Source: Vietnamnet

The boarding house fire in Trung Kinh (Hanoi) that killed 14 people continues to sound the warning bell about fires related to boarding houses and mini apartments that do not ensure fire prevention and fighting safety.

It is difficult to detect fire and explosion risks without expertise

A fire that occurred at a boarding house on Trung Kinh street early this morning (May 24) killed 14 people and injured 3 people.

The house where the fire occurred is located in a deep alley of a crowded residential area, about 150m2 wide on a total construction area of ​​205m2, including a 2-storey house, 1 attic with an open drying yard. Opposite is a row of 3-storey houses, each floor has 4 rooms, with an open hallway in front. In the middle is a common yard area of ​​about 55m2.

The empty yard area is a place to park motorbikes, bicycles, and electric bicycles. The house is equipped with fire extinguishers, located in the yard and hallways of all floors.

The host family has 7 members and 17 people registered to rent/a total of 12 rooms (10 rooms for rent and 2 rooms for the host).

Discuss with reporter. VietNamNet, Mr. Le Van Thinh, former Head of Construction Quality Management Department 1, State Department of Construction Quality Inspection (Ministry of Construction) said that this is a problem that Hanoi faces in recent times. Lately, it still hasn’t been fixed. That is the occurrence of many fires related to boarding houses and mini apartments due to failure to ensure fire prevention and fighting safety.

About 9 months ago, Hanoi had a mini apartment fire on Khuong Ha street (Thanh Xuan district) that killed 56 people. Those were all very tragic fires.

In fact, Hanoi has inspected and reviewed all facilities, apartments, and rental houses in the city, but in some of the projects people have carried out, they are still of a formal form.

Mr. Thinh said that fire prevention warnings need to be deployed to every home and every resident, not just boarding houses or mini apartments.

Although the cause of the motel fire this morning is being investigated and clarified, from an expert perspective, Mr. Thinh warned: It is not only the emergency exit that is a matter of concern, but also the electrical system in the house. Failure to ensure fire safety is also the cause of many fires.

Việc chuyển đổi từ bếp ga sang sử dụng bếp điện khá phổ biến hiện nay, theo ông Thịnh, cũng là nguy cơ dễ phát sinh cháy nổ cao, nhưng nhiều gia đình lại chưa quan tâm để ý.

“In many housing projects built a long time ago, the electricity in the house is lighting, using small diameter wires of 2-2.5mm… While from air conditioners, water heaters, electric stove systems, refrigerators, elevators… are electrodynamics, the wire diameter must be 4mm. People may not pay attention to this problem, just thinking that simply plugging it into a power outlet is enough, leading to overloading the line, causing a very dangerous electrical fire.

This is an existing risk. Only when an expert inspects can we see problems that do not ensure fire safety right from the power line to have appropriate adjustment plans,” Mr. Thinh analyzed.

Experts recommend that to ensure your own safety, you should hire a professional to inspect and suggest solutions to ensure safety. Not everyone is knowledgeable about the subject so they cannot see it.

Closed if there are serious violations of fire prevention regulations

After the mini apartment fire on Khuong Ha street that killed 56 people (September 12, 2023), Hanoi has inspected and reviewed facilities, multi-apartment houses, and rental houses in the city.

According to the City People’s Committee. Hanoi, quickly going through the list, as of October 2023, in the city there were 2,980 establishments that did not meet fire prevention requirements and were put into operation before the 2001 Fire Prevention Law took effect.

In 2023, the city will only have 66/2,980 establishments complete the overcoming of fire prevention problems, reaching 7.3% of the assigned target of at least 30% completion.

Lawyer Nguyen Huu Toai, Director of Hung Dong Law Company Limited, raised the issue that when conducting general inspections, reviews and discovering problems at such projects, Hanoi has taken measures. What happens when fires continue to occur, causing tragic consequences that leave 14 people dead?

“When consequences occur, we will return to the story of responsibility and management, but we must see that this is an issue of constant risk. The issue here is the need to be drastic in enforcement. Having checked and found a problem that does not meet fire protection requirements, what is the solution? Fines for existence or requests to close must be associated with drastic enforcement,” lawyer Toai emphasized.

He said that Hanoi needs to set a specific timeline for the projects. If it cannot be fixed, it will be required to close, cannot be rented, or allowed to exist when seriously violating fire prevention and fighting regulations.

“Once again, the story about the management responsibilities of units, local officials, government levels, etc. needs to be clearly stated and violations (if any) handled in accordance with the law,” said the position. the lawyer said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Le Van Thinh said that, regarding current housing management, it is necessary to specifically answer the questions: Does the homeowner have a design? If the homeowner hires a designer, does the design comply with fire prevention regulations? Is the construction according to the design? Does the operation and use comply with the design?

“All have very clear regulations and processes. Answering each question will clarify many issues, including the responsibilities of management agencies in terms of fire prevention, room rental, and boarding houses” – Mr. Thinh said.