Can't go, can't stay
Living in apartment building No. 14 Nguyen Thi Nghia (Ward 3, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, HCMC) for decades, but the worry about safety is always present, haunting Ms. Nguyen Dung.
According to Ms. Dung, the apartment building at 14 Nguyen Thi Nghia was built a long time ago, and the infrastructure is very degraded. In particular, the apartment building has hundreds of residents but only has a 1.45m wide staircase as the entrance and only escape route of this apartment building.
"Previously, a household downstairs was burning incense and accidentally caught fire. I had to carry my mother who was having a stroke and run away. Luckily, it was only a small fire, but it still caused my family to panic," said Ms. Dung.
According to some residents here, in addition to the problem of fire exits, the fire protection system in the apartment building is also not guaranteed, arranged in a "like there is none" style. According to Lao Dong reporters, the fire water pipe system, fire extinguisher cabinets are rusty, the electrical connections are tangled... posing many potential fire protection risks.
Living in apartment building number 14 Nguyen Thi Nghia for nearly 30 years, Ms. Le Van (District 1, HCMC) said that every time she hears news about a fire on the news, she worries about her apartment.
"In front of this apartment building is a coffee shop, many people often come here to drink water and smoke, so the risk of fire is very high. Inside the apartment building, there is a motorbike parking lot on the ground floor, blocking the entire walkway, if there is a fire, there will be no way to escape" - Ms. Van said worriedly.
Although the apartment building is degraded and unsafe, the people living here are in a situation where they cannot leave or stay. According to many households, the cost of moving to a new place is really a "difficult problem" when most of the people here are old and depend on support from their children. There are even families with many generations living together in one house because they do not have enough money to buy a new house, so they have to stay here.
At the Green Building apartment building (Phuoc Long A ward, Thu Duc city, Ho Chi Minh city), the fire protection system in this apartment building has not been fully arranged. Having moved to live in the Green Building apartment building for a long time, Mr. Minh Quang (residing in Thu Duc city) is still worried because the fire protection system here is not guaranteed.
"If there is a fire, I am worried that I will not be able to react in time because the fire prevention equipment in the apartment building is not fully equipped. If there is a delay in reporting the fire between floors, it will be very difficult to escape in time," said Mr. Quang.
Strengthening fire prevention and fighting inspection and acceptance
To strengthen the management and use of apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction recommends that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee direct the People's Committees of districts, towns and Thu Duc City to classify, inspect and review all apartment buildings in the area, ensuring that all apartment buildings must be inspected and repaired to ensure the acceptance of construction works according to regulations in each period, ensuring the safety of people's lives and property. There are resolute measures to prevent investors from putting the project into use or handing over houses to people to live in without having a document of acceptance on fire prevention and fighting according to regulations.
For apartment buildings that do not ensure fire safety conditions, with a high risk of fire and explosion when a fire or explosion occurs, causing serious damage to people and property, it is necessary to resolutely handle the temporary suspension or suspension of operations according to regulations. The City Police have measures to support the People's Committees of districts, towns and Thu Duc City to evacuate households from apartment buildings that do not ensure fire safety, for the safety of residents' lives and property.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, the city has reviewed 1,561 apartment buildings, of which 793 have been tested for fire prevention and fighting; 249 have not been tested; 519 have not been tested (due to old apartments or lack of information and documents).
