The recent fire at an apartment block in Hanoi has exposed fire hazards and difficulties in fire-fighting at apartment houses.
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The burnt garbage pipe at the JSC 34 apartment block. |
At the JSC 34 apartment building where a fire killed two on March 10, the garbage collection site is located on the first floor. The garbage chute for residents on each of the 18 floors also runs parallel with the elevator shaft and open in front of the door to the stairs.
During the fire, smoke billowed out in front of the stair exit doors, preventing an escape by people on the 17th and 18th floors.
Apartment residents now concerned
Fire inspectors discovered the garbage chute had burned from the first to the 18th floor. Residents commented that the chute was made of highly flammable materials, although it should have been constructed from heat resistant substances.
Fire prevention in such buildings is not easy. “Many families often burn votive papers on their balconies, then throw the ashes into the garbage chute. I think it is very dangerous,” remarked Phuong Linh, who lives in the Phap Van residential area, Hanoi.
This is the same situation in other newly-built apartment complexes in Hanoi. Rubbish sites are often located near the stairs. Once fires occur, smoke will envelope stair entrance so it cannot function as an emergency exit.
Management boards of many buildings don’t instruct local residents how to prevent fires, especially not to throw inflammable waste into the rubbish site. Hoa, a woman from the 17th floor of JSC 34, noted that the apartment block management board did hang instructions on fire safety in the building.
In the last five years, five fires have been reported at such apartment blocks in Hanoi, most caused by electrical incidents and garbage fires. In late 2009, Hanoi police inspections revealed that the fire alarm systems in many buildings were not being maintained.
In HCM City, many residents of apartment towers are very upset about the fire in Hanoi. Thuy, who lives in Hoang Anh 2 apartment block, was still frightened by the memory of her former actions. “I burned votive papers and threw the ash down the rubbish chute without checking whether the ash had cooled.”
Phuong, who lives in the same building, admitted that her husband often threw hot cigarette ash down the rubbish pipe.
In this building, the rubbish pipe is also very near with the stairs.
Apartment residents of My Phuoc, Van Do, and My Thuan in HCM City also expressed concern about garbage fires because the general public’s awareness of fire prevention is very poor. One man revealed he has purchased a rope ladder for his family in case a fire occurs.
Discouraging statistics
Nguyen Dinh Binh, Vice-Head of Hanoi Police’s Fire Fighting and Prevention Police Department, remarked that their recent inspections revealed many buildings were not built in accordance with regulations. Fire safety systems were seriously lacking and on-site rescue teams were rare, most with no fire-fighting skills.
Statistics show that of 364 buildings with more than 10 storys in Hanoi, 247 have high risk of fire. Only 228 buildings have automatic fire alarms and many of those were faulty. The city has only 50 fire engines in operation and reports show that fire rescuers need more equipment for buildings over 10 stories as present ladders do not reach above 52 meters.
Tran Chung, head of the Ministry of Construction’s Authority for Construction Quality Inspection, proclaimed that fire prevention must take priority at these buildings, but admitted that both fire-fighting tools and the public’s awareness remained limited.
HCM City’s Fire Fighting and Prevention Department has found that 80 percent of the city’s 137 tall buildings do not have proper ventilation systems.
Chung said a lack of proper ventilation systems were the main reason for fatalities in apartment fires. The recent deaths of two people in Hanoi on March 10 is a prime example.
Many residents have never been trained in safety procedures. For example, emergency exits and stairs are often blocked by residents’ daily activities.
Nguyen Thi Ha, a resident of Trung Hoa – Nhan Chinh Urban Area in Hanoi, revealed that many people blocked entrances with their businesses and vehicles. Ha said she and other residents had never heard about fire regulations during their two years of living there.
According to Chung, relevant authorities should strengthen inspections to ensure safety rules are followed in high-rise buildings nationwide.
Nguyen Quoc Tuan, Vice-Director of Hanoi Construction Department, calculated that the department has spent 4 billion dong (US$210,500) on training firemen and equipping apartment buildings. Tuan also noted that they plan to train on-site firemen and teach safety skills.
To Xuan Kieu, head of the municipal Fire Fighting and Prevention Department, explained that those caught in a fire should find emergency exits or stairs to get out of the building or gather on balconies to get help from rescuers. Other ways of escaping such as jumping or climbing down makeshift rope ladders should only be a last resort. Kieu added that people should stay low to the ground during a fire and use wet masks to avoid smoke inhalation.
No insurance coverage?
After the accident, authorities ordered the investors of JSC34 to provide a report on the building’s construction quality.
In an interview with VnExpress, Nguyen Truong Tien, Vice-Director of Hanoi Construction Corporation, revealed that the company will provide a report on the cause of the accident, the losses suffered and compensation to be paid to affected people on March 16.
Fire experts speculate that someone put ash or coal in their trash bags before throwing them into the garbage, which sparked the fire on March 10. Smoke then spread to the upper floors through the refuse chute, where is became especially thick on the top two floors. Forty-four people were rushed to local hospitals with asphyxiation caused by the smoke. Vuong Lan Phuong, 43, and her 10-year-old son, Luu Gia Minh, died later the same day.
Asked about the building’s insurance coverage for fires and explosions, Tien stated that the corporation didn’t know if its member company had purchased such insurance. In the meantime, Vietnam’s largest insurance companies have reported that they have no contracts with JSC34’s investor.
It is very likely that the company, according to fire experts, that the investors did not have insurance, a common practice in Vietnam partly because service fees are not enough to pay insurance premiums that usually amount to 0.1 -0.2 percent of a building’s construction costs.
They also attributed this situation to low fire awareness among investors and lenient punishments for those who fail to buy insurance.
PV
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