Concerns about fire prevention and fighting for landlords
There are only a few days left until the deadline (March 30) according to Directive 19 on fire prevention and fighting safety (PCCC), but thousands of boarding houses in Hanoi are still struggling to meet the requirements. Many landlords are in a " powerless" situation, while tenants are worried about losing cheap accommodation.
At the end of Quang Tien Street (Dai Mo Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi), according to Lao Dong, where many people are renting, many landlords are facing the risk of having to stop operations because they do not meet fire prevention and fighting standards.
Mr. Nguyen Tuan - the owner of a boarding house in Dai Mo ward said that at the end of 2024, the inspection team pointed out many violations of fire prevention and fighting by the boarding house such as inadequate fire truck access, lack of solutions to prevent the fire from spreading between the stairs and corridors, fire alarm system and fire water tanks not fully equipped...
These requirements put landlords in a difficult position when the cost of renovation is too high, while most tenants are low-income workers.
Mr. Nguyen Van Kien - the owner of another boarding house on Quang Tien Street (Dai Mo Ward) said: "Previously, when my children moved out to live separately, I renovated the house to rent, the rental price for each room was from 1.5 - 2.5 million VND/month.
However, recently, the ward staff reminded me not to have a solution to prevent the fire from spreading between areas with different functions; not to ensure the size of escape routes, not to be equipped with fire prevention and fighting".
Equipping fire prevention and fighting solutions for landlords
In order to limit the risk of fire and explosion and damage caused by fire, on March 27, the People's Committee of Dai Mo Ward coordinated with the Fire Prevention and Fighting and Rescue Police (PCCC & CNCH), Nam Tu Liem District Police (Hanoi) to organize propaganda and instruct on measures to ensure fire safety for the " boarding house" model in the area.
Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung - Vice Chairman of Dai Mo Ward People's Committee, said that about 200 landlords in the locality are regularly propagandized and reminded about complying with fire safety regulations as well as equipped with skills to handle emergency situations.
To ensure safety, local authorities regularly organize conferences to propagate and instruct people to fully implement escape solutions, prevent fires and explosions and equip fire fighting equipment. Given the complicated developments of the fire and explosion situation, this is a practical activity to raise awareness, helping people not to be negligent in ensuring fire safety.
At the conference, representatives of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Team, Nam Tu Liem District Police, pointed out the limitations of fire safety in boarding houses. At the same time, firefighters disseminated legal documents related to fire prevention and fighting that landlords need to carry out.
In addition, the authorities also guided solutions to overcome the shortcomings of fire prevention and fighting at boarding houses according to the regulations of the City People's Committee and the City Police.
The measures mentioned include improving escape routes, arranging emergency exits, opening exits in tiger cages, preventing fires from spreading in parking areas and equipping fire extinguishers. These contents have been guided by the working groups during the recent general inspection of the " boarding house" model, and at the same time, the landlord is required to commit to full implementation.
At the conference, landlords were equipped with more knowledge about the principles of fire prevention and fighting safety and rescue, raising awareness in ensuring safety in rental housing projects. The local government has also mobilized the active participation of the people in the mass movement of fire prevention and fighting and search and rescue, contributing to maintaining security and order in the area.
