Mini apartment fire k.illed 56 people: The cause of the fire was related to a motorbike

The cause of the fire at house number 37, alley 29/70, Khuong Ha (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi), which left 56 people dead, has just been determined by the authorities to be due to a short circuit in the front of the gasoline-powered motorbike. .

Specifically, on September 20, the Hanoi City Police Department announced the cause of the fire in a mini apartment building on Khuong Ha street (Thanh Xuan district) to the apartment owners living here.

According to initial information, this apartment building was built on a floor area of about 240m2, 9 floors and 1 tum, with 45 rental households. After 7 days since the terrible fire disaster occurred, the Institute of Criminal Science of the Ministry of Public Security has concluded an assessment of the true cause of the fire.

Through inspection conclusions, the authorities said that the fire's starting point was located in the area adjacent to the southern wall, about 2.3 meters from the eastern wall, on the first floor inside a multi-apartment housing complex.

The cause of the fire was determined to be due to a short circuit on the power line, in the battery area of the front part of a motorbike using a gasoline engine (a popular type of scooter on the market today) located against the wall. South 1st floor.

The fire broke out and burned into the electric cable area, the electric meter boxes mounted on the wall on the first floor and then spread around, leading to a terrible fire that injured many people and even left them dead forever. In addition, Hanoi City Police also said that of the 4 fire extinguishers in the mini apartment sent for assessment, 3 were unused and 1 was used.

Previously, on the night of September 12 and early morning of September 13, in Khuong Dinh ward, Thanh Xuan district, a particularly serious fire occurred at house number 37, alley 29/70, Khuong Ha street with about 150 people living. .

Columns of black smoke covered the 9-story mini apartment complex located deep in an alley less than 2 meters wide. When the fire broke out, some people risked their lives to jump down the stairs to escape. One family used a hammer to destroy the fence and used an existing ladder to get to a neighbor's house in time to escape. The rest were trapped inside and called for help. in despair.

Upon receiving the news, 15 fire engines, vehicles carrying vehicles and more than 100 officers and soldiers from the fire prevention and fighting forces of the Ministry of Public Security, the University of Fire Prevention and Fighting Police and the City Police arrived at the scene to coordinate the organization. fire fighting and rescue. The rescue work lasted until dawn because the mini apartment had too many rooms, each small room had many people and contained a lot of furniture.

As a result, the authorities saved more than 70 people trapped in the fire and took the injured to hospitals in the city. As of September 13, it was determined that 56 people did not survive and 37 people were injured.

Regarding the fire, on the evening of the same day, the Hanoi City Police Department issued a decision to prosecute the case against the defendant and ordered a 4-month temporary detention for Nghiem Quang Minh (born in 1979, residing in Yen). Hoa, Cau Giay, Hanoi).

Mr. Minh is the owner of the mini apartment building where the fire occurred at house number 37, lane 29/70, Khuong Ha street, Khuong Dinh ward, Thanh Xuan district. This person was investigated for violating regulations on fire prevention and fighting according to Article 313 of the Penal Code.

VnExpress page reported that 8 years ago, Minh applied for a license to build an individual house on an area of 240 square meters. Thanh Xuan District only licensed him to build 6 floors, first floor construction area 167m2, density 70%, total building height 20.2 m (excluding stairs).

Despite the violations, Minh turned the project into a 10-storey mini apartment building, construction area of 230 m2, density of nearly 100%, each floor with 4-5 apartments sold to 45 households (about 150 people).

"The owner of the mini-apartment that caught fire circumvented the law and deliberately applied for a license for an individual house with less than 7 floors so that he would not have to approve the fire prevention design and lacked fire prevention and fighting equipment according to regulations," Mr. Bui Xuan Thai, expert of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Association, said.

Because, according to Regulation 06 on fire safety techniques, buildings with 7 floors or more must have a fire prevention certificate when applying for a house construction permit with strict regulations such as needing two escape routes, must be equipped with equipped with many fire prevention equipment.

Inspection of mini apartments on September 14, the Ministry of Construction pointed out a series of violations in fire prevention and fighting safety. After the incident, the Ministry of Public Security also directed the functional forces to clarify the responsibilities of organizations and individuals involved in the mini apartment fire, and strictly handle violations (if any) according to the provisions of law. the law.

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