Be careful when burning straw and dry grass.

Straw and dry grass are not only highly flammable but also spread rapidly and intensely when fanned by wind. Once a fire breaks out, it is not only difficult to extinguish but also has unpredictable consequences.

A fire spread to the plastic pipes when straw was burned uncontrollably.

At approximately 1:30 PM on March 6th, a fire broke out on National Highway 61C, near Muong Lo Bridge, in Hamlet 7, Vi Trung Commune, Vi Thuy District, spreading to two large plastic pipes placed close to the roadside. The cause was the uncontrolled burning of straw.

Specifically, that afternoon, a villager was burning straw in his field. Seeing that it was almost completely consumed, he went home. A short while later, the fire reignited and spread to the grass near the roadside, burning two plastic pipes placed nearby. Upon discovering the fire, several people tried to extinguish it with various tools, but without success, so they called the provincial professional fire department for assistance.

"Initially, when the burning plastic pipe was discovered, about five people used water sprayers and branches to put out the fire. However, the flames spread rapidly through the pipe. If the provincial professional fire department hadn't arrived in time, the fire could have spread to the residents' electrical wires," a local resident recounted.

Besides the risk of fires spreading due to loss of control, burning rice straw also affects traffic order and safety, posing a potential traffic accident risk on some road sections. Recently, on National Highway 61C and Provincial Road 931B, after the winter-spring rice harvest, many people have been burning rice straw, creating thick smoke that impairs the visibility of drivers.

"Sometimes, when passing through areas where people are burning straw, I have to turn on my headlights or stop for a moment before continuing because of the thick smoke," said Nguyen Ngoc Tri, from Nang Mau town, Vi Thuy district.

Similar to straw, burning grass and garbage during hot, dry seasons also poses a high risk of fire spreading and causing large-scale fires. For example, at around 12:00 PM on March 9, 2024, a fire broke out in a mixed garden of about 2,000 ^m² along Provincial Road 925, in Dong Thanh commune, Chau Thanh district.

The fire was caused by someone burning grass uncontrollably. Upon hearing the news, the provincial professional fire department dispatched personnel and equipment to extinguish the blaze; otherwise, the consequences would have been unpredictable, as there are many houses nearby.

Lieutenant Colonel Le Hung Cuong, Head of the Fire Prevention, Firefighting and Rescue Police Department of the Provincial Police, said that to minimize the number of fires caused by burning grass and straw, the unit will strengthen many preventive measures. These include coordinating with relevant agencies and localities to disseminate information and guide people to properly implement fire prevention and firefighting regulations with the motto "prevention is key".

Specifically, the fire prevention, firefighting, and rescue police force is equipped with vehicles and equipment and is on duty 24/7. At the same time, they regularly inspect and maintain existing on-site firefighting equipment, such as fire pumps, nozzles, hoses, and various types of fire extinguishers.

"When people burn straw, they need to pay attention to fire prevention measures, such as assigning someone to guard it; when starting to burn, they need to choose the direction of the wind, avoid burning at noon when it is hot; when burning, they need to create a distance from other areas by using non-flammable materials by creating trenches in the field, cleaning the border areas between the area to be burned and the area not to be burned, and preparing the necessary tools to extinguish the fire if it spreads," Lieutenant Colonel Le Hung Cuong advised.

When burning trash or dry grass, people need to divide themselves into small groups or cut trenches, then water the area around the fire to prevent it from spreading, and always have someone watching over it. After burning, they must proactively extinguish all embers before leaving to avoid the fire reigniting and spreading.

"If a fire is detected spreading, promptly implement the 'four on-the-spot' principle: 'on-the-spot command, forces, equipment, supplies, and logistics.' Then, call the provincial professional firefighting force for assistance," Lieutenant Colonel Le Hung Cuong further advised.

With the current hot and dry season, the fire situation is quite complex, so everyone needs to raise their awareness and proactively take preventive measures when burning straw and dry grass to avoid unfortunate consequences.

NHAT TAN

Source: https://baohaugiang.com.vn/xa-hoi/can-trong-khi-dot-rom-ra-co-kho-140264.html