What's special inside the Dragon Bridge that breathes fire and water?

Having the opportunity to follow the Bridge and Tunnel Management and Operation Team ( Da Nang Bridge and Road Enterprise) to inspect the inside of the Dragon Bridge (Son Tra District side), we had the opportunity to witness the structure of the fire and water spraying system located neatly at the "Dragon's mouth". Engineer Tan Thinh said that every Friday afternoon, maintenance staff are present to check the system's components.

Bên trong đầu cầu Rồng phun lửa, phun nước có gì đặc biệt? - Ảnh 1. — Engineers from the Bridge and Tunnel Management and Operation Team (Da Nang Bridge and Road Enterprise) go inside the "Dragon's Head" to check every Friday afternoon.

To get inside the "Dragon's head", the staff will lower a 10m long steel ladder with one end fixed at the entrance, on the "lower jaw" of the Dragon Bridge. One person will act as a warning on the ground, while three other technical staff will climb into the "Dragon's head" to check the pre-installed equipment.

Bên trong đầu cầu Rồng phun lửa, phun nước có gì đặc biệt? - Ảnh 2. — The ladder was hooked to the Dragon's "lower jaw".

The water nozzle is placed above the fire nozzle, facing straight ahead of the "Dragon's mouth". Usually, checking the fire spray system will take more time because this is a more complicated device with slide rails, air valves, oil pumps, ignition...

Bên trong đầu cầu Rồng phun lửa, phun nước có gì đặc biệt? - Ảnh 3. — The water nozzle system is placed on the fire nozzle at the "Dragon's mouth"

Here, the staff opened the cabinet to check the electrical wiring system, then the air compressor system, water pump, generator, water tank, fire protection system...

Although it operates completely automatically, because it is a complex system and to ensure the success of the fire spraying process, engineers are always on duty during the water and fire spraying process.

Depending on whether any abnormalities are detected that require maintenance or repair, the inspection process can last from 30 minutes to several hours. When everything is finished, the employees take turns following the ladder to leave the "Dragon's head" and "test run".

Engineer Tan Thinh said that because the "test run" took place during the day, fire was only sprayed three times and no water was sprayed because it could wet passersby.

Water spray system with "giant" sized pipes leading water from below the "Dragon's body" into the inside and out in front of the "Dragon's mouth"

To have a perfect water and fire show on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, after ensuring the system runs smoothly, Mr. Thinh's team leaves the scene.

"Each performance night will have 3 fire spraying rounds, each round will consist of 9 sprays. Next is the water spraying performance with 3 rounds, each round will consist of 4 sprays. Each performance night will require 45 liters of DO oil and 5m3 ^of water," said Mr. Tan Thinh.

Bên trong đầu cầu Rồng phun lửa, phun nước có gì đặc biệt? - Ảnh 6. — Engineers carefully check the electrical cabinet.

Mr. Thinh said, the interesting question he often receives is whether the water sprayed from the "Dragon's head" is Han River water or not, and is the water clean enough?

"It is tap water for daily use, so it is guaranteed to be clean and will not affect the skin if people or tourists come into contact with it...", Mr. Thinh affirmed.

Electrical system, generator, compressed air system, DO oil tank... are all checked every Friday afternoon.

Engineer Nguyen Toan added that all the spraying equipment is placed neatly inside the "Dragon's head" and operates automatically. Although problems rarely occur, there have been times when the system malfunctions, forcing engineers to be on duty to avoid interruptions.

Bên trong đầu cầu Rồng phun lửa, phun nước có gì đặc biệt? - Ảnh 8. — In the history of operating the Dragon Bridge's fire and water spraying system, there have been incidents several times the fire was sprayed.

For example, there was a time when the "Dragon Head" was breathing fire and had an accident, forcing the engineers to ignite it manually. Or another time, because the oil pipe burst due to high pressure, it could only spray water but not fire. The team had to use loudspeakers to inform the people.