Strengthening direction of fire prevention, fire fighting, rescue and relief work

(Telegram No. 15/CD-UBND-NC dated July 2, 2014 of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee)

Recently, the fire and explosion situation in the whole country in general and in Nghe An province in particular has been very complicated, especially there have been a number of large fires and explosions causing serious damage to state property, people's lives and property. According to statistics, in the first 6 months of 2014, in Nghe An province, there were 17 fires, causing property damage of more than 13.5 billion VND, 2 explosions killed 3 people, injured 17 people; 22 forest fires occurred, damaging more than 145 hectares of forest, killing 1 person and injuring 4 people. Of which, although the number of large fires only accounted for 20% of the total number of cases, the damage was up to 94.5%. A typical example is the fire at the seafood warehouse of Ha Dung Company Limited in Nghi Hai Ward, Cua Lo Town on January 21, 2014, causing damage of about 2.5 billion VND; The fire at the brick kiln of the Cua tile production cooperative in Nghia Hoan commune, Tan Ky district, caused damage of about more than 8 billion VND; the forest fire in Thuong Son commune, Do Luong district spread to the forest in Bao Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, killing 1 person, injuring 1 person and burning 8 hectares of acacia pine forest; the forest fire in Nam Loc and Nam Tan communes, Nam Dan district, injured 2 people and burned 70 hectares of pine forest.

The main reason is that the management and organization of fire prevention and fighting (PCCC) work still have many shortcomings, loopholes and shortcomings. Violations of fire safety regulations still occur quite commonly in many places. All levels, sectors, units and establishments have not really paid due attention to investing in fire prevention and fighting work. When planning, constructing and renovating works, fire prevention and fighting solutions have not been deployed and implemented according to regulations. The awareness of compliance with the law on fire prevention, fighting and rescue (PCCC&CNCH) of the heads of agencies, organizations, business owners, production establishments... is not strict.

To overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings and shortcomings, and at the same time, strictly implement the Prime Minister's Official Dispatch No. 967/CD-TTg dated June 20, 2014 on strengthening fire prevention, fire fighting, rescue and relief work. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requests:

1.Department of Information and Communications, Provincial Radio and Television Station, Nghe An Newspaperand mass media agencies increase the time spent reporting, propagating, disseminating and educating legal knowledge on fire prevention and fighting; measures and solutions for escape, rescue, and measures to overcome violations of fire prevention and fighting so that organizations, businesses and people know and voluntarily implement them; criticize irresponsible acts and serious violations of fire prevention and fighting by relevant organizations and individuals on mass media for general prevention education.

2.Provincial police preside:

- Direct the Public Security at all levels to strengthen the effectiveness of State management of fire prevention and fighting; organize inspections and provide guidance on fire prevention and fighting work for units and establishments; especially in markets, commercial centers, residential areas, industrial parks, production and service establishments, hotels, high-rise buildings, apartment buildings, crowded places, warehouses and other key establishments with high risk of fire and explosion; resolutely and strictly handle violations of fire prevention and fighting regulations. For establishments with serious violations, causing unsafe fire prevention and fighting, they must resolutely suspend or stop operations; cases of major fires and explosions causing serious consequences due to lack of responsibility and other violations with signs of crime must be investigated, prosecuted and strictly handled according to the provisions of law.

- Coordinate with relevant units to organize fire fighting drills with the participation of many forces, focusing on investigating and clarifying the causes of intentional fires to handle them according to the provisions of law.

- Advise the Provincial People's Committee to establish interdisciplinary teams to inspect fire prevention and fighting and rescue work on topics such as: gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, markets, commercial centers, high-rise buildings, industrial parks, specialized transportation, relic sites... (Advice document submitted to the Provincial People's Committee before July 15, 2014).

3.Department of TransportPreside over and coordinate with the Provincial Police to disseminate fire prevention and fighting knowledge to students participating in driving courses for cars with 4 seats or more; when inspecting and granting circulation permits for these types of vehicles, it is necessary to ensure safety requirements on fire prevention and fighting, explosion prevention, and escape for people and vehicles. The Provincial Police organize a general inspection of fire prevention and fighting safety conditions for motor vehicles, resolutely and strictly handle violations of fire prevention and fighting and rescue regulations.

4.Department of Agriculture and Rural Development:

- Direct the Provincial Forest Protection Department and its affiliated units to effectively deploy forest fire prevention measures and perform well the regular forest fire fighting work; at the same time, review the forest fire prevention and fighting plan to adjust it to suit the weather situation.

- Advise the Provincial People's Committee to establish interdisciplinary teams to inspect compliance with forest fire prevention and fighting laws in districts, cities and towns with forests (Advice document submitted to the Provincial People's Committee before July 15, 2014).

5.People's Committees of districts, cities and towns:

- Direct the district radio and television station, the radio system in communes and wards to step up propaganda, dissemination and guidance on mass media to raise people's awareness and responsibility for fire prevention and fighting. In the immediate future, it is necessary to organize a wide propaganda campaign on the implementation of measures to prevent large fires so that all levels, sectors, establishments and the masses know and implement them synchronously and thoroughly.

- Self-check fire safety, correct loopholes and shortcomings, overcome causes and conditions that can cause fire and explosion (especially in the use of electricity, heat sources and the arrangement of flammable goods and materials), strictly handle violations of fire safety regulations, especially in markets, commercial centers, residential areas, industrial parks, production and service establishments, hotels, high-rise buildings, apartment buildings, crowded places, petrol and liquefied gas trading points, warehouses and other key establishments with high risk of fire and explosion, road and waterway motor vehicles...

- Develop a fire fighting, rescue and relief plan with the participation of many forces; a plan to mobilize forces and means of units in the management area to participate in fire fighting with the motto of 4 on-site: on-site forces, on-site means and materials, on-site command and on-site logistics.

- Review and strengthen investment in fire prevention and fighting equipment and tools, develop fire fighting plans to proactively handle fires and explosions. Strengthen patrol and inspection measures in key fire-prone forests, promptly prevent and detect fires to mobilize on-site forces to effectively fight fires.

6.Assign the Provincial Police to preside over and coordinate with the Provincial People's Committee Officemonitor, guide, inspect and urge the implementation of this Telegram.

Request provincial departments, branches, sectors, unions, People's Committees of districts, cities and towns to urgently and seriously implement and take responsibility if fires and explosions occur causing major damage in their units and localities; report initial implementation results to the Provincial People's Committee (through the Provincial People's Committee Office and the Provincial Police) before September 5, 2014. If there are any difficulties or problems during the implementation process, report to the Provincial People's Committee (through the Provincial Police) for guidance.

Chairman of Provincial People's Committee

Nguyen Xuan Duong