High-rises pose fire threat to residents

HA NOI — Investors in high-rise apartment buildings pay little attention to fire regulations and prevention and the safety of people that live in them, said the city administration, after an apartment block fire claimed two lives last Wednesday.

Nguyen Dinh Binh, vice head of Ha Noi Police's Fire Fighting and Prevention Police Department, said recent inspections by the department revealed that many buildings were not built in accordance with regulations. Many fire safety systems were seriously lacking, and on-site rescue teams were rare with most lacking fire fighting skills.

Statistics from the department showed that there were 364 buildings with more than 10 storeys in Ha Noi, but 247 were found to have high risks of fire. Only 228 buildings were equipped with automatic fire alarms and many of those were faulty.

There were also only 50 fire engines operating in the city and fire rescuers needed more fire fighting tools for buildings over 10 storeys as the ladders couldn't reach more than 52 metres.

Tran Chung, head of the Ministry of Construction's Authority for Construction Quality Inspection, said that fire prevention had to take priority at these buildings, however, both fire fighting tools and people's awareness still remained limited.

Statistics from HCM City's Fire Fighting and Prevention Department showed that 80 per cent of the total 137 buildings in the city recently inspected were found not to have proper ventilation systems.

Chung said a lack of ventilation systems were the main reason for fatalities in apartment fires. The death of two people in the JSC24 building in Ha Noi last Wednesday was an example.

Besides, many people who lived in these buildings had never been trained on safety regulations. For example, emergency exits or stairs were designed for people to get out in case of fires, but many are blocked by their daily activities.

Nguyen Thi Ha, a resident in Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh Urban Area in Ha Noi, said many people blocked the entrances with their businesses and vehicles.

Ha said she and other residents had never heard about fire fighting regulations during two years of living there.

According to Chung, relevant authorities should strengthen inspections to ensure safety rules are followed at high-rise buildings nationwide, especially in places that have a high risk of fire.

According to Nguyen Quoc Tuan, vice director of Ha Noi Construction Department, the department has spent VND4 billion (US$210,500) on training firemen and equipping apartment buildings with new tools.

Tuan said the department also planned to train on-site firemen and teach people about safety skills at Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh buildings.

To Xuan Kieu, head of the municipal Fire Fighting and Prevention Department, said those who were caught in a fire should find emergency exits or stairs to get out of the building or gather at balconies to get help from rescuers. Other ways of escaping such as jumping or climbing down makeshift rope ladders should be the last resort.

Kieu also said that people should stay low and use wet masks to avoid smoke inhalation. — VNS