Two apartment blocks standing next to each other in an alley off Bui Xuong Trach Street both belong to a list of 150 buildings failing to meet fire safety regulations in Hanoi's Thanh Xuan District.
According to district authorities, on the list are 66 apartment blocks.
Thanh Xuan District has inspected all multi-story buildings after a fire on late September 12 at a 10-story apartment block killed 56 people. Owner of that building is now under investigation for violating fire safety regulations.
Both of these apartment blocks are built as a "tube house," which means they have just one exit at the front while the other three sides are completely closed.
Inspectors in Thanh Xuan District said the two buildings have no fire-fighting systems or fire escapes.
Each of them rises eight floors, with six apartments on each floor.
Residents have shielded the loggias of their apartments with iron bars here to prevent burglars. Cables and wires cross all over the building.
In an alley off Hoang Dao Thanh Street in Thanh Xuan District, another 11-floor apartment block has violated fire prevention rules in the basement, which is currently used as a parking lot.
Police and district authorities have concluded that the owner of the building must suspend parking services in the basement until it is well-equipped with fire prevention and firefighting systems.
At this building, the fire escape is a narrow staircase that can fit only one person. The door that links the stairs with the rooftop remains locked all the time.
According to statistics from the Hanoi Power Corporation, the whole city has about 2,000 apartment blocks.
As per a plan issued earlier, Hanoi authorities will inspect all types of apartment buildings across the city from September 15 to October 30.
The situation is the same in Ho Chi Minh City.
In the photo above, the Thanh Da apartment building in Binh Thanh District is full of iron bars, blocking any chance of a fire escape.
The building has now been degraded and many of the apartments have been modified to consume space intended for loggias or balconies.
Nguyen Thi Thuy, 88, stands by a loggia that has been modified and is now covered by iron bars.
She said every family living in the building has modified their apartments this way to prevent burglars, protect young children from falling down, and enlarge their apartments all at once.
"I know that these iron bars could block us from escaping fire should it happen, but there are small kids in the house, so we cannot do it differently."
At the Ngo Gia Tu apartment building in HCMC's District 10, all families have modified their apartments, leaving no space left for outside access.
Broken firefighting equipment at the Nguyen Nghi Nghia apartment building in District 1.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued a statement requesting a general review and inspection of fire prevention and firefighting at all types of apartment buildings across the country.
The Construction Ministry has been assigned to supplement fire prevention and fighting standards for mini apartments, and amend regulations and standards for building houses as soon as possible.
