Strengthening prevention and control of "fire"

During the peak hot season of 2025, many fires occurred, causing great damage to people and property. Some relics were visited by "fire", most recently the national relic of Bao Quoc Pagoda in Hung Yen. Hue and Da Nang cities, where there are world cultural heritage sites, have been organizing measures, not being subjective during the hot season.

Building fire prevention and fighting plans for each relic in Hue

The Complex of Hue Monuments with a system of many monuments stretching from the city center to the mountainous areas on the outskirts. Most of them are wooden architectural monuments; many monuments are located in the pine forest area and far from the city center such as Gia Long Tomb, Khai Dinh Tomb, Dong Khanh Tomb; or monuments located entirely in residential areas such as Duc Duc Tomb; and many monuments have temples, worshiping halls...

Therefore, there is a great risk of fire and explosion during the peak hot season, especially in the summer when the number of tourists visiting and burning incense increases. Therefore, fire prevention and fighting work is always a top concern of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center, both to protect heritage works as well as to ensure the safety of tourists and staff on duty at tourist attractions.

Fire prevention and fighting work at relic sites in the Complex of Hue Monuments with the main force being nearly 150 personnel of the Protection Management Department (Hue Monuments Conservation Center). Over the past years, the unit has arranged security forces at 20 important relics, along with equipping fire prevention and fighting equipment systems and training to improve skills for security staff and the Center's Departments and Offices.

Before the peak hot season of 2025, the unit also practiced with specific hypothetical situations when a fire broke out at the Hon Chen Palace relic, Nam Giao Altar, Gia Long Tomb...

Mr. Tran Dinh Than, Head of Protection Management Department (Hue Monuments Conservation Center), informed: Each relic site has its own fire prevention and fighting plan with the core being the security force and on-site staff who coordinate daily with local authorities.

At places such as Gia Long tomb, Thieu Tri tomb, Hon Chen palace, Nam Giao altar... fire barriers are maintained every year. In addition, at tombs with many pine trees such as Tu Duc tomb, Minh Mang tomb, Nam Giao altar... pine needles are regularly raked to prevent the risk of fire spreading.

Along with that, the unit also regularly assigns people to check the buffer zone of the relic and the adjacent forest area because of the risk of people burning vegetation and burning votive paper causing fires to promptly control and prevent fires from affecting the relics.

In fact, every year there are still some small fires in the forest near the mausoleums, but the monument protection force, local authorities and people in the area quickly put them out, ensuring safety. In the hot season of 2024, the main hall of Thuyen Lam (No. 150 Dien Bien Phu, Hue City) was also burned down by fire, destroying almost all of the interior and causing severe damage.

Although the pagoda has not been recognized as a relic, it is a famous historical and cultural site in Hue. Or before that, in the summer of 2022, a fire broke out in the grounds of the Quoc Tu Giam relic (at that time, it was the headquarters of the Thua Thien Hue Provincial History Museum). Although the artifacts were quickly relocated, the building was damaged and is currently awaiting restoration...

At the Hue Imperial Citadel heritage site, where many of the most important relics are concentrated, most of which are traditional wooden architecture, the security force is responsible for maintaining security and order, directing and guiding tourists, and at the same time educating visitors about environmental protection and not smoking in areas at risk of fire and explosion, especially at places where incense is offered such as The Mieu and Trieu Mieu.

Director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center Hoang Viet Trung said that the unit has also developed a plan to ensure fire prevention and rescue safety for festivals taking place in the relic area, festival activities of the Four Seasons Festival throughout the year, Hue Nam Temple Festival (Hon Chen Temple) in the third and seventh lunar months, Xa Tac Altar Ceremony, Nam Giao Altar Ceremony, the Soul Altar Prayer Ceremony, events, and celebrations of major holidays taking place in the relic area...

Hoi An builds 200 billion VND automatic fire protection system

In the ancient urban area of Hoi An, there are currently 1,143 relics, mainly in the old town with a total of 1,130 architectural and artistic relics. Most of the structures are made of wood, hundreds of years old, with rudimentary fire protection systems. More than 70% of them are privately owned, located next to each other, most of them combining residence and business with many flammable items.

All roads in protected area I have relics with different densities, mainly concentrated on the main roads: Tran Phu, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Nguyen Thai Hoc, Bach Dang...

The entire structure of the ancient houses in Hoi An is made of wood, which is flammable and can cause serious consequences in the event of a fire. The roads leading to the old town, the alleys, and the lanes are narrow, making it difficult for fire trucks to reach the scene when a fire or explosion occurs.

Some notable fires in the Old Quarter include: Fire at the old house at 95 Nguyen Thai Hoc in 2012; electrical short circuit at a fabric store on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street in 2016; fire at the souvenir shop at 134 Tran Phu in 2013, etc.

When a fire broke out in houses in the old quarter, although the authorities quickly mobilized all forces and means to extinguish the fire, the consequences were extremely serious.

Many monuments have to be closed for restoration for a long time, although they ensure that the original design is maintained, their history will be significantly reduced. Most recently, on the afternoon of June 13, a fire broke out at a house selling souvenirs such as cloth bags, lanterns, and postcards on Tran Quy Cap Street, near Hoi An Market, right in the center of Hoi An Ancient Town.

Fortunately, people discovered it in time, Hoi An Market Management Board activated the market's fire prevention system, pulled the water pipes, coordinated with people and authorities to put out the fire, preventing it from spreading.

According to the Hoi An Center for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation, about 15 years ago, Hoi An invested in installing water pipes and fire lines on all walking streets, but now this system has seriously degraded and cannot operate. Currently, Hoi An is urgently completing the investment project to build a fire protection system for the Hoi An ancient town with a total cost of 200 billion VND, expected to be put into operation by the end of 2025.

This is the largest and most systematic investment project ever, applying many technologies and techniques to protect and prevent fire at each relic. The project includes many items, in which the most prominent is investing in smart addressable fire alarm systems (automatic fire alarms) for 37 special relic houses, 70 type 1 relic houses; investing in installing fire hydrant systems on walls in about 41 special houses and 86 type 1 houses; automatic sprinkler fire extinguishing systems for special relics (10 houses) owned by the state...

In recent times, Hoi An has also focused on promoting the role of the “Fire Prevention and Control Inter-family Group”, maintaining the model of “Fire Prevention and Control Safe Residential Area” in 100% of villages and blocks. During the peak hot season and festivals, the authorities also organize propaganda teams, train fire prevention and control skills combined with practicing fire prevention and control plans in residential areas, organize inspections, provide guidance on fire prevention and control safety for households, and encourage each family to equip themselves with portable fire extinguishers and open emergency exits.

Lieutenant Colonel Dang Ngoc Tan, Chief of Hoi An Ward Police, said that as a ward located in the old quarter with thousands of ancient house relics, a locality with a focus on economic and tourism development, a place where businesses, traders, tourists, etc. are concentrated, immediately after the merger, the unit promptly assigned tasks to officers, soldiers, and working groups to start performing the task of ensuring political security, social order and safety, and serving public administrative procedures for people in the ward, as well as implementing fire prevention and fighting inspections, rescue, and relief work, meeting the requirements of the task in the new situation.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/tang-cuong-phong-chong-ba-hoa-155252.html