High risk of fire and explosion in old apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City needs immediate warning

CLIP: "Horrifying" with the hidden danger of fire and explosion at many old apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City

After the tragic fire that occurred at Doc Lap residential area ( Phu Tho Hoa ward, Ho Chi Minh City) on the evening of July 6, these days, many households in Doc Lap residential area are urgently demolishing the steel frame and B40 mesh covering the balcony area installed in the style of a "tiger cage", returning it to its original state.

Loạt ảnh — Many households in Doc Lap residential area, Phu Tho Hoa ward dismantled "tiger cages".

However, in Ho Chi Minh City, according to the reporter's investigation, many old apartment buildings are still installing "tiger cages" that block fire exits, or have widespread electrical connections.

At the Ho Chi Minh City economic and social press conference on the afternoon of July 10, Major General Nguyen Thanh Huong said that Ho Chi Minh City currently has 1,132 apartment buildings. Of these, 239 apartment buildings and 341 blocks of houses were built before 1975, along with hundreds of other facilities built between 1975 and 2001, but many places are at risk of fire and explosion safety.

Doc Lap Apartment is an old apartment building that has existed for many years. Many similar apartments have fire protection systems, but they are degraded and many of the equipment is damaged to the point of being unusable. Meanwhile, most old apartments and residences do not have a maintenance fund to repair or replace fire protection equipment.

In addition, the most serious problem at present is the illegal expansion and cover-up which is very common in old apartments and residential areas. Many people arbitrarily expand and expand their living space, increasing the risk of fire and hindering fire fighting and rescue work.

According to records at the apartment building at 14 Ton That Dam, Sai Gon ward, dozens of old, rusty circuit breakers hung on the wall, covered with dust. Above them were tangled wires, some of which were temporarily fixed with tape or damaged wires were also wrapped in tape.

"Tiger cage" with no way out in apartment building 14 Ton That Dam, Saigon ward.

Fire protection equipment has been installed for a long time, most of it is very old. The dusty fire protection cabinet is located right below the circuit breakers, but people often park their motorbikes blocking the cabinet. The fire extinguisher instruction board and the old fire protection regulations are almost unreadable.

In old apartment buildings of grade D (with seriously degraded quality), it is not difficult to see narrow walkways, tangled electrical wiring systems and "perfunctory" fire protection equipment.

In the apartment building at 137 Ly Thuong Kiet (Tan Son Nhat ward), there is only one entrance and exit, with no secondary emergency exit. Residents are forced to move through a narrow corridor like a bottleneck – a place where even a small incident can become a life-or-death bottleneck.

Messy electrical wiring system at apartment building 137 Ly Thuong Kiet (Tan Son Nhat ward).

At Vinh Hoi apartment building (Vinh Hoi ward), the hallway is where residents dry their clothes, with electrical wires hanging from the wall. The wires stretch from one end of the stairs to the other. There is a fire warning sign on the wall, but it is just a formality. "I have lived here for many years, and nothing has happened. I don't care about fire prevention and fighting" - said Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang (60 years old), a resident of the apartment building.

A similar situation occurred at the Ton That Thuyet apartment building (Khanh Hoi ward). Electric wires were strung on all sides, electrical booths were loosely installed, with many sections sticking out of the walls. On each floor, there were homemade "electrical sockets" without covers or protective devices.