Nghe An will strictly control the construction and renovation of karaoke bars.

Great damage

It is not only when the recent karaoke bar fires in Binh Duong and Hanoi have occurred that people have discussed the dire consequences of fires at establishments providing this type of service. In Nghe An, in recent years, many fires have also occurred continuously.fire and explosion at karaoke bar.

For example, at around 3:40 p.m. on February 27, 2019, a large fire broke out at Tram Anh karaoke bar in Yen Son commune (Do Luong). After receiving the news, the Fire Prevention and Fighting Police mobilized 2 fire trucks and dozens of soldiers to the scene to put out the fire. The fire spread from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor along the edge of the wall and down to the karaoke rooms. Although there were no human casualties, the fire also burned down many equipment and items in the house, causing significant property damage.

Scene of the fire at the Avatar hotel-karaoke-bar complex on March 18, 2019 in Vinh city. Photo: Lam Tung

Or at about 10:30 on March 18, 2019 atAvatar hotel-karaoke-bar complexA major fire broke out on Nguyen Sy Sach Street (Vinh City) killing one person and injuring many others. The firefighting force also had to organize 10 fire trucks and 230 officers and soldiers to be present at the scene to deploy vehicles, promptly evacuate trapped people, control and extinguish the fire, and prevent it from spreading to neighboring areas.

The most serious was at 0:00 on June 15, 2021, at Fill tea room located on Dinh Cong Trang street (Vinh city), a fire broke out, killing 6 people, including 4 people in 1 family and 2 tenants. At this time, the tea room was closed to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic. Because the fire broke out in the middle of the night, in dry weather with southwest winds, and because the door was locked from the inside, the rescue team had to work very hard to break the door to access the scene.

The fire at Fill Tea Room in June 2021 was the fire that caused heavy damage to people and property in recent years. Photo: Document

More recently, at around 7:00 a.m. on June 11, 2022, the Fire and Rescue Command Center - Provincial Police received a report of a fire at a karaoke bar in Nghi Thai commune (Nghi Loc). Immediately, the fire fighting force mobilized 2 fire trucks and 16 officers and soldiers to quickly arrive at the scene. Fortunately, in the early morning, there were no people singing inside, so the fire did not cause any human casualties. However, many properties and items were burned.

The interdisciplinary inspection team inspected a Western bar on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Vinh City. Photo: Dang Cuong

According to the assessment, there are many causes of fires at karaoke businesses. The main causes of fires are welding to repair the singing room; electrical short circuits; karaoke business combined with housing, so if careless when using fire, it can easily cause a fire. However, the main cause of deaths in karaoke rooms is smoke inhalation. This is partly due to the substandard design of the karaoke business; the singing room is soundproofed so it is very airtight, which makes it difficult for people outside to detect the fire inside and people inside the room cannot identify the fire and explosion hazards outside. Not to mention inside the singing room, instead of using explosion-proof materials to design and build the singing room, they choose very eye-catching, colorful and flammable materials...

Strengthening management

Basically, for a karaoke establishment to operate, it must go through the following steps: construction (license issuance is carried out by the district, city, or town level); fire prevention and fighting inspection (carried out by the competent police agency and regularly inspected); operating license (carried out by the local cultural agency)... Because it is a conditional business type, the construction and operating license for karaoke establishments must also comply with many strict regulations, especially issues related to fire prevention and fighting.

Fire police inspect karaoke service business. Photo: Document

According to Decree 136/2020 of the Government and Circular 147/2020 of the Ministry of Public Security on issues related to fire prevention, fire fighting and rescue, karaoke services, dance clubs, and bars must have a business license, be approved and accepted for fire prevention and fire fighting, and must be publicly posted before being put into operation. Not to mention, karaoke service establishments must ensure a safe distance for fire prevention from neighboring structures; fireproof walls, at least 2 escape routes, sound systems, decorative materials, interiors, and advertising signs must not cover the entire facade to block escape routes...

Although the regulations for karaoke service businesses to be allowed to operate have been issued strictly, in reality, many karaoke businesses are built and converted from residential to business establishments, few establishments have licenses as well as specialized designs for karaoke business from the beginning. Not to mention the renovation and conversion are almost done by the owners themselves, without permission from the authorities, so it is very difficult to control the design of rooms, functions, escape systems, electrical systems, fire fighting systems, etc.

A karaoke business in Nghia Dan town was forced to open an additional emergency exit after authorities inspected it. Photo: Dang Cuong

Mr. Nguyen Viet Duc - Head of the Urban Management Department, Vinh City People's Committee said: The Urban Management Department is currently advising the City People's Committee on granting construction permits for civil housing construction projects. When applying for a permit, people only need to provide design drawings, construction cross-sections, electricity lines, water lines, wastewater drainage systems, etc. according to the Construction Law. When the project is completed, they switch to karaoke business or any other service, they must comply with regulations related to production and business. Currently, in reality, there is no document clearly stating which regulations must be followed when converting from a house to a karaoke business, because using a house for business is not prohibited by law. Not to mention, when granting a license for a karaoke business to operate, it falls under another field of responsibility.

Checking the fire exit at a karaoke business. Photo: Dang Cuong

Currently, in Vinh city, there are about 40 licensed karaoke service businesses, in addition, there are also a number of restaurant businesses that have karaoke machines.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Trung - Head of the Department of Culture - Information, Vinh City People's Committee said: Since 2020, the Provincial People's Committee has decentralized the authority to grant, adjust, and revoke karaoke business licenses to districts, cities, and towns. In Vinh City, based on the certificates of eligibility for business issued by relevant units, the Department of Culture - Information will appraise the documents, conduct field inspections, and then directly advise the City People's Committee to grant operating licenses.

Mr. Trung also said that some karaoke establishments were established before, when standards were not yet in place, so their singing rooms were still too small. For newly granted cases, recently, the Department of Culture and Information has also refused to grant licenses for cases with singing room area under 12m2.².

Mobilizing vehicles and forces to put out the fire at the Avatar hotel-karaoke-bar complex. Photo: Lam Tung

When licensing karaoke businesses, the competent authority needs to conduct a thorough assessment and even consult with other professional agencies. In addition, there should be stricter regulations for houses converted to karaoke businesses. If they do not meet the standards of area, space, safety, escape and fire prevention and fighting, then they should definitely not grant a license from the beginning...

Mr. Nguyen The Phiet - Head of Housing Management and Real Estate Market, Nghe An Department of Construction

Karaoke service business is a type of business with its own cultural characteristics. Therefore, in order for this type of business to exist, develop and ensure safety during operation, it requires close involvement, inspection and supervision from the beginning.