Fire prevention and control in apartment buildings: Developers are indifferent, and residents take it lightly.

(Baonghean) - Nghe An currently has 50 apartment buildings with 9 floors or more that have been put into use, mainly concentrated in Vinh City and Cua Lo Town. In addition, there are many apartment buildings with 5 floors or less that are severely dilapidated in Quang Trung Ward - Vinh City. Currently, fire prevention and control in apartment buildings and high-rise buildings in the province is being neglected for various reasons.

On a sweltering day in early June, we visited the Petrochemical Apartment Complex in Nghi Phu commune (Vinh City). This complex consists of two high-rise buildings, with the western building having been in use since 2011. The two lower floors are leased as offices, while floors 2 to 11 each contain eight apartments, ranging in size from 78m2 to 110m2. According to regulations, high-rise apartment buildings are required to have an automatic fire alarm system and wall-mounted fire extinguishers on each floor. Each floor must have two fire hydrants and two compartments containing two fire extinguishers. However, our observations revealed that on floors 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, etc., many compartments for fire hydrants lacked hoses, and many compartments for fire extinguishers contained only one extinguisher. When asked about these concerns, Mr. Nguyen Trung Dung, who lives on the 4th floor, said: "I've lived here for 3 years and there hasn't been a single fire. I've also never paid attention to the fire safety equipment."

The water tank at Nghi Phu Petroleum Apartment Building has no spray nozzle.

The Tecco apartment complex in Quang Trung ward (Vinh City) consists of two high-rise buildings. Both buildings are equipped with fire alarms and fire extinguishing systems on each floor. However, the fire hazard lies in the emergency exits. Although each building has two stairwells, our observations show that the stairwells are poorly lit, and many areas are being used by residents to store belongings such as exercise equipment, bicycles, and wooden items.

In the north building, the emergency exit facing Quang Trung Market was even locked. According to regulations, in high-rise apartment buildings, in the event of a fire, in addition to the stairwell emergency exit, each apartment should have a balcony to allow firefighters access. However, in reality, many apartments have had iron mesh added to their balconies during occupancy, effectively sealing them off. If a fire occurs, it becomes very difficult for those inside to escape, and firefighters also face challenges in accessing and extinguishing the blaze.

In older apartment buildings, the risk of fire is even higher. Surveys of several high-rise apartment complexes in Quang Trung ward, such as A1, C1, C2, C3, etc., revealed a lack of fire hydrants, fire extinguishers on each floor, fire-fighting water, sand, fire hooks, and other on-site fire-fighting equipment. The electrical system is tangled, dilapidated, with exposed wires, and residents cook in the hallways. In these Quang Trung buildings, the stairwells are very narrow; each building with two units only has one staircase, and three units have two. If a fire breaks out at the bottom of the stairwell, residents have no choice but to jump from the upper floors.

For over a month now, the Nghe An Fire Prevention and Control Police have been conducting a comprehensive inspection of apartment buildings, multi-purpose buildings, hotels, guesthouses, offices, and businesses with five floors or more in the area. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Ha, Deputy Head of the Inspection Department of the Nghe An Fire Prevention and Control Police, said that the comprehensive inspection will only conclude on June 20th.

Initially, it can be seen that all apartment complexes violated fire safety regulations with violations such as: inadequate placement and posting of fire safety instructions, prohibition signs, warning signs, and guidance signs; use of open flames, fire-generating or heat-generating tools in prohibited areas; unsafe installation and use of electrical wires and equipment; damage to emergency lighting and guidance equipment on escape routes; failure to ensure fire spread and smoke control; lack of solutions to prevent fire spread in pipelines, channels, and technical shafts; lack of automatic fire alarm and extinguishing systems; lack of ventilation and smoke extraction equipment for escape routes; malfunctioning escape doors; failure to conduct fire safety drills, etc. Some high-rise apartment complexes mentioned by the police for violations include Tecco Quang Trung, Hadico on Quang Trung Street, CTA, etc.

Objects are blocking all emergency exits at Tecco Quang Trung apartment building.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Ha, the violations occurred because some investors and design consulting units did not comply with legal documents on fire prevention and fighting, and did not understand the requirements of standards and regulations on fire prevention and fighting in high-rise building design, resulting in inadequate design documents. The main reason is that investors reduced the fire safety features of the building, such as elevator pressurization systems, automatic fire extinguishing systems, ventilation and smoke extraction systems, in order to save investment costs.

While developers may deliberately disregard fire safety due to cost concerns, residents – the actual owners of these apartment buildings – are becoming complacent about their own safety and that of their families. Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhu Quynh, a resident on the 12th floor of the Vinaconex 9 apartment building on Le Nin Avenue, admitted: “I haven’t received any training on fire safety or escape routes in case of a fire. However, due to my busy work schedule, I haven’t paid much attention to this issue. There is a fire extinguisher on my floor, but it’s been sitting there for a long time, and I don’t know how to use it.”

According to experts, apartment buildings, especially high-rise buildings, concentrate a large number of people in a relatively small area of ​​land and are located at a high altitude, making escape difficult and limiting the accessibility of fire and rescue vehicles. Therefore, if a fire occurs, it is more likely to lead to serious consequences than in low-rise buildings. Meanwhile, currently, the fire ladder trucks and firefighting equipment of the police force only reach the 5th floor of the buildings. If a fire occurs on higher floors, modern firefighting vehicles cannot reach them. This is also a shortcoming in fire prevention and firefighting in apartment complexes. “Residents need to proactively request that investors fully equip the building with on-site fire prevention and fighting equipment such as water tanks, pumps, foam extinguishers, and automatic fire alarm systems in accordance with regulations. At the same time, each family must raise their own awareness of fire safety regulations to ensure the safety of their family and the entire apartment building,” warned Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Ha, Deputy Head of the Inspection Department, Nghe An Fire Prevention and Fighting Police.

Minh Quan