According to Hanoi City Police, currently the whole city has more than 400 residential areas assessed as having a high fire and explosion risk. In November 2025 alone, about 70% of fires occurred at houses in residential areas; at the highest point, it recorded over 10 fires per day. Most recently, the apartment fire at Trung Tu apartment complex (Kim Lien ward) and the house fire in alley 12/94/54 Linh Nam.
Reality shows that most fires and incidents occur in household houses, houses combined with production and business, houses with many apartments, boarding houses, warehouses, grocery stores, eateries... interspersed in residential areas. Along with that, the weather in the North entering the dry season further increases the risk of fire and explosion, especially in densely populated areas.
Colonel Pham Trung Hieu - Head of the Fire Prevention and Fighting and Rescue Police Department (Hanoi City Police) said that through inspection, functional forces discovered many potential risks. For households that both live and combine production and business, many facility owners are still subjective, only focusing on business activities, not fully fulfilling their responsibilities for fire prevention and fighting; awareness of the importance of this work is not sufficient.
From the perspective of the people, Mr. Ngo Cuong Tuan (Tay Mo ward, Hanoi) expressed concern when more and more high-rise buildings, mini-apartments, and rental establishments are appearing in the area. Notably, there are still many temporary houses and extended works, posing a high risk of fire and explosion.
Not only is there a high risk of fire, firefighting and rescue work in some inner-city residential areas also faces many difficulties due to the characteristics of small, deep, and densely populated alleys. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Binh - Head of Fire and Rescue Team No. 7 said that the unit is in charge of the area of Hoan Kiem and Cua Nam wards. Through review, this area currently has 1,032 alleys, of which 158 alleys are 50m deep and 874 alleys are 50m deep, fire trucks cannot access.
To proactively prevent, functional forces focus on raising people's awareness of vigilance through propaganda and dissemination of fire prevention and fighting skills in households and business establishments; and at the same time strengthen inspection and strict handling of violations. Many models such as "Safe inter-family groups for fire prevention and fighting", "Public fire fighting points" continue to be maintained and consolidated, ensuring the motto "4 on the spot".
According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Dung - Vice Chairman of Giang Vo Ward People's Committee, the locality has reviewed and compiled a list of 1,123 establishments under management for fire prevention and fighting and rescue; and at the same time established 69 civil fire fighting teams in 71 residential groups, with nearly 600 members equipped with vehicles. Thanks to that, 3 recent fires and explosions in the area have been handled promptly.
Meanwhile, Mr. Duong The Vinh - Vice Chairman of Phu Luong Ward People's Committee said that the locality has established 3 inspection teams, deployed 637 inspections at facilities, handled 21 violations; and organized 13 training sessions, attracting more than 1,100 people to participate.
Representatives of the Fire Prevention and Fighting and Rescue Police Department of Hanoi City Police emphasized that through internships and drills, functional forces inspect and assess combat readiness, coordination of local forces in handling large and complex fire and explosion situations; thereby contributing to raising awareness and fire prevention and fighting skills for people.
