Hanoi, (VNA) - Fire prevention and fighting remains a challenge for Hanoi authorities, with many fires across the capital city leaving seriousconsequences.

The municipal Department of Fire Prevention andFighting (DFPF) reported 447 fires in the capital city in the first six monthsof the year at a meeting early this week.

The fires killed three people, injured twoothers and caused estimated losses of more than 300 billion VND (13.3 millionUSD). They mainly occurred at residential buildings, karaoke shops andrestaurants.

The department’s deputy director Nguyen Van Sonsaid human error, including the burning of incense and votive papers, andelectric short-circuits were common reasons for fires.

Violations in installing and using fire fighting equipment werealso the major problems. Although fire prevention equipment is effective, mostresidential houses are not equipped with fire alarms and other equipment,according to Son.

Most old apartment buildings were built with little regard to fireprotection and only basic items like fire extinguishers and fire protectionnotices. New apartment buildings in big cities often have fire alarm systems,but they may not really work when fires strike.

As of May 31, 79 apartment buildings in Hanoifell short of fire safety standards after the department inspected 8,000high-rise buildings in the city.

Of the buildings in violation of fire safetystandards, 78 did not have fire safety certificates while another had notundergone a safety test.

According to the department, many buildings withluxury apartments face fire safety issues.

Ha Dong district has the highest number of suchbuildings with 21, followed by Bac Tu Liem, Thanh Xuan and Hoang Mai districtswith 10, nine and eight, respectively. 

In the first six months of the year, thedepartment inspected nearly 20,000 establishments on fire safety regulationsand found 2,168 violators with a total fine of more than 6 billion VND (264,000USD), according to a department report.

To help reduce fire hazards, the departmentplans to promote information dissemination to raise public awareness of fireprevention and fighting and increase inspections of fire safety regulations,particularly at residential buildings, warehouses and restaurants and bars,said department’s director Hoang Quoc Dinh.

Hanoi has recently decided that developers ofhigh-rise buildings that violate safety codes will not be eligible for futureland allocation or land lease as part of measures to deal with rampant firesafety violations in construction, according to the municipal People’sCommittee.

The DFPF was asked to work with relevantagencies in supervising fire prevention requirements to ensure that projectsundergo fire safety tests before being certified for operation.

The department was also told to fine or suspendthe use of high-rise buildings if necessary. The department can recommend usingforce to the local government if investors fail to comply with fire safetyregulations.

Investors who fail to comply or deliberatelyviolate the fire safety regulations will be named and shamed, while residentswill be advised not to move into buildings without proper fire protection.

The Department of Construction was asked toensure fire safety standards are met before issuing permits for constructionand certificates of approval and occupancy. No construction permit should beissued if the project designs had not been approved by the DFPF andconstruction projects would not be allowed to operate if they fail fire safetytests.-VNA