Risk of fire and explosion due to increased demand for electricity
Since the beginning of the year, many fires have occurred across the country as well as in Nghe An province, causing property damage and greatly affecting people's lives. Notably, most of the fires were caused by electrical short circuits - a common cause in prolonged hot weather conditions and high demand for electricity.
Fire due to electrical short circuit
Recently, at 00:09 on May 5, a fire broke out at Phuoc Dung wood workshop on Mai Lao Bang street, Nghi Phu ward, Vinh city. Upon receiving the news, the Fire Police force quickly arrived at the scene, deployed professional measures and promptly extinguished the fire, preventing it from spreading to neighboring areas. The initial cause was determined to be an electrical short circuit in the machinery system at the workshop. Although the incident did not cause any human casualties, it burned down a part of the property, affecting the business activities of the facility.
Similarly, at around 6am on April 13, a large fire suddenly broke out at a house on Truong Van Linh Street, Vinh City. The fire originated from an electric pole in front of the house and quickly spread to the porch and fence, creating a column of black smoke dozens of meters high, causing panic in the whole neighborhood.
Ms. Nguyen Thi H., a resident living near the scene, recounted: “At that time, I was preparing to go to the market when I heard a small explosion, followed by a fierce fire from the electric pole. People shouted to each other to bring out fire extinguishers to help put out the fire, but it was useless. Luckily, the authorities arrived in time, otherwise the fire would have spread to the entire row of houses next door.”
Although the fire was brought under control about an hour later, many properties and electrical infrastructure were damaged. The cause of the fire was determined to be an electrical short circuit at the electric pole right in front of the house gate.
Previously, at around 1pm on March 20, a large fire broke out at the house of Mr. Phan Nhat Bao Viet, residing in Thach Giam town, Tuong Duong district. The house was both a residence and a business. When smoke and fire were detected coming from inside, local residents quickly helped put out the fire and reported it to the authorities. The fire was brought under control at 2pm the same day. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but all the property inside the house was burned down. The cause of the fire was determined to be an electrical short circuit.
According to statistics, since the beginning of the year, Nghe An province has had 7 house fires and 3 fires involving houses combined with production and business, causing about 4.6 million VND in damage.
Improve awareness and situation handling skills
According to statistics, the province currently has 21,843 households using houses combined with production and business. In order to improve the effectiveness of fire prevention and fighting (PCCC) in residential areas and households, especially houses combined with business, the Provincial Police have advised the People's Committees of districts, cities and towns to direct the People's Committees of communes, wards and towns to establish interdisciplinary inspection teams. These teams are responsible for organizing on-site inspections, while simultaneously propagating and instructing people on measures to ensure fire safety.
Currently, 100% of households have been mobilized to open a second escape route; more than 21,843/21,843 households have been equipped with portable fire extinguishers at home. In particular, 1,118 models of inter-family fire safety teams and 2,190 public fire stations have been established in residential areas with high risk of fire and explosion.
However, through the actual inspection process, the authorities also discovered many worrying shortcomings in ensuring fire safety in residential areas. The most common is the situation of houses built in the form of tubes, adjacent, close together, not ensuring safe distance for fire prevention and fighting. Most of these constructions do not have backup escape routes and are not equipped with effective fire prevention solutions.
Although the main cause of fires is determined to be electrical failures, people's awareness of prevention is still limited. Regular inspection and maintenance of electrical systems is not focused on. Many dangerous habits are still common, such as: using old electrical wires, plugging too many devices into one electrical outlet, not turning off electrical devices when not in use, charging electrical devices overnight, or not installing devices to prevent overload and electrical leakage.
Notably, the trend of renovating and converting residential houses into business establishments is becoming more and more popular and taking place openly, but fire prevention and fighting management for this type of establishment still has many shortcomings. For houses combined with production and business, the risk of fire and explosion is even higher due to the large number of furniture and goods arranged close to power sources and heat sources. Many households even pile goods to block the aisles and escape routes. If a fire occurs, the fire can spread quickly, causing serious consequences and hindering the authorities from accessing the scene to promptly rescue and extinguish the fire.
Most of the fires that occur today originate from electrical short circuits. To improve prevention effectiveness, the authorities will continue to organize propaganda sessions, practice training on escape skills, as well as instruct people on how to equip and use on-site fire fighting equipment. At the same time, they will step up inspection and consultation on fire safety conditions at each household and production and business establishment.
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Dinh Hanh - Deputy Head of Fire Prevention, Fire Fighting and Rescue Police Department, Nghe An Provincial Police
Recently, on April 29, 2025, the Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 11/CD-UBND requesting to strengthen measures to ensure fire safety during the hot season. The Official Dispatch clearly stated the requirement to promote the role and responsibility of leaders in directing and implementing fire prevention and fighting at agencies, units and in the areas under their management; at the same time, strictly handle cases of lax management and lack of responsibility leading to serious fires and explosions.
Nghe An Power Company and Nghe An Power Transmission were directed to strengthen inspection of electrical systems and equipment to prevent fire safety risks from the power grid. These units will closely coordinate with the Provincial Police to promote propaganda, guide people, organizations and businesses to use electricity safely and promptly warn of potential risks of fire and explosion during the peak hot season, when electricity demand increases sharply.
However, the initiative from the people is still the key factor. Each household needs to periodically check the electrical system in the family; not use many high-capacity electrical devices on the same line at the same time; and install automatic shutdown protection devices to prevent short circuits and fires. In addition, households need to be fully equipped with fire extinguishers and fire alarms; and practice handling skills to respond promptly when a fire or explosion occurs.
Authorities also recommend that in the event of an electrical short circuit, people should remain calm and follow the correct procedure: immediately cut off the power by turning off the main circuit breaker or circuit breaker to limit the risk of fire spreading; quickly shout and alert people around. If a fire has broken out, use a suitable fire extinguisher to put it out, absolutely do not use water because it can cause electric shock. If the fire is beyond control, immediately call the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police at 114 for support.
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