This image shows a densely populated area with hundreds of intertwined small alleys on Trung Kinh Street in Trung Hoa Ward of Cau Giay District.
Within the past year, Hanoi has witnessed two major deadly fires.
In September 2023, a fire at an apartment building pff Khuong Dinh Street in Thanh Xuan District resulted in 56 deaths.
On May 24, another fire occurred at a house in an alley off Trung Kinh, killing 14 people.
Both incidents originated from houses located deep within narrow alleys, which firefighters had difficulty accessing.
The entrance to the house in an alley of Trung Kinh Street where a fire occurred on May 24 could only accommodate two motorcycles.
The house on fire is located on a land plot spanning 205 m2 situated about 200 m from the main road.
There are two blocks on the premises: one with two floors and the other with three floors. There is a yard between the blocks that spans 55 m2, that serves as a parking lot for tenants and a mechanic shop of the landlord.
The fire began around 0:30 a.m. and quickly engulfed the house with two separate blocks, resulting in the deaths of 14 people.
With their houses located deep in small alleys, many families in this area use barbed wire fences to prevent theft, blocking many emergency exits.
Rental houses are closely packed together, creating a cramped space.
Balcony areas are often completely barricaded.
With the increasing demand for rental housing in the capital city, owners of many houses deep in alleys have modified their property into multi-story buildings with rooms for rent.
When a fire occurs, it is very difficult for the fire services to access those houses.
Rental houses often use the first floor to store motorcycles. When a fire starts in this area, the smoke tends to shoot straight up, blocking the escape route.
About 3 km away, a rental house on Tran Thai Tong Street of Cau Giay District also lies deep in an alley.
In the photo is the only entrance and exit for the rental area.
According to a report by Cau Giay’s authorities, more than 2,800 rental houses in the district do not ensure safe escape routes.
The owner of a house in an alley on Tran Quoc Vuong Street of Cau Giay uses the entire entrance for a joss paper business, posing a constant fire hazard. This house is more than 200 meters away from the main road.
An alley that is home to two rental houses on Xuan Thuy Street of Cau Giay District.
It is only wide enough for one motorcycle.
To fight fires in narrow alleys, firefighters have no other choice but to extend water hoses from the main road.
Multiple electrical and telecommunications cables crisscross, blocking the doors of many houses in an alley on De La Thanh Street in Ba Dinh District.
A resident reported that there used to be an electrical short circuit leading to a fire in this area, but fortunately, it was promptly extinguished by the locals using fire extinguishers.
This alley also poses many deadly fire risks as fire trucks cannot access it either.
A public firefighting kit box with no tools inside along Alley No.42 of Thanh Cong Street in Ba Dinh District.
In the event of a fire, these are considered places that provide firefighting tools in small alley areas.
Last year, the Hanoi People's Committee required that all alleys deeper than 50 meters be equipped with such a kit box.
A man burns joss paper in a narrow alley of Me Tri Thuong Street in Nam Tu Liem District.
There are many causes of fires and explosions, but the most important is the public awareness of the people.
According to Hanoi's official data, there are currently more than 4,500 streets, roads, alleys, lanes, and paths in which fire trucks cannot access in the city.
On the afternoon of May 13, a fire occurred at a house in Alley No.211 on Khuong Trung Street in Thanh Xuan District.
Three fire trucks could not access the burning house, which was about 500 meters away from the water truck's parking spot.
Firefighters must use three vehicles modified from motorcycles (as seen in the photo) to approach the scene and use water drawn from a local resident's storage tank to kill the fire.
