Hanoi residents increase efforts to combat fire

Nguyen Thi Tin, a 67-year-old woman who lives in the alley where the fire broke out, said she has been talking with her neighbors about opening up exits at each other’s houses to "have as many exits as possible in case something happens."

Two days later, workers came to remove cages. Tin’s house now has two additional exits, and she also bought a steel rod onto which rope ladder can be hooked.

"My daughter-in-law is also buying more flashlights and a rope ladder," she said.

Tin going up to check the new emergency exit that leads her neighbor’s house on Sept 19, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/ Phan Duong

A few houses away, Vu Thi Ha, 66, is also opening up two exits, one in front of the house and one that goes to the neighbor’s house, as well as buying a rope ladder. She has also made sure that everyone in her family knows where the key to the emergency exit is.

"Of course, I’m also worried about thieves, but I’m more afraid of fire," Ha said. " If we lose our possessions, at least we can earn them back. But losing our lives means the end."

Cutting the steel balcony cages that were set up to prevent burglary, creating more exits, purchasing fire safety equipment, designating a time and place to charge electric motorbikes, removing gas stoves, and performing fire drills are some of the solutions that citizens in Hanoi are employing.

The fire in a 10-floor mini apartment building in Hanoi's Thanh Xuan district killed 56 people, including children, and injuring 37 on Sept. 12.

A survey conducted by VnExpress in the inner districts of Thanh Xuan, Dong Da, Bac Tu Liem, Nam Tu Liem, and outer districts such as Thach That, showed that people’s perceptions towards fire prevention has shifted.

Pham Thi Huyen, a 34-year-old woman living in an apartment in Bac Tu Liem District, shares that for the past 10 days, her neighborhood has been regularly testing its fire alarm system. The alarm goes off several times every night.

The basement of Huyen’s apartment building in Hanoi's Bac Tu Liem District, with a sign indicating the exact place to park electric motorbikes, after a fire at a mini apartment building killed 56 people on Sept. 12, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Phan Duong

Furthermore, all bikes and motorbikes are now designated in one area next to the entrance of the basement parking lot to open up space. The lot now has a security guard on duty 24/7. The apartment’s management board has also required electric motorbikes to only be charged in the daytime.

"Some of the residents have complained that they have to walk further to this new area, and the new charging policy is inconvenient for them. But my family supports this change," said Huyen, a resident who owns an electric motorbike.

Ngoc Quynh, whose family owns 30 rooms for rent in the town of Binh Yen, Thach That District, also called a construction worker to come and open up emergency exits on all her rooms, as opposed to only having one exit like before. She also bought fire extinguishers and encouraged her renters to arm themselves with fire safety equipment such as gas masks and rope ladders.

"In emergencies, they can use the rope ladders to climb down and allow firefighters to get to them more easily," Quynh says.

Many people have voiced their newfound fire fears online by sharing a constant flow of news articles and videos on topics such as how to escape from a fire, and where to place a fire extinguisher.

Le Minh Duc, a real estate specialist in District 3, HCMC, said that the main demographics of customers in mini apartments are office workers and university students. Before, they were concerned with price, location, and the room itself. After the fire incident on Khuong Ha Street, renters are becoming increasingly interested in the fire safety standards of the building.

"Many people are worried, so they want to find buildings that have a fire alarm system, an automatic sprinkler system, or an outdoor fire escape," Duc says.

Major Nguyen Danh Luan of the Vietnam Fire and Rescue Police Department asserts that citizens should improve their knowledge of fire prevention skills, as well as learning how to escape from a fire safely.

On the afternoon of Sept. 18, Le Tam’s landlord opened an additional exit on the laundry floor and equipped it with a rope ladder.

"Although it’s a little late, at least having these things helps calm me down somewhat," Tam says.