On April 5, 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed Official Dispatch No. 220/CD-TTg on removing difficulties and obstacles in fire prevention and fighting.
The Prime Minister requests to remove difficulties in fire prevention and fighting before April 30th
On April 5, 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed Official Dispatch No. 220/CD-TTg on removing difficulties and obstacles in fire prevention and fighting. In the dispatch, the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Public Security to coordinate with ministries, branches and localities to review the difficulties and obstacles faced by enterprises in construction investment related to the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting in order to promptly amend, supplement, reform, reduce administrative procedures and report on implementation results before April 30, 2023.
In addition, activities to guide enterprises, agencies and organizations to correct violations and shortcomings in fire prevention and fighting after inspection and review should also be completed before April 30, 2023. The official dispatch also requested to send a consolidated list of difficulties and problems related to fire prevention and fighting outside their competence to the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Construction to guide or propose competent authorities to promptly resolve (send these problems to the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Construction before April 20, 2023).
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Enterprises have difficulties in applying for fire protection permits
In just 18 months, there have been three regulations on fire prevention and fighting applied to houses and buildings issued, from QCVN 06:2020/BXD to QCVN 06:2021/BXD and the latest QCVN 06 : 2022/BXD. A series of businesses, associations and organizations raised their opinions about the fact that the fire prevention and fighting regulations were not properly understood and properly implemented, and sent letters to the Government, the Ministry of Public Security and other relevant ministries to request the removal of obstacles for businesses when applying for fire safety permits.
According to Mr. Pham Van Cuong, deputy head of the management board of industrial zones in Dong Nai province, the most difficult problem in the acceptance of fire prevention and fighting is the inspection of fireproof paint to increase the fire-resistance structure. There are very few domestic paint manufacturers on the market that are tested and licensed for fireproof paints, leaving businesses with few choices and having to accept high prices.
The 2-storey factory of over 8000m2 was left empty for two years because the steel structure had not been painted with fireproof paint, so it was not accepted. The cost to fix can be 10 times more than conventional paint. (Photo: vtv)
In addition, a number of construction projects comply with the provisions of the old document at the beginning, but until acceptance, the new document is issued, greatly affecting the appraisal process. Many factories are not accepted for fire protection permits for that reason.
The entire fire protection system is worth 350 million VND, now it has to be removed even though the system has been approved for fire prevention and fighting, but according to the new standards, it does not meet the requirements (Photo: vtv)
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Changes of localities after the Prime Minister’s direction
After the Prime Minister’s dispatch on April 5, task forces were established to work directly with localities in the spirit of prioritizing human safety and creating favorable conditions for citizens and businesses in production and business.
On April 7, the Ministry of Construction held a meeting to review the difficulties, obstacles and “bottlenecks” in the application of QCVN 06:2022/BXD together with the Ministry of Public Security and relevant ministries. In particular, the Police Department of Fire Prevention and Rescue (Firefighting & Rescue, Hanoi City Police) has proposed 6 solutions that can help remove difficulties for many types of works in accordance with architectural and structural requirements.
On April 11, the Ministry of Public Security issued Official Letter No. 1091/C07-P3,P4,P7, detailing some important points of QCVN 06:2022. The official letter answered many questions from businesses about the implementation of fire prevention and fighting regulations such as expanding the area of fire compartments, testing fireproof paints, fire safety distances, escape routes, calculation – design of fire-resistant structures.
On April 14, Ho Chi Minh City Police sent a written request to the police of all districts and Ho Chi Minh City. Thu Duc implemented a series of measures to remove difficulties in fire prevention for businesses. Accordingly, many problems in fire prevention and fighting have been solved. For example, the partially tested and accepted works can operate independently, unaffected by the items being tested and accepted; fireproof paint construction projects and works that have been inspected according to Decree No. 79/ND-CP are approved for acceptance on fire prevention and fighting, etc.
All localities quickly set up working groups to support businesses in the industrial zones to overcome existing issues, and to compile and report difficulties in applying new fire safety regulations. According to Ms. Pham Thi Ngoc Thuy, Director of the Office of Private Economic Development Research Department, this has great significance in promoting economic and social recovery and development in the current context of many difficulties and challenges.
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