Karaoke 'long neck' waiting for approval

Editor's note:

New regulations on fire prevention and fighting are causing many businesses to get stuck. Many large capital investment projects are stalled because they have not been inspected for fire prevention and fighting. The problem with ensuring fire prevention and fighting is that even businesses do not know how to meet them.

VietNamNet published a series of articles reflecting this reality in many localities.

Viet Anh (30 years old, Can Tho City) leaves home at 8am and finishes work around midnight. Working 16 hours brings him an income of about 450,000 VND/day, equivalent to 13.5 million VND/month.

He uses the money to support his family of four (his wife is unemployed and his two children). They live in a rented room in District 7. It is worth mentioning that he has to work three different jobs to earn this income, including karaoke bar staff, technology car driver, and waiter at a beer house.

After the fire at An Phu karaoke bar ( Binh Duong province) in September 2022, Ho Chi Minh City authorities conducted a general inspection of the karaoke, bar, and dance club business system throughout the area to ensure safety in operations. Therefore, the karaoke bar where Viet Anh worked had to close and stop operations for repairs. The bar cut down on working days, so he only worked 3 days/week with the main task of looking after and protecting the bar's facilities by day. In the past half year, the basic salary has been 1/3 of what it was before.

“I have worked in the karaoke industry for 7 years, and my salary used to be stable. Now I have to work very hard, without a day off, to earn that income. Due to being unemployed for so long, many of my friends in the same profession have returned to their hometowns,” Viet Anh shared.

Fixed but still stuck

Viet Anh is just one of thousands of freelance workers in the karaoke service industry who have been affected. Workers have seen their wages reduced and become unemployed, while businesses have been hit even harder. Of course, the failure to ensure fire prevention and fighting must be addressed, but the karaoke bar where Viet Anh works has not been approved by the authorities to reopen.

All the doors at a karaoke bar were removed and replaced with fireproof doors. (Photo: Tran Chung)

PV. VietNamNet roughly calculated that the above karaoke bar has invested in repairing and replacing: 31 sets of doors made of fire-resistant materials at a cost of about 12 million VND/door; 3 fire-fighting cabinets, priced at 15 million VND/cabinet, placed on 3 floors; fire alarm panels, automatic power-off system when there is a problem, priced at 30 million VND; 20 singing rooms with a repair cost of 45 million VND/room have also been completed; all are concrete walls, no longer soundproofed with flammable materials; two emergency exits; on-site water source for fire pumps; exit signs and emergency corridor lights...

“The fire department has come to inspect the facility. We have submitted an application for approval but have not received a response yet. We do not understand the specific reason,” the karaoke bar representative wondered.

According to this representative, the cost of repairing business locations in the system has cost tens of billions of VND. The cost of maintaining rental space is about 12,000-15,000 USD/month/facility (rounded to about 300 million VND/month). Owners are having to mortgage personal assets and borrow money to maintain business operations.

In Bien Hoa City ( Dong Nai Province), the owner of the GBB karaoke bar affirmed that business has never been as difficult as it is now. The facility has just suffered losses after 2 years of the pandemic, then had to stop operating due to fire prevention and fighting regulations. If the bar wants to meet current standards and regulations, ensuring that it is eligible for acceptance, it will almost have to be rebuilt from scratch.

New automatic fire alarm system at a karaoke bar. (Photo: Tran Chung)

No common voice

According to statistics from PC07 Ho Chi Minh City, during the peak period of karaoke, bar, and discotheque business activities in the city from September 7 to December 15, 2022, local police inspected 100% of establishments with a total of 1,091 inspections. The police agency drew up 377 administrative violation records, with an administrative fine of more than VND 2.74 billion.

From December 16, 2022 to March 2023, the police of districts/counties/Thu Duc City conducted 543 inspections; issued 88 administrative violation records with a total fine of VND 558 million; and revoked certificates of eligibility for security and order for 117 establishments.

Through review, Ho Chi Minh City has 449 establishments providing karaoke services, dance clubs, and bars; by March 2023, there were 396 establishments remaining (36 establishments were dissolved, 17 establishments changed to other types).

Responding to the press about fire prevention and fighting at karaoke bars, dance clubs, and bars in mid-March 2023, Colonel Huynh Quang Tam, Head of PC07, Ho Chi Minh City Police, said that the city has 344 establishments that do not meet fire prevention and fighting requirements; they have been instructed to prepare design documents for approval. However, 58/343 establishments have prepared design documents to submit to PC07 for approval of renovation and only 2 documents that meet the requirements have been granted approval documents on fire prevention and fighting.

Colonel Tam commented that recently, many establishments have renovated, repaired, and overcome existing problems and violations of fire prevention and fighting; however, the business locations have not yet prepared documents to request approval for renovation, so they have not yet met the regulations.

On the other hand, due to the fact that the design documents have not been approved yet, the facilities have not yet fully remedied the existing violations or have not yet met the requirements of the standards and regulations.

However, a representative of a business unit attending the dialogue between PC07 and businesses operating in the field of karaoke, bars, and dance clubs in the area on March 30 said that PC07's response to businesses' questions was still general. Currently, no specific unit has signed a decision to issue a more detailed review process for business units.

Tran Chung - Hoang Anh

Vinh City 'closely monitors 24/7' karaoke bars The leaders of Vinh City (Nghe An) have just issued a document directing the chairmen of wards and communes in the area to assign people to be on duty at dozens of karaoke bars 24/7.

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