Heat goes on builders
Heat goes on builders
A tough, new anti-fire law is to put the heat on property developers.
A big fire on May 18 burnt locally-owned shoe-maker Duy Hung Company and Taiwan’s shoe sole
maker Shangone Vietnam in southern Binh Duong province’s Song Than Industrial Park
photo source: dantri.com.vn
The draft law’s Article 23 states that high buildings, underground and natural minerals exploitation projects, and steel-framed and iron sheet-roofed houses must have solutions to prevent fire, smoke congestion and toxic gas.
Importantly, all projects must be equipped with fire-detecting automatic systems. Besides stipulating stiff anti-fire regulations for nuclear power projects, investors must “use anti-fire construction and decoration materials for super-high buildings.”
Moreover, the draft law also orders in its Article 25 that at markets and commercial centres, power systems for different purposes must be put separately. Notably, the markets and centres must have emergency exits. All anti-fire automatic solutions must be installed.
Worryingly, few markets and commercial centres now have emergency exits, while anti-fire equipment was of poor quality, said Nguyen Kim Khoa, chairman of the National Assembly’s National Security and Defence Committee.
He said these new regulations were either not carved or remained unclear in the existing Law on Fire Prevention issued in 2010, which also failed to clarify the responsibilities of heads of agencies, organisations and households in fire prevention. However, in this new law, property owners may face criminal prosecution from losses about human and assets due to fire.
Deputy Minister of Public Security Pham Quy Ngo said these new regulations were “a good solution to curb the increasing number of blazes.”
During 2002-2011, Vietnam was home to nearly 20,000 big blazes in factories, schools, hospitals and houses, killing 712 people, injuring more than 1,900 people and causing financial losses of $201.3 million.
Such fires stemmed from cooking, power, chemicals, gas and fuel.
“Enterprises’ investments in anti-fire measures remain limited and they are not serious about implementing anti-fire regulations. Notably, many foreign-invested enterprises in Vietnam have backward technologies and production chains. Consequently fire and blasts can happen at any time,” Ngo said.
For instance, a big fire on May 18 burnt locally-owned shoe-maker Duy Hung Company and Taiwan’s shoe sole maker Shangone Vietnam in southern Binh Duong province’s Song Than Industrial Park, while three days before, a fire damaged Taiwanese footwear-maker Pou Yuen Vietnam, supplier of global brands like Adidas, Nike, Reebook and Puma.
In April, some blazes also hit five factories based in the park. However, Khoa said the draft law needed to clarify the criteria about high buildings and super-high buildings. Also, anti-fire regulations must also be imposed on metros, electric fly-overs and tunnels.
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