At about 1 pm on April 11, black smoke accompanied by flames suddenly broke out in the loggia area of an apartment on the upper floor of an apartment building on Nguyen Huu Canh street, Ho Chi Minh City. At the time of the fire, the apartment owner was not home.
Immediately after the incident occurred, the building's fire alarm system was activated continuously. Hearing the alarm and urgent notice from the management board, hundreds of residents on neighboring floors panicked, taking young children and pets to the escape route to evacuate to the lobby and grounds below.
Many people simultaneously rushed out to the stairs, making the space suffocating. Black smoke rose quite high, causing residents to panic during the escape process.
The Fire and Rescue Police Department of Ho Chi Minh City Police, upon receiving the report, dispatched 3 specialized vehicles and more than 20 officers and soldiers to the scene. Functional forces deployed a nearly 15m high ladder truck to directly approach the fire location from the outside of the building, and at the same time coordinated with local forces to spray water to extinguish the fire.
By nearly 2 pm, the fire was basically under control, preventing it from spreading to neighboring apartments. By more than 3 pm on the same day, functional forces confirmed that the fire had been completely extinguished. However, the area around the building was still sealed off to serve the scene examination.
Currently, the cause of the incident is being further investigated and clarified.
