Committee for the exercise, stated: "The exercise aims to respond promptly to disasters in high-rise buildings. This is a good opportunity to hone practical skills for fire prevention and fighting officers and soldiers, especially to establish a coordination mechanism between forces in the area. The exercise has mobilized the largest force and the most modern equipment that other countries are currently using and deploying in Vietnam."

In addition to two helicopters, for the first time, sniffer dogs from the Ministry of Public Security were used in the search for injured people in the rubble, along with two of the largest water tankers currently available. Besides these modern vehicles, the Ho Chi Minh City Fire Department also applied a rather innovative new method in high-rise building rescues. Specifically, specialized rescue stretchers used on water and swamps were modified into rope-sliding platforms to lower people from high floors, proving very effective in high-rise rescue operations.

Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has over 25,000 establishments subject to fire safety management, including 189 high-rise buildings (10 floors or more), 3 export processing zones, 13 industrial parks, 1 high-tech zone, 147 markets, 33 shopping malls, and 60 supermarkets. These areas concentrate many vehicles, equipment, and goods of high value, and are places where large crowds gather. A fire or explosion would be extremely dangerous. In particular, in recent years, the city has seen many new constructions, including underground structures, super high-rise buildings, and other similar projects. This reality poses significant challenges for fire prevention and control efforts.

According to Mr. Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City: Although regulations stipulate that all high-rise buildings in the city must have helicopter landing pads to serve rescue operations, each situation requires a flexible response and the use of appropriate means. The use of helicopters for rescue is quite new, but it must be considered in the current situation. However, the deployment of helicopters will be applied in complex and critical situations. In other situations, rope ladders and escape chutes will mainly be used.

Lieutenant General Dang Van Hieu, Permanent Deputy Minister of Public Security and Head of the Steering Committee for the exercise, emphasized: This exercise involved close coordination among many forces in firefighting, rescue, and relief efforts. The relevant agencies recorded the exercise, using the footage as training material for firefighting forces nationwide. The experience and lessons learned from this national exercise will be widely disseminated and applied throughout the country.

According to VNA-KN