Potential risk of fire and explosion at some high-rise boarding houses in Vinh City

Many fire exits are blocked.

ThVinh city is the locality with the most high-rise apartments and boarding houses in Nghe An. In particular, the wards surrounding Vinh University such as Truong Thi, Ben Thuy, Trung Do... have many rows of boarding houses and houses for rent with a large number of students and workers renting. However, these facilities are at high risk of fire safety.

According to the reporter, in many high-rise boarding houses, balconies and windows are welded shut with iron frames. According to the boarding house owners, the iron frames are installed to prevent burglars from breaking in, but that protective layer becomes an "iron cage of death" when a fire breaks out, not only making it difficult for residents to escape, but also hindering rescue forces from reaching the scene.

For example, Ms. PTKO's boarding house in Truong Thi ward has 4 floors, 26 rooms, put into use since 2015, the corridors of each floor are stacked with objects and furniture, only enough for 1 person to pass through. The balcony of this boarding house is welded shut with large iron frames, making it difficult for tenants to escape if a fire breaks out.

Also in Truong Thi ward, Mr. NTL's boarding house has 4 floors with 35 rooms, but there is only 1 entrance and exit, and it often contains nearly 100 motorbikes parked in a mess. At this boarding house, ward and block officials have propagated and reminded about ensuring the safety of the exits, however, up to now, this situation has not improved.

In Ben Thuy ward, where there are 149 boarding houses under 5 floors and 39 high-rise buildings, violations of fire safety are also common, especially in boarding houses along Bach Lieu street.

According to records, many boarding houses in Ben Thuy ward still have closed iron cages, narrow staircases, electric vehicle charging points located right next to piles of styrofoam boxes, and bare, uncovered electrical outlets. More worryingly, many boarding houses also hang clothes, curtains, carpets, and other flammable objects from one floor to another.

Previously, Ben Thuy ward had punished one case of fire safety violation, however, it was not enough of a deterrent because the number of remaining boarding houses that do not ensure fire safety is still large.

Not only the indifference of landlords, many students and workers renting houses are still subjective about fire prevention and fighting. Nguyen Thuy Vy - a student renting a house in Trung Do ward, Vinh city, shared: "When registering to stay, we only care about whether the place is close to school or not, whether the price is cheap or not, but few people pay attention to whether there is an emergency exit or not. Now seeing fires happening in other places, I am very scared, but I also do not know what to do because I have not been trained or instructed...".

Subjectivity and lack of knowledge about fire prevention of tenants, combined with lax management from landlords are currently creating many risks of fire safety, especially during the hot season.

Replicating the model

While many boarding houses are still indifferent to fire prevention and fighting, there are still bright spots showing clear initiative and responsibility from the owners.

A typical example is the boarding house model of Mr. Phung Xuan Thuy in block 9, Truong Thi ward. His boarding house has 4 floors, 15 rooms, just completed and put into use in 2024. Right from the design, Mr. Thuy requested the construction unit to install a modern fire prevention system: the fire water system extends from the 1st floor to the 4th floor, located right at the staircase, divided into many hoses, if a fire occurs, the water supply is always ready, each floor has 2 independent exits, smoke and heat detectors are equipped in each room.

In addition, Mr. Thuy also equipped each room with a mini fire extinguisher, gas mask, and personal escape rope. “I clearly determined that building a boarding house is not only for business, but also to ensure the safety of the residents. Human life is something that cannot be ignored,” Mr. Thuy shared.

Mr. Mai Ngoc Luong - Vice Chairman of Truong Thi Ward People's Committee said: "Mr. Thuy's family has built a model of fire prevention and fighting, ensuring the prescribed criteria. We have included this boarding house in the list of safe establishments for propaganda and replication. Currently, the ward is maintaining 32 inter-family fire prevention teams and 24 public fire fighting points, and at the same time, organizing periodic inspections at boarding houses."

Along with the inspection work, propaganda work was promoted, with nearly 1,400 sessions to disseminate fire prevention and fighting knowledge, attracting more than 220,000 participants. Fire fighting practice experience programs and escape instructions were organized periodically in wards, especially in areas with many boarding houses and students.

The provincial police have also proactively built the model of "Fire Prevention and Fighting Inter-family Team" and "Public Fire Fighting Point" in crowded residential areas and concentrated boarding houses. These are pilot models at the grassroots level, being expanded every year.

By early April 2025, the province had built 1,180 inter-family groups and 2,190 public firefighting points. In addition, software for managing fire prevention and fighting data across the province has also been deployed, contributing to the digitalization of monitoring and warning of fire risks in each area.

The active participation of the people, together with the determination of the government and functional forces, is creating significant changes in fire prevention and fighting work in Vinh city in particular and Nghe An province in general.

However, to prevent fire from becoming a nightmare, every landlord and tenant still needs to equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and awareness, because in every fire, the first few minutes are considered the golden opportunity to escape.