Every year, more than 1,564 billion VND is "burned" in fires.

At Nghe An bridge point, there were comrade Nguyen Van Thong - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; along with representatives of the People's Council, People's Committee, relevant departments and branches and officers and soldiers of the Provincial Police attending.

Conference scene at Nghe An bridge. Photo: Phuoc Anh

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Senior Lieutenant General Le Quy Vuong - Deputy Minister of Public Security recalled the fire at Carina Plaza apartment building (Ho Chi Minh City) on March 23, 2018, which killed 13 people and injured 51 others. The fire caused heavy damage to people and property, causing panic and anxiety among the people, and sounded the alarm bell about current fire prevention work.

Fire and explosion incidents are becoming increasingly complex. During the period from 2013 to 2017, there were 14,871 fires nationwide, killing 406 people, injuring 989 people, causing estimated property damage of over VND 7,821 billion; there were 156 explosions, killing 107 people, injuring 248 people, causing estimated property damage of VND 18.6 billion.

Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Van Thong and representatives of relevant departments, agencies and sectors attended the conference at Nghe An bridge. Photo: Phuoc Anh

According to calculations, on average, 2,974 fires occur nationwide each year, killing 91 people, injuring 198 people, and causing property damage estimated at over VND 1,564 billion. Major fires causing serious damage occur mainly in provinces and cities with rapid urbanization and economic and social development. Notably, although the number of major fires accounts for only 1% of the total number of cases, property damage accounts for about 70% of the total damage caused by fires.

During the period 2013 - 2017, the Fire Police force promptly and effectively organized 9,727 firefighting cases, rescued 6,857 cases; organized evacuation instructions for tens of thousands of people, and directly rescued 2,262 people.

Scene of the fire at a store near Quan Lau market (Vinh city) on the afternoon of May 15. Photo courtesy

Faced with the complicated developments of the fire and explosion situation, the police force, with the core being the Fire Police force, has proactively advised the Party committees and authorities, strengthening leadership and direction in fire prevention and fighting work. Tens of thousands of documents at all levels have been issued; coordination regulations between departments, branches, sectors, units... have been deployed; propaganda, training, education on legal knowledge and skills on fire prevention and fighting are regularly organized; inspection, examination, licensing, and post-inspection have been tightened...

However, fire prevention and rescue work still shows many shortcomings and limitations. The review, revision and development of legal documents, standards and regulations on fire prevention and fighting are still slow, not keeping up with the pace of socio-economic development; sanctions for violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting are not strong enough, causing many investors to deliberately delay and prolong the process of correcting errors...

In addition, some localities and units have not really paid attention to fire prevention and fighting work, leaving it entirely to the fire police force; the number of facilities and constructions under fire prevention and fighting management is increasing, putting great pressure on the authorities; urban planning still has many shortcomings, infrastructure and water sources for fire fighting are not yet synchronized...

Fire prevention knowledge class for primary school students in Nghe An. Photo courtesy

Concluding the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung directed that first of all, it is necessary to focus on perfecting the legal system related to fire prevention and fighting, search and rescue; ministries, branches and localities urgently review regulations and standards to adjust, supplement, update and perfect.

In particular, it is necessary to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of heads of units and localities; strengthen education and propaganda on fire prevention and fighting, rescue to the community; enhance the responsibility of investors, project owners, businesses, associations... on the quality of construction works related to fire prevention and fighting.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that it is necessary to strengthen inspection, strictly handle and resolutely stop the operation of facilities that do not ensure fire prevention and fighting conditions; and publicize the list of facilities that do not ensure fire prevention and fighting safety so that people can participate in monitoring.

Notably, comrade Trinh Dinh Dung requested the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry to study and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security to include Fire Safety Criteria as a content to consider and evaluate the competitiveness of localities nationwide./.