Many concrete pillars block the fire truck's path

It is not difficult to see village roads, alleys, and densely populated areas with concrete pillars and barriers blocking the way of cars. The original purpose of those who erected concrete pillars and barriers was to prevent cars from entering, but this poses a potential risk to fire safety. Because these obstacles not only block the way of cars but also hinder the operation of fire trucks when a fire occurs.

In fact, there have been cases where fire trucks could not quickly carry out rescue operations due to these obstacles, causing a lot of the golden time for fire fighting to be missed.

Barrier prevents fire trucks from moving

For example, the fire at a villa adjacent to Dai Kim urban area (Hoang Mai, Hanoi ). Specifically, upon receiving the fire alarm, the fire prevention and fighting force quickly deployed 3 fire trucks to the scene. However, in the process of approaching the scene, 2 fire trucks were blocked by the barrier at the beginning of Kim Giang street.

The authorities had to work very hard, using professional measures to be able to unlock the barrier, approach the fire and successfully rescue the 5 victims trapped inside.

Previously, a similar incident involving a roadblock blocking the path of a fire truck also occurred in Nghe An . Accordingly, on July 10, 2020, in Dien Loc commune (Dien Chau district), a forest fire broke out that lasted for dozens of hours.

This fire is considered one of the longest fires to be fought in the province. The cause was that the fire truck was blocked by a series of solid concrete pillars. It took the fire department a long time to break down these concrete pillars, causing the fire to spread and prolonging the firefighting time.

In fact, the installation of pillars and barriers to block the way for the purpose of blocking cars from entering poses a great risk of loss of safety in the event of a fire or explosion. The installation of these obstacles is also against the law.

Fire police had to stop to find a way to remove the barrier.

According to the representative of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department, it will take a lot of time to clear the way for fire trucks. Because fire trucks cannot reach the scene, it will be difficult to carry out rescue measures without adequate specialized equipment.

“In critical situations like this, even a minute can cause the victims trapped inside to die. With large fires, the slow approach of fire trucks to the scene will create an opportunity for the fire to spread faster, wider, causing greater damage,” said the representative.

Arbitrarily installing obstacles is illegal. This is clearly stated in Point a, Clause 4, Article 11, Decree 171/2013 of the Government . Accordingly, violations in the field of road and railway traffic such as illegally building platforms, creating obstacles will be fined from 2-4 million VND.

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