Ha Noi will purchase two planes to improve the city's capacity to fight fires at high-rise buildings, the municipal authority has said.

Fire-fighting work at high-rise buildings faces difficulties due to a shortage of helicopters and planes. — Photo dantri.com.vn 

The city's people's committee said it was part of the fire prevention and fighting plan by 2025 with a view towards 2030, which was approved this month.

By 2030, more than 285,000sq.m will be allocated to build an agency for fire prevention and fighting work in the city. About 6,500 firefighters will be mobilised to work in this field.

There will be focus on the purchase of equipment and tools for this work from 2026 to 2030. A helicopter and a plane will be purchased to improve the rescue and fire-fighting work at high-rise buildings.

More than VND11.5 trillion (US$546 million) will be invested in this work.

Last June, Colonel Nguyen Van Son, deputy director of the city's Fire Prevention and Fighting Department, asked the city to buy helicopters for three centres in the north, centre and south for the fire-fighting work.

In Ha Noi alone, there are more than 890 constructions and high-rise buildings. Sixty of them have not undergone fire-safety inspections and 121 have failed to meet regulations.

Figures from the city showed that more than 2,100 fires occurred in Ha Noi in the last 10 years, killing more than 110 people, injuring about 270, and causing damage worth more than VND705 billion ($31.3 million). On average, more than 200 fires and explosions are reported each year, causing a loss of about VND70 billion ($3.1 million). 

VNS