Many people misunderstand how to use the escape hammer
After the passenger car fire on National Highway 1, passing through Hung Thinh commune (Dong Nai city), killing 7 people, escape skills on passenger cars became an issue of concern to many people.
Lao Dong's records at My Dinh bus station (Hanoi) show that many passengers still do not pay attention or do not know how to use safety equipment such as escape hammers and fire extinguishers in emergencies.
Notably, even some bus company staff did not provide complete, even inaccurate, instructions on how to use the escape hammer.
Nguyen Thi Nhu Quynh (from Tuyen Quang), a student studying in Hanoi, said that she often takes sleeper buses to return to her hometown. However, in many trips, Quynh has almost never been instructed by bus company staff on escape skills or how to use escape hammers before the bus departs.
Only after the passenger car fire that killed 7 people in Dong Nai did Quynh realize that equipping herself with knowledge and safety skills on passenger cars is extremely necessary.
When asked by reporters about how to use the escape hammer in an emergency, Quynh said that if the hammer was arranged near the seating position, it would be used to hit the middle part of the glass panel to create an escape route.
Notably, during the recording, reporters also witnessed an employee of a bus company instructing passengers on how to use a rescue hammer before the trip. However, this employee also said that it is necessary to use a hammer to hit the center of the car window and said that this is the most fragile position.
Through a survey by reporters, many passengers also admitted to still maintaining the habit of getting on the bus by using their phones or sleeping immediately, while almost not observing the location of safety equipment and escape routes to be ready to respond in case of incidents.
Police guide how to break passenger car windows correctly when a fire occurs
After the passenger car fire in Dong Nai that caused many casualties, the Fire and Rescue Police Department - Ho Chi Minh City Police issued recommendations on handling skills when a fire occurs on a passenger car to ensure safety for drivers, assistants and passengers.
According to the instructions, when detecting a burning smell, smoke or fire, the driver and passenger must immediately coordinate to perform the following steps:
The driver quickly turned on the warning lights, drove the car to the empty roadside (off from people's houses, gas stations, power lines). Pulled the handbrake, turned off the engine, turned off the general power switch to isolate the power system.
The driver/assistant driver opens all entry and exit doors for passengers to escape. If the electrical system is paralyzed and the door cannot be automatically opened, use emergency vents (usually located near the door or the driver's position) to open the door manually.
Notably, in case the main door is jammed, employees decisively take the escape hammer and hit hard at the 4 corners of the side glass panel (this is the weakest point of tempered glass, hitting the middle of the glass will not break).
Guide passengers to use backpacks and jackets to cover their faces/hands and then jump out (prioritizing the elderly, children, and women first).
Remind passengers to use towels, masks or wet wipes (with filtered water, soft drinks available on the car) to cover their noses and mouths. Lower your head or crawl close to the car floor to move out because toxic smoke is always flying up.
When you are outside, use a fire extinguisher to spray directly into the fire (if the fire is still small). Call for help from people around and call 114 immediately to report to the professional Fire and Rescue Police force.
