4 months after the shocking fire in Khuong Ha, many mini apartments in Hanoi have made clear changes to ensure fire safety.
According to survey by VTC News, many places that previously did not have fire protection equipment have now been more fully equipped. For example, warning signs are posted everywhere in mini apartment buildings to propagate and remind people to raise awareness of this issue. Fire boxes that were previously empty are now equipped with fire extinguishers.
Fire boxes in many mini apartments were previously fully equipped with fire extinguishers.
At the parking lot, almost all are equipped with fire-proof balls to quickly extinguish the fire as soon as it breaks out. Fire warning systems, sprinklers, and fire alarms have also been added to many mini apartments.
Most notably, emergency staircases have been installed in many locations outside buildings and are designed to facilitate people’s escape, if a fire accidentally occurs.
Firefighting equipment is equipped from inside the house to the alley.
Mr. Hoang The Anh, manager of 5 apartments in Hanoi, informed: “The 3 houses with a floor area of about 25-30 m2 are equipped with 3 additional automatic fire extinguishers, the remaining 2 houses with smaller areas are also equipped with 2 automatic fire extinguishers, all of which are 8kg type. We also installed a stainless steel emergency staircase outside the balcony to help residents escape.”.
According to Mr. The Anh, each automatic fire extinguishing ball is designed to be able to automatically extinguish fire in an area of about 9 m2.
The emergency staircase is completely made of stainless steel to avoid rust when exposed to sun and rain outdoors. The foot of the stairs is designed to be more than 2m above the ground, a distance just enough for users to land easily, while also preventing intruders from taking advantage of it to break into the house.
A large fire extinguisher is equipped in a mini apartment in My Dinh (Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi).
Mr. Nguyen Van Quang, owner of a mini apartment complex in Nhan My, My Dinh (Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi), also said that he is fully equipped with fire extinguishers and fire balls and also has regulations prohibiting electric car on the parking lot.
Residents are requested not to leave clutter blocking the exit door. Stairs must also be neat and avoid flammable materials. All rooms must always have their emergency exit door open, even if this door was previously locked and the key was given to the resident.
Mr. Quang has also completed 2 emergency staircases outside the balcony of the building to facilitate escape from the fire if an unfortunate incident occurs. “This costs extra money, but I think investors should do it immediately to ensure long-term safety for the community.”he said.
According to Mr. Quang, after the terrible fire in Khuong Ha, he and the people living in the mini apartment complex realized that preventing theft is not as important as preventing fire.
“To ensure the safety of the entire residential area, I regularly inspect or ask someone to supervise every day. If I see anyone violating, I will immediately warn and criticize them. Since the incident in Khuong Dinh, I cannot completely leave ensuring fire safety to the residents, but I must directly manage and take responsibility.“, Mr. Quang said.
Automatic fire extinguishers are added in the garages of many mini apartments.
If there is no fire safety, the house cannot be sold
After the tragic fire in Khuong Dinh, many customers changed their thinking about finding accommodation when hunting to buy mini apartments. If in the past they only prioritized price and location of the project, now the first and most important factor of concern is that the place must ensure fire safety.
Mr. Thanh Trung, a broker specializing in mini apartments said: “The tenants are still doing well, but the current buyers are still very hesitant about mini apartments. Every piece of news I post must include information about fire protection, rope ladders, anti-toxic masks… to be objective. Therefore, almost all investors now have to equip more equipment and fire prevention measures to be able to sell or rent their houses.”
Ms. Mai Thu (28 years old), a resident living in a mini apartment in a small alley on Doi Can street (Ba Dinh, Hanoi) said: “I feel more secure when the homeowner fully equips fire protection equipment, also installs emergency stairs and instructs residents to use these types of equipment. In the past, both investors and our people were indifferent to this issue, everything was just a formality.”.
The investor must equip an emergency staircase to convince guests. (Photo: Chau Anh).
Currently, fire escapes are almost a mandatory equipment for mini apartments because many people are determined to boycott this type of house if they do not ensure fire safety.
