In large cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, mini apartment buildings are increasingly appearing. However, this housing model has many potential fire and explosion risks and can leave serious consequences.
One of the most serious fires involving mini apartments was the fire on Khuong Ha Street, Khuong Dinh Ward (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) on the evening of September 12, 2023.
The fire started in the parking lot and quickly spread to the upper floors. The fire raged overnight, killing 56 people, injuring dozens of others, and destroying property in more than 40 apartments.
At the time of the fire, many victims ran down to the first floor to find an escape route but were unsuccessful because the entire area was used as a parking lot for motorbikes and electric motorbikes.
In fact, this is not the only mini apartment building in Hanoi that dedicates the entire first floor area to parking.
Ms. Thanh Mai (Dong Da, Hanoi) said that the mini apartment building where her family lives also uses the entire first floor as a parking lot. In the evening, when people come home from work, there are dozens of cars parked all over the first floor, with only a small path enough for people and cars to pass each other, which makes her feel very worried.
"If a fire or explosion happens, it will be very difficult for my family members and other households to escape this way," Ms. Mai Thanh expressed her concern.
Mr. Duy Quang (Thanh Tri, Hanoi) shared that every time he comes home at night, he feels uneasy because the entire first floor of the mini apartment building where he lives is full of cars.
“The parking lot in my apartment building is not guarded by security guards. Residents in the building lock the doors to protect their property. If a fire breaks out in the parking lot, it is unlikely that it will be detected and handled early. If the fire is too big, we don’t know if we can escape from the first floor,” said Mr. Quang.
Faced with the current unsafe situation of fire prevention and fighting in mini apartments, the Ministry of Construction has issued Circular 1:2023 amending QCVN 06:2022/BXD National technical regulations on fire safety for houses and buildings.
According to this new circular, from December 1, buildings with a fire protection height of no more than 15m, buildings with a fire protection height of 15-21m and buildings with a fire protection height of 21-25m are not allowed to park motor vehicles, and are not allowed to arrange class A, B, C warehouses on floors with emergency exits outside the building, unless these areas are separated according to regulations (each floor is arranged with an emergency exit).
In addition, the circular also stipulates the width of stairs used for escape. Accordingly, the width of stairs must not be less than 0.7-1.2m.
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