Vinh City conducts general inspection of fire prevention work in mini apartments

Vinh City is the locality with the largest number of mini apartments and boarding houses in the province, while fire prevention and fighting work in these areas still has many shortcomings and limitations such as many mini apartments and boarding houses are built in small alleys, making it difficult for fire fighting and rescue vehicles to access, many apartments have closed tiger cages, lacking fire prevention and fighting equipment...

In Hong Son Ward, Vinh City, there is currently 1 mini apartment building and 3 rental houses on 3 floors with about 80 rooms. After receiving instructions from the city and the provincial police, on September 14-15, local authorities inspected fire prevention and fighting work at these locations.

At the Tay Linh mini apartment building built in 2010, in block 10, Hong Son ward, according to observation, this apartment building has 7 floors with 13 apartments. Although the corridors on each floor are quite airy and not blocked, there are still some potential risks of fire and explosion such as unscientific electrical connections, the balconies of the rooms are all welded tightly with iron, some areas for fire extinguishers are covered with furniture...

At the 3-storey boarding house of Mr. Nguyen Bui Thai, Hong Son ward, although there are fire extinguishers on each floor, there are many ornamental plants in the hallway that block the way, hindering rescue work in case of fire. In addition, some rented apartments here sell flammable goods, which are not neatly arranged such as clothes, household appliances, etc. The electrical connections are not scientific, posing a risk of fire and explosion. At the boarding house of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Thuy, the basement area for vehicles is quite messy, there is an electric vehicle charging point in the basement but it is not safe...

Through inspection and review of these mini apartments and high-rise rental rooms, Hong Son Ward has reminded and signed a commitment with the owners of the facilities, requiring them to immediately supplement fire prevention and fighting equipment, and for households to proactively purchase fire prevention and escape equipment, and equip themselves with skills in case of an incident. If the facilities do not strictly comply with the regulations, they will be proposed to the city and relevant agencies for handling according to the provisions of law.

Ben Thuy Ward is also a locality with many mini apartments and high-rise boarding houses in the city, concentrated around Vinh University on roads such as Nguyen Kiem, Vo Thi Sau... According to statistics, the whole ward has 3 large apartment buildings: Gia Thinh Phat, Cooperative Trung Do and TECCO Ben Thuy, in addition there are about 10-12 mini apartments and high-rise boarding houses for students, workers and families to rent.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Huan - Chairman of Ben Thuy Ward People's Committee said: The locality's characteristics are close to Vinh University, so the number of people renting houses and lodgings is large, and fire safety inspections and reviews are conducted regularly by the locality and the city's functional forces. For owners of establishments that violate the management authority of the ward, the ward will make a record of handling according to regulations. For apartments and buildings that are not under the management authority, the locality will report to the city and relevant agencies to take timely measures to rectify fire safety work.

It is known that on September 14, Vinh City Police and Ben Thuy Ward authorities also inspected fire prevention and fighting work at apartment buildings and boarding houses in the area, and reminded owners of establishments that have not strictly implemented fire prevention and fighting measures.

There are currently no exact statistics on the number of mini apartments and high-rise boarding houses in Nghe An province. However, through actual surveys, mini apartments and high-rise boarding houses are mainly concentrated in Vinh city, in wards such as Ben Thuy, Truong Thi, Ha Huy Tap... mostly concentrated in areas around universities, where there are a large number of students renting rooms, and in central areas. Currently, functional forces, wards and communes are taking action to inspect fire prevention and fighting work in these areas.

Previously, Nghe An Provincial Police had just issued Official Dispatch No. 3031/CAT-PV01 dated September 13 regarding strengthening fire prevention and fighting work in apartment buildings and boarding houses in the province, especially after many large fires occurred in recent times.

The provincial police directed PC07 and the police of districts, cities and towns to organize a review, basic investigation, re-inspection and comprehensive inspection of fire prevention and rescue work at 100% of apartments, mini apartments and boarding houses with 3 floors or more in the province.

Check the functionality, system operation skills and maintenance of the fire prevention and rescue system; check the common escape routes of apartment buildings, boarding houses and the rear area for each household (in case there is a tiger cage, resolutely direct the opening of the emergency escape route).

Propaganda and mobilize households to purchase additional equipment for fire fighting and escape, such as: gas masks, rope ladders, slow-lowering ropes... to proactively respond when fire and explosion incidents occur.

The Management Board, the apartment building management and operation unit, and the owners of mini apartments must arrange security guards to be on duty and guard the basement area (or the first floor where people's vehicles are stored) of the apartment building at night to both ensure security and order, and perform the task of checking the fire prevention system, especially strictly prohibiting the charging of car and motorbike batteries in the basement area of ​​the apartment building...