Expanding the "My house has a fire extinguisher" model.

Be proactive in terms of resources and personnel on-site.

Hong Son Ward, Vinh City, has over 2,000 households; commercial activities in the area are quite bustling, posing a high risk of fire and explosions if residents are careless and lose vigilance. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Trong, Head of the Ward Police, said: In addition to 32 neighborhood groups and 25 public fire-fighting points, the ward continues to implement the "My House Has a Fire Extinguisher" model. Currently, 60% of households in the area have equipped themselves with one fire extinguisher each; among them, 50 disadvantaged households received fire extinguishers as gifts from the Ward Police and Women's Association. Thanks to the proactive provision of equipment and local forces, small fires have been promptly handled by neighborhood groups and households in recent times.

Nguyen Thi Hien, a businesswoman selling children's toys, shared: "Through fire safety training, I realized that when a fire occurs, dealing with it proactively is the best solution. In addition to equipping myself with a fire extinguisher, I also bought gas masks for my family members."

On August 25th, at Group 3, Hamlet 6, Nghi Trung Commune, Nghi Loc District, the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department, in coordination with the Nghi Loc District Police, organized a fire fighting and rescue drill and donated fire extinguishers to 50 poor and disadvantaged households in the area. After participating and gaining valuable knowledge from the fire prevention and rescue police, Mr. Nguyen Van Nam, residing in Hamlet 6, purchased a fire extinguisher for his family the very next day. According to Mr. Nam, buying his own fire extinguisher allows him to proactively extinguish small fires, preventing them from spreading and endangering the lives and property of his family and neighbors.

According to Captain Hoang Van Phung, Head of Nghi Trung Commune Police: Understanding the importance of equipping their homes with fire extinguishers, many households have approached the commune police for advice on purchasing them. To date, statistics show that nearly 800 households in the area have equipped themselves with one fire extinguisher each.

Also in Nghi Loc district, in early August, the "My House Has a Fire Extinguisher" model was implemented in Nghi Van commune. According to Captain Nguyen Quang Lieng - Head of Nghi Van Commune Police, at the time of implementation, only over 20 families engaged in business had fire extinguishers, but now over 500 households in the commune have equipped themselves with fire extinguishers. Notably, based on basic knowledge of fire prevention and control and practical skills in firefighting when fires or explosions occur; how to use on-site firefighting equipment… some households have been able to promptly handle small fires from gas cylinders, straw, etc.

According to Mr. Doan Van Dung, Chairman of the Nghi Van Commune People's Committee: Identifying the "My House Has a Fire Extinguisher" model as an important task in 2023, the local government has proactively coordinated with relevant forces to regularly disseminate information and mobilize the people. The goal is to strive for 50% of households to equip themselves with fire extinguishers by September 30, 2023, and 100% of households to have at least one fire extinguisher by December 31, 2023.

Attaching criteria for selecting Culturally Exemplary Families

According to statistics from the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department of the Provincial Public Security, as of now, the "My House Has a Fire Extinguisher" model has been implemented in localities such as Vinh City, Nghi Loc, Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Hoang Mai Town, Nghia Dan, Quy Hop, Quy Chau, Que Phong, Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan, Do Luong, Anh Son, Con Cuong, Tuong Duong, Ky Son, Cua Lo Town…

According to Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Thanh - Head of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department (Provincial Police): The model aims to raise awareness and responsibility among officials, Party members, and the people in the area regarding compliance with the regulations of the Fire Prevention and Fighting Law and the Law amending and supplementing some articles of the Fire Prevention and Fighting Law; to propagate and encourage people to equip themselves with fire prevention and fighting equipment at home, promoting the effectiveness of the "4-on-the-spot" principle, proactively preventing and minimizing fire and explosion incidents. Significantly, from viewing fire prevention and fighting as the responsibility of the functional forces, people in the area have now changed their perception, recognizing it as everyone's responsibility and duty.

Thanks to these efforts, from the beginning of 2023 to the present, the number of fires in the province has decreased by 23 cases compared to the same period (18.8%), resulting in 3 fewer deaths and a reduction in property damage of 1.2 billion VND. In particular, the police in various units and localities have reviewed, established, and expanded 944 fire safety neighborhood groups and 2,058 public fire-fighting points, encouraging 151,954 households to equip themselves with fire extinguishers throughout the province, contributing to improved fire and explosion prevention effectiveness in accordance with the "four on-the-spot" principle.

However, the campaign to encourage households to equip themselves with fire extinguishers remains low compared to the requirements of the Government and the Provincial People's Committee; specifically, only 18% of the total 830,363 households in the province have done so far. The reasons for this include not only the slow and not sufficiently decisive implementation by local authorities, but also the unconvincing nature of the campaign to encourage people to participate in fire prevention and control activities in residential areas, failing to ensure that people fully understand fire prevention and control and rescue knowledge.

Regarding the implementation plan for the coming period, Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Thanh said: Based on the implementation of the Prime Minister's Directive and the Ministry of Public Security's Directive on strengthening fire prevention and fighting in the new situation, most recently the Provincial People's Committee's Official Letter No. 6368/UBND-NC dated August 2nd on strengthening fire prevention and fighting work for residential areas, households, and houses combining living and production/business activities, and before that, the Provincial Police's Directive No. 2502/CAT-PC07 dated July 31st. Based on actively promoting, implementing, and replicating fire prevention and fighting models such as: "Safe neighborhood fire prevention and fighting groups," "Public fire fighting points" (especially in densely populated areas with many houses combining living and production/business activities).

Regarding the "My Home Has a Fire Extinguisher" model, based on the direction of the Provincial People's Committee in Official Letter No. 6368, the goal is to ensure that by September 30, 2023, 100% of households of cadres, Party members, civil servants, public employees, and armed forces personnel in the state agency system in the province have fire extinguishers. In addition, resources will be proactively mobilized and socialized in equipping fire extinguishers, and coordination with localities will be undertaken to distribute them to disadvantaged and poor households in the area (initially implementing this in Vinh City, Nghi Loc District, and Do Luong District...), contributing to promoting the "My Home Has a Fire Extinguisher" movement and improving the effectiveness of fire prevention and control according to the "4-on-the-spot" principle.

The Provincial People's Committee also assigned the People's Committees of districts, cities, and towns to focus on leading and directing the serious and decisive implementation of the assigned targets and tasks in fire prevention and rescue work in their respective areas according to the assigned responsibilities and decentralization; closely linking the responsibilities of relevant units and localities in implementing the assigned tasks to ensure quality and timely completion. In particular, it directed the People's Committees at the commune level to include the "My House Has a Fire Extinguisher" movement as a criterion for selecting "Culturally Advanced Families" in 2023 in residential areas to create a vibrant competitive atmosphere among households. Based on actual conditions, mechanisms should be established to allocate and ensure funding from the state budget and social contributions in the area to implement the movement, such as "distributing fire extinguishers to households in difficult circumstances"...