Fire and explosion risk in hot season

(Baonghean) - "The risk of fire and explosion is always present, because there are too many shortcomings and deficiencies in fire prevention and fighting, and inspections almost always turn out to be wrong. However, in reality, people and managers are indifferent and subjective to the potential dangers caused by fire. The risk of fire is higher than ever when the hot weather lasts for a long time" -Colonel Le Quoc Bao, Head of CSCC & CNCH Department, worriedly said.

Market: subjective traders

Being present in many markets in Vinh city with high risk of fire and explosion such as Quang Trung, Cua Bac, Quan Lau... we clearly see shortcomings in fire prevention management, especially the awareness of fire prevention implementation of small traders is very poor. At Quang Trung market, one of the city's largest markets with an area of ​​2000m², with more than 600 households selling a variety of products such as clothes, shoes, household goods, confectionery, dried goods, ready-made clothes, votive offerings... The stalls are all expanded and patched together by the traders with plywood, stacked along the aisles. If a fire breaks out, it will be very dangerous because the market is crowded, the bulky goods make it difficult to escape and put out the fire. In addition, the electrical system and electrical panels are not installed according to regulations, most of the traders burn incense to worship, making the risk of fire very high.

Concerned about this issue, a shopkeeper said: "Fire prevention is the job of the fire department, why do we have the energy to worry about it?" After further investigation, we learned that the market also has a water tank, but it is hidden behind the market and surrounded by vehicles.

Quang Trung market is at high risk of fire.

According to data from the provincial Fire Prevention and Fighting and Rescue Department, Nghe An currently has 354 large and small markets, of which only 15/113 permanent and semi-permanent markets have been approved for fire prevention and fighting, the rest were built a long time ago so the premises are narrow, operating in an overloaded state, the use of heat sources, open flames in many forms such as gas stoves, coal stoves... is still common, so most of the markets are listed on the "black list" with the risk of "fire". Currently, only 18/113 markets are equipped with specialized fire pumps. Most of the markets are lacking common fire fighting equipment, while the water source and water tank do not meet the requirements, so if a fire or explosion occurs in the market, the initial fire fighting work will be extremely difficult.

Supermarkets, industrial parks, key facilities: check for violations

Nghe An currently has 22 supermarkets, of which Vinh city alone has 15 supermarkets. Although these supermarkets are built in a modern and spacious manner, the risk of fire in supermarkets is very high. Most supermarkets violate fire safety regulations. Many supermarkets also use unsafe power sources, and emergency exits in supermarkets are used to transport goods. For example, BigC Supermarket has 4 floors, each floor has an area of ​​4,000m2, with many and diverse goods, but the recent inspection showed that there were still many errors such as: no fire prevention team has been established, emergency lighting equipment and escape instructions are not complete; there are no warning signs or prohibition signs on the floors, lack of rescue equipment, many systems are not in accordance with regulations, and there is no certificate of fire prevention and fighting qualifications. In 2010, this supermarket was fined by the Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Department twice, each time 4 million VND.

Dilapidated buildings are places with high risk of fire and explosion.

According to this agency, up to now, the province has 51 industrial parks with a total of 148 projects in operation in many different industries. However, the fire protection system in these industrial parks is not yet in place. Currently, only Bac Vinh Industrial Park has 6 fire hydrants, but the hydrants are not working (?). Most of the industrial parks are mostly made of corrugated iron houses, factory areas adjacent to warehouses, containing many flammable goods and materials, while the power grid system is overloaded, the on-site fire fighting water source of the industrial parks is almost non-existent, so when a fire occurs, it is easy to cause unpredictable consequences. For example, the 3 fires in the Southeast Economic Zone that recently occurred were estimated to cause damage of up to 2 billion VND. The cause of the fire was determined to be an electrical short circuit.

Ho Ha