Businesses and citizens need to take note.

The Ministry of Public Security stated that, in addition to the achievements, the implementation of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting has revealed some limitations and shortcomings that need to be amended and supplemented with new regulations to meet practical requirements and strengthen state management of fire prevention and fighting in the new situation.

The Ministry of Public Security has drafted the Law on Fire Prevention, Firefighting, and Rescue, comprising 8 chapters and 58 articles. In addition to general provisions, the draft proposes specific regulations on fire prevention; firefighting, rescue, and relief; the establishment and deployment of firefighting, firefighting, and rescue forces; firefighting, rescue, and relief equipment; and ensuring the conditions for firefighting, firefighting, rescue, and relief operations.

New proposals in the draft Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting.

Firstly, many prohibited acts in fire prevention, firefighting, rescue, and relief operations have been added.

Compared to the regulations in the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting of 2001, amended and supplemented in 2013, Article 10 of the draft Law on Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue has added several prohibited acts in fire prevention, fighting, rescue and relief.

Specifically, this includes: Insulting or threatening firefighting and rescue forces while they are performing their duties; Exploiting or abusing firefighting and rescue duties to commit illegal acts, harassment, or infringe upon the interests of the State, or the legitimate rights and interests of agencies, organizations, and individuals; Reporting false accidents or incidents; Manufacturing or modifying vehicles subject to fire safety design assessment without a written assessment; putting vehicles subject to design assessment into use or operation without a written approval of the acceptance test results; and carrying out fire safety construction that does not conform to the approved design.

Secondly, reduce the requirements for planning new industrial park construction projects.

According to Clause 1, Article 12 of the draft Law on Fire Prevention, Fighting, and Rescue, when preparing planning for new construction or renovation projects of special economic zones, industrial zones, export processing zones, high-tech zones, and other functional zones as stipulated in the Planning Law, solutions and designs for fire prevention and fighting must be ensured, including the following: Transportation and water supply systems; and the allocation of locations for fire prevention and fighting units where necessary.

The above content has been simplified by omitting two items compared to the provisions in Clause 1, Article 15 of the current Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting, namely: "Location of construction and arrangement of areas and lots" and "Estimated budget for fire prevention and fighting items".

Thirdly, amend the requirements for building design to include fire prevention and firefighting solutions.

This is yet another new proposal in the draft Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting that businesses need to take note of.

According to Clause 2, Article 12 of the draft Law on Fire Prevention, Firefighting and Rescue, when preparing projects, designing new construction, renovation or changing the nature of use of a building, fire prevention and firefighting solutions and designs must ensure the following contents: Safe distances; Escape systems; Fire resistance rating, fire containment and fire spread prevention solutions; Smoke control systems; Fire prevention and firefighting systems.

Compared to Clause 1, Article 15 of the current Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting, the content of project planning and construction design no longer requires the inclusion of fire prevention and fighting solutions and designs, but instead requires the construction site and cost estimates for fire prevention and fighting items.

The sections on “Technical safety systems for fire prevention and firefighting”; “Other requirements for fire prevention and firefighting” are replaced with: “Fire resistance rating, fire containment and fire spread prevention solutions”; “Smoke control system”; “Fire prevention and firefighting system”.

Fourth, supplement regulations on acceptance testing and acceptance inspection of fire prevention and fighting systems.

Clause 2 of Article 14 of the draft Law on Fire Prevention, Firefighting and Rescue stipulates that, after the acceptance of projects and works included in the list requiring design appraisal, the investor must submit the dossier to the specialized management agency for verification of the fire prevention and firefighting acceptance results.

Specifically, businesses are only permitted to put completed construction projects or works into operation after the design has been reviewed, inspected, and the acceptance certificate issued by the relevant specialized management agency.

In cases where a construction project or building is put into use or operation without a written approval of the fire safety inspection results, the enterprise will be fined from 60 to 100 million VND (based on Clause 4, Article 38 and Clause 2, Article 4 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP).

Fifth, adjust some basic fire safety requirements for business establishments.

According to the new proposal, manufacturing facilities, businesses, commercial activities, workplaces, and construction sites must ensure the following fire safety conditions:

Fire prevention measures include implementing and maintaining fire safety conditions; strictly managing and safely using flammable and explosive substances, equipment and tools that generate fire or heat; equipping with fire prevention equipment; inspecting and detecting loopholes, shortcomings, and violations in fire prevention...

There are regulations and rules regarding fire prevention, firefighting, rescue, and emergency response.

Ensuring fire safety for each type of production and business establishment: Having fire prevention, firefighting, rescue, and emergency response equipment and systems; technical systems; communication systems; equipment for transmitting fire and incident reports; systems for updating and reporting data on fire prevention, firefighting, and rescue; solutions for fire containment, smoke control, and evacuation. Having a fire fighting, rescue, and emergency response plan. Having an on-site fire prevention, firefighting, and rescue and emergency response force.

Compared to current regulations, the requirements to "allocate funds for fire prevention and firefighting activities" and "maintain records for monitoring and managing fire prevention and firefighting activities," although no longer explicitly stated, are still required of businesses in the draft new Law.

Specifically, Article 15 of the draft Law on Fire Prevention, Firefighting, and Rescue requires agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in the investment, construction, and use of buildings to ensure that the budget includes provisions for fire prevention and firefighting items during the investment and use process.

Article 5 of the draft new Law clearly states that the head of the establishment, within the scope of their duties and powers, is responsible for establishing and managing records on fire prevention, firefighting, rescue, and relief within their management scope; and for declaring and updating the database on fire prevention and firefighting.

Sixth, fire safety requirements for buildings.

According to the draft Law on Fire Prevention, Fighting, and Rescue, the conditions for ensuring fire safety in residential buildings, as stated in Article 16, include the following:

The electrical system, cooking area, and place of worship must meet fire safety standards.

Flammable and explosive materials must be kept away from heat sources and open flames (this provision is inherited from Article 17 of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting of 2001, amended in 2013).

There are evacuation plans in place, and fire prevention, firefighting, rescue, and relief equipment is prepared to suit the actual conditions (new regulations).

Implementing fire safety standards requires buildings to meet fire safety requirements (new regulations).

Thus, compared to the current regulations, the draft has added two new conditions while omitting the provision stated in Clause 9, Article 1 of the amended Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting of 2013: Villages, hamlets, and residential areas (hereinafter collectively referred to as villages) must have regulations and rules on fire prevention and fighting, on the use of electricity, fire, and flammable and explosive substances; based on specific conditions, they must have fire prevention solutions; and they must have plans, personnel, equipment, transportation routes, and water sources to serve fire prevention and fighting.

At the same time, the draft also adds fire safety requirements for mixed-use residential and commercial buildings, including: ensuring the above conditions; having solutions to separate residential and commercial areas, as well as solutions for evacuation in case of fire.

Seventh, propose fire safety measures when using electricity.

Regarding electricity usage, Article 19 of the draft requires individuals and households to install and use electrical equipment that meets technical standards and electrical safety requirements. Regular inspections must be carried out to promptly detect and prevent risks of fire and explosion caused by electricity throughout the entire electricity usage process.

As can be seen, these provisions are new. Accordingly, the current law only regulates fire prevention regarding the use of electricity, electrical equipment, and appliances in the following areas: power plants and power grids; design, construction, and installation of electrical systems and equipment; electrical equipment and appliances used in environments with fire and explosion hazards; and agencies, organizations, and individuals supplying electricity.

Tue Minh

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