And also from the trial of the case, it shows a big loophole, not from the provisions of the law, but from the people who carry out the duties. Along with the owner of the restaurant, there are also defendants who are 4 former officers of the Fire Prevention, Fire Fighting and Rescue Department, sentenced to prison for the crime of "violating regulations on fire prevention and fighting" and the crime of "lack of responsibility causing serious consequences".
Similarly, in connection with the mini apartment fire that killed 56 people in Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi, in January 2024, the Hanoi City Police Investigation Agency prosecuted 6 people for lack of responsibility causing serious consequences. Among them were construction inspectors, officials and police of Khuong Dinh Ward.
The above two prominent cases show that if the officers assigned to inspect fire prevention and fighting had done their job properly, they would have prevented the risks of fire and explosion, and not let the consequences we witnessed happen.
Fire prevention and fighting officials must work seriously, not just let negativity pass, leading to fires causing great damage to people and property. But fire prevention and fighting officials must not be mechanical, making things difficult for people and businesses. In fact, there are many cases where businesses complain because the cost of fire prevention and fighting is too high, making businesses exhausted. Not to mention there are many unnecessary regulations, wasting money and time of businesses.
To do so, the provisions of the law must be consistent with reality, applying technical standards to each type of housing, each residential area, and each production facility in a scientific manner. If a common fire prevention technical standard and regulation is applied to all production and business facilities, it will be unscientific and make it difficult for people and businesses.
Another example related to the regulations on fire prevention and fighting must be consistent with reality, that is, Hanoi currently has more than 1,200 streets that cannot be accessed by specialized fire trucks. Thus, for these residential areas, there must be regulations that absolutely prohibit the operation of production facilities that can cause fires and explosions.
Firefighting requires modern and safe equipment. We talk about technology, but firefighting is still manual. Nowadays, high-rise buildings are springing up more and more, but firefighting helicopters are still not equipped.
