VietNamNet Bridge - According to the Ministry of Public Security, nearly 2,600 fire and explosion cases occurred in Vietnam, claiming the lives of 124 people and injuring 349 others, 10 percent more than 2012, said Lieutenant General Nguyen Danh Cong, Chief of the Office of the Public Security Ministry on December 16.

The fireworks factory in Phu Tho was leveled after the explosion.

Cong said the severe fire and explosion cases increased highly in 2013. The worst is the explosions at the fireworks factory in Phu Tho Province in October, killing 26 people and injuring nearly 100 others. The entire plant was leveled, with a total damage value of VND53 billion ($2.5 million).

Also in October, a fire destroyed tens of thousands of square meters of a sanitary napkin plant of Diana in Bac Ninh Province, causing damage of over $10 million. In most cases, after the fires were extinguished, the entire property was burned.

The firefighting forces recorded over 27,500 cases of violation of the rules on fire and explosion prevention and 1,540 fire cases that needed the intervention of the professional firefighting  forces.

The fire at Diana sanitary napkin factory in Bac Ninh, which caused $10 million damage.

General Cong said the number of fires at buildings, markets, commercial centers and apartments was on the rise.

He said that the people’s awareness of the anti-fire and explosion rules was still poor. The professional firefighting  forces are weak and insufficient, particularly the firefighting equipment. Vietnam has 927 fire trucks but more than half of them have been used for over 20 years.

The Ministry of Public Security will ask the government to purchase modern equipment for the firefighting forces.

P. Lan