Nghe An has not yet punished the violation of lacking fire extinguishers in cars

(Baonghean) - Nghe An has about 70,000 cars in circulation. After 2 weeks since the circular officially took effect, up to now, in Nghe An, the authorities have not yet imposed any fines but have only inspected and reminded vehicle owners.

According to Circular 57/2015/TT - BCA of the Ministry of Public Security, from January 6, 2016, road motor vehicles with 4 to 9 seats must have a fire extinguisher under 4 kg (powder extinguisher) or under 5 liters (foam, water extinguisher)... and will be fined from 300,000 - 500,000 VND if not equipped with fire prevention equipment.

In the first days after the regulation took effect, people rushed to buy fire extinguishers. According to reporters at some stores selling fire protection equipment, this item sold very well. Sales staff of Bien Bac Safety Equipment Company Limited (Cao Xuan Huy Street, Vinh City) said that in the first days of implementing the regulation, customers looking to buy fire extinguishers from 0.5 - 1 liter increased dramatically. There were days when the store sold nearly 10 times more than usual; fire extinguishers for 4-seat cars were "out of stock" due to lack of supply.

Many stores have added fire extinguishers for sale (photo taken on Phan Boi Chau Street, Vinh City).

In addition, many auto repair shops and stores selling labor protection equipment on some streets such as Phan Boi Chau, Mai Hac De, etc. have recently hung signs selling additional types of fire extinguishers.

The owner of Hoa Dung grocery store (Phan Boi Chau street, Vinh city) said: "Seeing the "booming" demand of people to buy fire extinguishers due to the new regulations, our store also bought some to sell. About a week ago, the small 1-liter type for cars was out of stock and not available for sale. But until now, very few people have asked to buy them."

Research at some stores selling 0.5 - 1 liter fire extinguishers, mainly fire extinguishers originating from China. The price of this type of fire extinguisher is also very different, ranging from 75,000 - 100,000 VND/bottle.

In fact, most people are hesitant about equipping fire extinguishers, mainly to deal with the authorities. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Thinh (Vinh Tan Ward, Vinh City) expressed: "If there are regulations, then just buy one and keep it in your car just in case, but I don't know how to use this type of fire extinguisher, so if there is an accident or explosion, I don't know how to handle it."

As for taxi companies, currently only Mai Linh has installed 500ml fire extinguishers. The fire extinguisher is placed right next to the driver's seat thanks to a bracket attached to the car door. Most people who use personal cars place the fire extinguishers as they like; next to the car door, under the seat... Mr. Phung Ba Ngoc - Deputy Director of Toyota Vinh Joint Stock Company affirmed: "Currently, no car company has designed a separate location to install fire extinguishers".

Colonel Le Quoc Bao - Deputy Director of Nghe An Fire Police said: "The regulations of Circular 57 are extremely necessary because in reality, statistics show that there are currently 2.6 million cars nationwide (Nghe An province alone has over 70,000 cars in circulation), this number tends to increase in the coming time, posing a high risk of fire and explosion. Therefore, equipping fire prevention and fighting equipment on means of transport is urgent and in line with the trend".

In the early days of implementing Circular 57,Vinh City Traffic Police deployed propaganda, reminded vehicle users about new regulations and advised on how to use fire extinguishers.

Regarding the fact that many people are still worried about the safety of fire prevention and fighting equipment. Colonel Le Quoc Bao explained that fire extinguishers have their own operating mechanism, so it is very difficult for an explosion to occur. However, he advised people to buy genuine products with inspection stamps from the Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Department when buying fire extinguishers, and not to buy bottles floating on the market.

Regarding the plan to implement Circular 57 in Nghe An, Colonel Cao Minh Phuong - Head of the Traffic Police Department, Provincial Police said: "In the first days since the circular took effect, the Traffic Police force coordinated with the Fire Prevention Police to organize inspections, combined with propaganda and reminders to vehicle owners to widely disseminate the regulations to the people, but there was no form of punishment for vehicle owners who had not yet equipped themselves with fire prevention equipment. In addition, implementing the direction of the Traffic Police Department, the Traffic Police force, while on duty, absolutely must not stop vehicles just to check the fire prevention equipment of the vehicle."

Moonlight