Hanoi approves US$1 billion fire prevention program
Civil servants, government officials and students will be encouraged to attend training courses on fire prevention.
Hanoi People's Council approved a VND26 trillion (US$1 billion) plan on July 2 to enhance the city’s fire prevention and response until 2030.
| A new package of fire safety and containment measures is approved by lawmakers in Hanoi. Photo: Thanh Hai/The Hanoi Times |
The plan aims to ensure that all homes in the capital are well-equipped to prevent and respond to fires. At least one member of the family must be trained in emergency skills.
Houses rented for residential and commercial purposes must have an emergency exit in addition to the entrance.
Hanoi lawmakers expect at least 2% of all households in the city to voluntarily register for firefighting and rescue operations. Meanwhile, a civil protection team of 100% of neighborhoods will be consolidated to be effective, especially in responding to the fire.
Civil servants, government officials, and students will be encouraged to attend training courses on fire prevention.
The fire department will be provided with modern equipment to improve its efficiency, especially in fighting fires in basements and narrow alleys.
By 2030, some 33 new fire stations will be in place for immediate response to emergencies.
The police unit at the communal level will be supported with motorcycles and firefighting equipment to ensure the "4 on the spot" principle, which aims to contain and extinguish the fire before it spreads.
All chemical facilities will be relocated from their current locations to industrial parks. Government agencies will assist local companies in meeting fire safety and prevention standards before they start and/or resume operations.
Between now and 2030, Hanoi authorities will install more than 3,000 public water hydrants and lay water pipes in nearly 9,500 narrow streets and alleys (200 meters in length).
The city will also build more than 430 new water tanks and pumps in public areas, four water docks, and about 900 wells in fire-prone neighborhoods.
According to the Hanoi People's Committee, the capital is home to about 10 million people. There are nearly 160,000 buildings and structures in the city, including more than 8,200 facilities that are at high risk of fire.
Hanoi has one international airport, eight river ports, 10 industrial and hi-tech parks, 70 small industrial and handicraft clusters, and more than 500 handicraft villages classified as high risk of fire and explosion.
Between 2014 and 2023, there were more than 4,400 fires and 18 explosions in the city, as well as more than 8,000 minor incidents related to misuse of electricity and waste collection.
There were several critical fire incidents that killed dozens of people and injured many others.
Landlords obliged to fulfill fire safety standards by April 2025 The Hanoi Public Security Department will launch full-scale scrutiny on local rental houses and multi-story buildings, according to the municipal People’s Committee. The move aims to ensure all buildings meet the fire safety standards and aligns with the Prime Minister’s Directive 19, dated June 24, 2024, on enhancing fire safety standards for all local buildings. Accordingly, all landlords and tenants must complete their own plans to enhance the buildings’ capability of fire prevention and emergency before March 30, 2025. They will be suspended for failing to meet the standards until they fix everything. The police department is tasked to lead the scrutiny and advise the city government to develop a handbook that helps local administrations increase the quality of fire prevention and fighting. The handbook must be finalized and released before July 30. The municipal administration assigns the Hanoi Public Security Department to strictly punish the facilities that fail to meet fire safety standards under the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting dated October 4, 2001, and other regulations of the capital. The police units are obliged to inspect all buildings. Those that fail to meet the fire standards must be halted from operating. In critical fire cases that result in deaths and property damages, the police must investigate the causes and responsibilities of related parties. Government officials will be punished for letting the disqualified buildings operate, causing catastrophic consequences. |
