Old apartment buildings like "bombs" hanging in the heart of the city
The two fires that occurred on Pham Ngoc Thach Street and Linh Nam Street (Hanoi City) on the morning of November 14 - although not causing any human casualties - left many households living in collective housing areas and old residential areas feeling insecure.
Mr. Nguyen Hoang Luong - a technology motorbike taxi driver - said that on the morning of November 14, when a fire broke out, he was waiting for a customer when he discovered a fire breaking out in a 5-storey apartment in the A2 Trung Tu collective housing area (Pham Ngoc Thach street, Hanoi). As soon as they saw the smoke and fire, people immediately shouted and helped each other evacuate. The Fire Police force quickly arrived, deployed to put out the fire and brought the households to safety. About 15 minutes later, the fire was controlled.
Mr. Nguyen Nhu Binh - a resident of Nghia Tan apartment complex (Nghia Do ward, Hanoi) - shared: "We have lived here for a long time, but being used to it does not mean safety. Every time I hear about a fire in an old apartment or apartment complex somewhere, I get worried.
According to Mr. Binh, despite only property damage, the two fires on the morning of November 14 were a clear warning about the deterioration of the old apartment buildings and residential areas. Now, they are like slow- detonating bombs. Hopefully, in the coming time, the government will pay more attention to renovation and upgrading to ensure the safety of the people," he said.
"Must consider renovating the old apartment complex and residential area as a special task"
Dr. Tran Xuan Luong - Deputy Director of the Vietnam Institute for Real Estate Market Research - emphasized: "We cannot wait until the damage to urban areas occurs before considering urban renovation and upgrading as an urgent task. The government must consider renovating the old collective housing area and residential area as a special task, to protect the safety of people's lives. This is no longer a simple construction project".
According to Dr. Tran Xuan Luong, many collective houses and old residential areas are currently "living on luck". Just a small power outage or careless extinguishing of the fire is enough to cause disaster. The biggest risk is not the number of fires, but the possibility of casualties if a fire occurs at night, with old structures and limited escape routes.
Dr. Luong also warned that degraded collective housing areas, apartments or old residential areas pose a risk of fire, collapse and unsafe living due to outdated infrastructure systems and unsafe escape routes. If not renovated in time, these hanging "bombs" could cause disaster, directly threatening the lives of many residents.
Dr. Luong said that the two fires on November 14 in Hanoi were not just a single incident, but a warning forcing authorities to speed up the renovation of old apartment buildings and urban upgrades to ensure the safety of the people.
Talking to reporters of Lao Dong Newspaper about solutions to remove bottlenecks in renovating old apartment buildings, Associate Professor, Dr. Ta Quynh Hoa - Head of the International Training Department, Director of the ICCEC Center, Senior Lecturer of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning (Hanoi University of Construction) - said that to remove difficulties, the State needs to demonstrate stronger determination and responsibility, especially for old apartment buildings with level D danger in the inner city of Hanoi.
According to Ms. Hoa, to attract investors to participate, it is necessary to expand regulations on planning targets, especially the height of the project, allowing an increase in the number of apartments to reduce construction costs, thereby making the selling price more suitable, making it easier for people to accept resettlement. In addition, there should be the participation of universities and research institutes in consulting, designing and planning the renovation of old apartments, to ensure that social infrastructure and technical infrastructure are more complete, helping people have a better quality of life and access reasonable housing prices.
