Kim Son Market (Mao Khe Ward), which has been in operation since 2018 with 199 kiosks, has been equipped with fire prevention and fighting equipment in accordance with regulations. Regarding the fire that occurred on the morning of September 18th, upon detection, the local forces quickly implemented initial response measures and simultaneously notified professional forces to arrive at the scene.
According to Mr. Nguyen Ba Thien, Deputy Director of Thanh Tam 668 Co., Ltd., the company had equipped its premises with fire extinguishers, an automatic fire alarm system, a fire alarm communication system, water tanks, and pumps that were operating stably. However, at the time of the incident, which occurred in the early morning, many kiosks were still locked, and the intense heat of the fire made accessing the burning area very difficult.
Given this reality, ensuring safety at markets depends not only on equipping them with fire-fighting equipment, but also on the site conditions, access routes, business organization, and the ability to handle situations when incidents occur.
CCTV system at Cot Market (Dong Trieu ward).
Following the directive of the Quang Ninh City People's Committee on strengthening fire prevention and rescue work, with a focus on inspecting and reviewing safety conditions at markets, the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police force (Quang Ninh City Police) organized inspections to identify shortcomings that need to be addressed at several markets in the area.
However, in reality, the main shortcomings are concentrated in the group of markets built and put into use before 2001, related to planning, structure, and infrastructure. These are also problems that are not easy to solve in the short term, because renovating and adding fire safety features may involve funding and compatibility with existing planning.
These are also the difficulties that Cot Market (Dong Trieu Ward) is facing. Mr. Pham Duy Khiem, Deputy Head of the Cot Market Management Board, said: The unit hopes to repair and supplement items to ensure fire safety according to the new regulations, but is still facing difficulties regarding funding and planning. Besides the responsibility of the market management unit, overcoming these shortcomings requires coordination and solutions from functional agencies and local authorities.
Quang Ninh City currently has 102 local markets. Of these, 17 markets are considered to not meet fire safety requirements, having been put into operation before the Fire Prevention and Fighting Law of 2001 came into effect. This group of buildings needs to be reviewed and classified to develop appropriate solutions, especially those that can no longer be renovated to meet current safety requirements.
The handling of facilities that do not meet fire safety requirements has been addressed by Quang Ninh City in Resolution No. 32/2021/NQ-HĐND (dated August 27, 2021) of the City People's Council, which stipulates the handling of facilities that do not meet fire safety requirements and were put into use before the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting No. 27/2001/QH10 came into effect. For facilities that cannot rectify fire safety conditions, their function must be changed to suit the fire safety requirements of the building, or they must be dealt with according to the provisions of the law .
Captain Nguyen Thanh Dat, from the Fire Prevention Task Force, Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department (City Police), stated: "The unit continues to tighten inspections and require establishments to rectify the identified shortcomings. Those who intentionally fail to comply will be severely punished according to regulations. For establishments that cannot rectify the issues, the authorities will guide them in converting their operational functions to comply with fire safety regulations; contributing to reducing the risk of fire and explosions, and protecting the lives and property of traders and residents."
Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/khong-chu-quan-voi-hoa-hoan-tai-cho-dan-sinh-post3422671.html
