VietNamNet Bridge – Fire-fighting police in districts throughout HCM City are working with investors and managers of apartment buildings to strengthen fire-prevention measures at all high-rises and apartment buildings in the city, following a fire at the Carina Plaza apartment complex in District 8 that killed 13 people and injured 50 on March 23.

A water sprinkler system is tested at an apartment building in Tan Binh District. — VNS Photo Chi Cong

Since March 24, fire-fighting police in Tan Binh District, for example, have been checking fire alarms, emergency sprinkler systems, and other fire-prevention devices at many high-rises.  

In Tan Phu District, residents at the Phu Thanh apartment building were informed about a similar check which took place from March 26 to 28. On March 25, firefighting police engaged in fire-prevention and fire-safety training at the building.

On March 24, residents were shown how to escape down the stairs and exist safely during a drill at an older apartment building on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in District 3.   

Tran The Thuan, chairman of the District 1 People’s Committee, said that fire-prevention systems at 161 apartment buildings in the district had recently been checked.

At a press conference yesterday, Colonel Nguyen Minh Thong, chief of the investigative police division’s secretariat, said that the cause of the Carina Plaza fire was from a motorbike parked in the basement, Thong said. No one had noticed the small fire and within slightly more than 13 minutes the fire had quickly spread.

“If this fire had been discovered quickly, a small fire extinguisher could have put it out,” he said.

An initial investigation showed that the apartment complex’s fire alarms and the sprinkler system did not operate.

“Residents only knew about the fire thanks to shouts from others,” Truong Huy Bang, who was living on the 12th floor of the building, told Viet Nam News Agency.

The HCM City Police on March 26 started criminal proceedings in the case of the Carina Paza fire. 

City leaders have asked the District 8 People’s Committee to work with the investor of the Carina Plaza apartment complex to provide assistance to victims and residents, including fees for room rentals.

Of 120 fires occurring in the first three months in the city, the Carina Plaza fire was the most severe, according to the city’s People’s Committee report. Of the total number of fires this year, there have been a total of 15 fatalities. 

A fire alarm is tested at an apartment building in Tan Binh District. — VNS Photo Chi Cong

Precautions

HCM City Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan has asked fire-fighting police to submit a report on the status of fire-prevention equipment and procedures at the Carina Plaza building.

More fire drills and guidance on how to exit buildings safely should be carried out at the building, he said.

The Ministry of Construction is also working with the city’s Department of Construction to check all apartment buildings in the city and require buildings’ investors to solve all shortcomings.

The ministry has urged developers, builders and partners to follow technical standards for construction of apartment buildings.

Sr Lt Col Nguyen Thanh Huong, acting director of the Fire Fighting and Prevention Police Department, said the department would provide further guidance to residents on rescue methods and ways of escape.

He urged the public to report violations of fire regulations and to call 114 to report a fire.

According to the department’s figures, seven apartment buildings in the city that do not follow fire-safety regulations have people living in them.  

Last year, a department report found that several apartment buildings in the city had yet to be checked by the department but investors had continued to allow people to buy apartments before or during construction.

Of the buildings that were checked, the department found that many had fire equipment but they were not used properly, and alarms did not operate, according to the report. 

The department noted in its report that it faced challenges because the radius of operation is too wide between fire-fighting police divisions in the city’s 24 districts.

Last year, the city’s total of six firefighting divisions were responsible for managing two districts each, and it took time for fire trucks to access fires, according to the department.

Speaking at a meeting held yesterday, Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said that fire-safety activities had been carried out in the city, but effectiveness had been low.

Today, the committee is holding a conference on fire prevention and fighting at apartment buildings and high-rises.

Vo Van Hoan, chief of the committee’s secretariat, said that HCM City Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan had ordered a review and the publication of a list of apartment buildings, to be classified as fire-safe, less safe or unsafe.

“This announcement will help investors pay more attention to fire safety and residents can also take the initiative in improving things,” Hoan added.

Low public awareness

Residents in apartment buildings have a low awareness about fire-prevention regulations and procedures, according to Le Xuan Minh of the fire-fighting police in Tan Phu District.

He said exit doors should not be blocked with stones because smoke can pass through the openings to higher floors, leading to suffocation.

Huong of the Fire Fighting and Prevention Police Department said that suffocation was the cause of death for 11 of the 13 ill-fated victims at the Carina Plaza fire.

An inspection also showed that cigarette ash was found in the buildings’ basement, which had more than 1,500 parked motorbikes and cars.

In other buildings in the city, far too many cars and motorbikes are parked in small spaces, such as in the Phu Thanh Building in Tan Phu District. This can block fire trucks from entering the building grounds, Minh said.

A fire extinguisher is installed at an apartment building in Tan Phu District. — VNS Photo Gia Loc

Rush for fire-prevention devices

After the deadly Carina Plaza fire, many city residents began looking for high-quality face masks, blankets, clothes and drop ladders.

A resident living on the 10th floor of Phu Thanh Building said he did not know where he could purchase high-quality items. He said he also wanted to install a rope-and-pulley system.

A female resident of the Truong Sa B1 apartment building in Binh Thanh District, who declined to be named, said that she would buy drop ladders and look for information about fire prevention on social media.

Other residents are also paying more attention to such devices. Over the last few days, purchases of fire-prevention items rose by 30-40 per cent compared to normal days, according to the Centre for Fire-Prevention Devices.

Minh of the fire-fighting police in Tan Phu District suggested that residents install a rope-and-pulley system if they can afford the cost, which is at least VND10 million (US$438).

However, he said they should ask for guidance from the seller on how the system should be properly installed, and should avoid fake products by doing research about sellers and products. 

Source: VNS