Strengthening the management of construction order and fire prevention and fighting in multi-storey individual houses

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has just signed and issued Official Dispatch No. 991/CD-TTg dated October 22, 2023 on strengthening the management of construction order and fire prevention and fighting for multi-storey, multi-apartment individual houses, ensuring safety, protecting property, health and lives of people.

The dispatch clearly stated that recently, the Government and the Prime Minister have issued many documents directing ministries, branches and localities on the management of construction order for construction works in general, including individual houses with many floors and many apartments. However, in some provinces and cities, in urban areas, residential areas near industrial parks, export processing zones, economic zones, etc., the management of competent authorities has not been effective, leading to the construction of individual houses with many floors and many apartments that do not comply with the provisions of law, such as: construction without planning, without permission, without permission, not ensuring standards and standards on fire prevention and fighting, especially arbitrarily designing to add floors, arranging houses into many apartments or dividing rooms for the purpose of renting, buying, selling, transferring, etc., leading to many consequences, potential risks of causing incidents and insecurity for the works.

To promptly handle violations, overcome shortcomings and limitations, strengthen discipline and order in state management of construction order for multi-storey, multi-apartment individual houses, ensure safe use, protect property, health and lives of people, the Prime Minister requests:

Ministers of the Ministries of Public Security, Industry and Trade, Construction, Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall enhance their responsibilities, continue to resolutely and effectively implement Resolution No. 164/NQ-CP dated October 4, 2023 of the Government on the regular Government meeting in September and the Government's online conference with localities, Official Dispatch No. 825/CD-TTg dated September 15, 2023 on strengthening fire prevention and fighting, strengthening planning management and construction order for individual houses with many floors and many apartments; review regulations, norms and standards on individual houses, promptly overcome shortcomings and limitations, and ensure absolute safety for people and property during exploitation and use; Regularly inspect, monitor, urge, and evaluate results to review the responsibilities of units, organizations, and individuals who do not seriously implement, and strictly handle violations (if any).

The mini apartment building where the fire broke out is located in the middle of a crowded residential area in Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi. Illustration photo: Tuan Anh/VNA

The Minister of Construction shall promptly inspect, review, promptly evaluate, promulgate within his authority or propose competent authorities to promulgate legal documents amending, supplementing, and perfecting regulations, norms, and standards on planning, design, fire prevention and fighting, licensing, management, use, and names for individual housing types with many floors and many apartments to ensure absolute safety for the lives and property of users.

Strengthen the work of establishing and managing construction planning, urban planning, construction order, organizing comprehensive inspections of construction management activities of multi-storey, multi-apartment individual houses, promptly detecting and strictly handling violations of organizations and individuals in accordance with the provisions of law, reporting to the Prime Minister on implementation results in December 2023.

Preside over and closely coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security to urgently research and find solutions to immediately overcome existing problems in fire prevention and fighting for individual houses with many floors, many apartments, and rental service businesses with high population density; issue documents guiding technical solutions to remove difficulties and obstacles, ensuring fire prevention and fighting safety for other existing works and facilities, to be completed in October 2023.

The Ministry of Public Security continues to review and inspect fire prevention and fighting safety according to the direction of the Prime Minister in Official Dispatch No. 825/CD-TTg dated September 15, 2023; promptly detect and strictly handle violations of organizations and individuals according to the provisions of law.

In the immediate future, check and guide households and individuals to immediately have solutions and skills to ensure fire prevention and fighting safety such as: creating a second emergency escape route, having solutions to separate parking areas, areas with high risk of fire and explosion from residential areas and escape routes; equipping fire prevention and fighting means and equipment to ensure fire and explosion limitation and minimizing damage and consequences caused by fire and explosion. Closely coordinate with the Ministry of Construction to issue under its authority or propose competent authorities to issue standards and regulations on fire prevention and fighting for individual houses with many floors and many apartments.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade directed the review and inspection to detect constructions, facilities, and households that do not ensure fire prevention and fighting safety in electricity use to guide and advise people to ensure absolute safety; strengthen guidance, inspection, and handling of violations in electricity use.

The Ministry of Information and Communications directs to strengthen the dissemination of information widely on mass media to raise the knowledge and awareness of relevant organizations and individuals in compliance with the law on planning, construction licensing, construction order, management, use and fire prevention and fighting safety for multi-storey, multi-apartment single-family housing projects to proactively prevent and minimize damage to people and property in case of incidents.

The Chairmen of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall urgently review and evaluate all multi-storey, multi-apartment individual housing projects that have been put into use in the area to detect violations of construction order, especially violations of housing function conversion, violations of fire prevention and fighting regulations to strictly handle violations. At the same time, take feasible measures to immediately overcome existing shortcomings and limitations, especially in fire prevention and fighting such as: creating a second emergency exit, having solutions to separate parking areas, areas with high risk of fire and explosion from residential areas and escape routes; equipping fire prevention and fighting means and equipment to ensure the health and property safety of the people.

For new construction projects, local authorities must strictly control compliance with legal regulations on planning, construction, fire prevention and fighting, management of construction licensing, quality management, and construction order according to regulations. Resolutely and strictly handle violations of construction order, and put an end to illegal and unlicensed construction.

Strengthen the dissemination and propaganda of the provisions of the Construction Law and the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting on contents related to construction planning, construction permits, construction quality management, fire prevention and fighting standards for multi-storey and multi-apartment individual houses; disseminate and provide guidance on fire prevention and fighting, especially fire prevention and fighting skills and escape for people in case of fire or explosion.

Directing competent authorities to strengthen inspection and examination work to promptly detect and strictly handle violations of the law on construction order, fire prevention and fighting by relevant organizations and individuals, absolutely not allowing violations of construction order to exist, prolong, causing public outrage, affecting order, safety and people's lives. Perfecting the organizational apparatus, improving the capacity of officials working in construction order management in the area.

Ministries, branches and localities must complete the review, assessment and proposal of immediate and long-term tasks and solutions to the Government and the Prime Minister no later than the fourth quarter of 2023.

The Government Office regularly monitors, urges and inspects ministries, agencies and localities to strictly implement the assigned tasks in this Official Dispatch, promptly reports to the Prime Minister on the situation and implementation results.

According to VNA/Newspaper

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