Deputy Minister of Public Security: No leniency towards buildings that violate fire prevention

Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh - Deputy Minister of Public Security affirmed this when answering the press interview on the afternoon of April 4.

PV:According to Lieutenant General, how to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of fire prevention and fighting?

Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh:First, we must change the community's awareness and perception, not leaving it to someone else because fires and explosions lurk around us, thereby changing behavior for prevention.

In our country, in recent years, there have been 3,000 incidents each year, and 1,000 in the first quarter of last year. It must be affirmed that we often disregard, take lightly, and do not pay attention to flammable objects in our homes, and the use of fire and heat sources.

The leaders of the Ministry of Public Security have resolutely demonstrated this by directing inspections, but the authorities cannot replace the investor, the management board, or the people, of course the core is the fire police force.

Currently, we still lack strong sanctions when mainly dealing with administrative matters. Regarding criminal matters, there is an example of the fire at 68 Tran Thai Tong - Hanoi (killing 13 people, the court has sentenced the defendants - PV).

I want to say that prevention is facing difficulties. For example, the fire prevention force must inspect 4 times a year, but according to Directive 20, it is only inspected once a year, and the remaining 3 times are self-inspections. We are reporting to our superiors for adjustments, and when we see that the safety conditions are met, we will self-inspec and take responsibility to ensure that the technical systems operate normally.

First, there must be a building management board, the technical systems must work normally. But it is possible that the acceptance test was good, but during the operation the electronic system did not work or gave false alarms, causing people to intentionally cover it up.

Second, the automatic and semi-automatic fire extinguishing systems for the Carina building in Ho Chi Minh City are available, but their performance at the time of the fire was not good. This issue is still under investigation.

If there were bells, flashing lights, and sirens blaring, and there were people on site who were the building management, I would have been sure that the initial fire extinguishing equipment, such as powder or gas, would have been used. However, because this was not done or was done irresponsibly, the fire broke out.

The essence is 4 on-site: On-site people, on-site management, on-site facilities, on-site technology.

PV:How do we handle the situation of an apartment building catching fire right after being inspected, or apartment buildings that have been warned of fire safety violations for many years?

Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh:In principle, in crowded places, especially high-rise and super high-rise buildings where there is a fire prevention and fighting law, the fire prevention and fighting authority must approve the fire prevention and fighting solutions, and the investor must organize their implementation.

After the handover, it is put into use. If the management department maintains the system well, it is completely possible to quickly report a fire so that everyone knows how to handle it. If there is a fire, the on-site water and gas systems can handle it as I said.

In high-rise buildings, fires often occur in closed form, so semi-automatic means should be used and people must be trained to know how to use the means.

I affirm that if it has been accepted, it is qualified. But to be effective, it depends on the management process, like the furniture in your house.

PV:Many apartment buildings have been inspected for poor fire prevention and control, should they be handled more severely?

Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh:Currently, the Carina apartment fire case has been prosecuted. For violations, administrative sanctions will be applied first, then an investigation will be conducted. If there are enough elements of law violations according to the law, criminal sanctions will be applied.

But first of all, fire prevention work is the responsibility of all people, the core of which is the fire police force. We assign the relevant agencies and the media to join in the propaganda to jointly comply with fire prevention and fighting regulations. We will compile a report to the Prime Minister on the current situation and capacity.

PV:Must have detailed statistics for each building, Deputy Minister?

Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh:Yes, we are doing it. For the 7 provinces with high-rise and super high-rise buildings, namely Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City and Vung Tau, the first responsibility is assigned to the fire prevention force together with the investor and the management board to make public and clear announcements.

This has been done regularly, now we need to do it resolutely and thoroughly, making a list of “black spots”. First, we need to compile a list of all good and bad establishments in Vietnam to report to the Prime Minister.

PV:In addition to listing "black spots", is there a solution to the problem in the report, sir?

Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh:The handling must comply with the provisions of the law. The difficulty is that there are many houses built before the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting, now there are many problems related to safety distance, escape, escape... Therefore, we are proposing that before the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting, Article 63 stipulates that the responsibility for handling all houses that do not ensure fire prevention and fighting is assigned to the provincial People's Committee, of course the fire prevention and fighting force is the core. Houses built before the law must report to the Prime Minister the current situation and scale of unsafety. We will propose solutions, the Government must definitely get involved in this matter.

As for buildings built after the Fire Prevention and Fighting Law was enacted, the responsibility belongs to the investors and building management boards. If they do not meet the requirements, we will study and evaluate them accurately, and require the investors to fix them within a time limit. If they cannot fix them, there will be drastic sanctions.

PV:According to Hanoi statistics, there are dozens of buildings that violate fire prevention regulations and many buildings cannot be repaired to ensure fire prevention?

Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh:But this building existed before the Fire Prevention and Fighting Law. Safety solutions must be considered fundamentally, but investment is certainly related to a large amount of money, so we will compile statistics on its current situation and risks to report to the Government for approval.

PV:Should fire safety standards be lowered, sir?

Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh:No lowering of standards. We will have a solution and everyone will join in, in which the authorities will be the core to handle it resolutely, handle it without any forbidden zones, without leniency because this is to protect the lives of our compatriots and ourselves.

PV:Thank you, Deputy Minister!./.