Woke up one night, the company was right and became wrong

EDITORIAL NOTE

New regulations on fire prevention and fighting are causing many businesses to get stuck. Many large capital investment projects are stalled because they have not been inspected for fire prevention and fighting. The problem with ensuring fire prevention and fighting is that even businesses do not know how to meet them.

VietNamNet published a series of articles reflecting this reality in many localities.

According to VietNamNet, the businesses interviewed all said that many new fire prevention and fighting standards are being applied based on the criteria of European countries, making them less feasible and inconsistent with planning practices, factory characteristics, and the current level of development in Vietnam.

Struggling with fireproof paint

Mr. PHD, general director of a large enterprise in Hai Phong, said: His unit operates in the industrial infrastructure leasing sector. Recently, Japanese and Korean enterprises in his industrial park have continuously asked for help from the management board when new regulations on fire prevention and fighting were issued.

All problems are related to fireproof materials, such as paint, beam frames, etc. of the factory, which are included in the new standard QCVN 06:2022/BXD. This is the National Technical Regulation on Fire Safety for Houses and Constructions, advised by the Ministry of Construction, coordinated by the Ministry of Public Security to implement, manage and supervise.

Nam Cau Kien Industrial Park, where many Japanese enterprises are operating. Photo: Contributor

According to Mr. PHD, many factories and workshops have been completed but are difficult to put into operation because the fire resistance and strength of fireproof materials cannot be tested. When asking related units, he received the answer that there are no specific instructions. Thus, even if businesses hope to do it right and quickly to develop production, they will have to give up.

“According to the requirements of the fire prevention and fighting assessment unit, the entire beam frame structure of the factory must be painted with fireproof paint. But what kind of paint, what assurance index is required, where to sell it, who inspects it,... the authorities do not say. There are hundreds of paint brands on the market, but which type of paint 'satisfies' the authorities to paint on the beam frame of the factory, ensuring fire prevention and fighting requirements, the business must find it themselves,” Mr. D. reflected.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Hai, Chairman of the Hai Duong Province Young Entrepreneurs Association, commented that it is very difficult for businesses to build factories according to the new standards. Now, it is not difficult to go to a paint store and ask to buy fireproof paint, but will the authorities accept the paint purchased, and will it meet the criteria of the new regulations?... Currently, no department has stepped up to guide and ensure for businesses.

Mr. Tran Van T., residing in Thai Binh City, owner of a private enterprise operating in the field of fire protection installation and construction, shared: Fireproof paint that meets regulations is not currently sold publicly on the market. If you want to buy it, you have to know how. The process is very strict, the price is very high. When you buy it, you have to bring both the paint and the construction components (iron, steel, aluminum, ...) to the Ministry of Construction for sample burning testing. Then, bring the results to the Fire Protection Department to issue a certificate of eligibility, completing the inspection certificate.

Stop investing and building factories because of fear of new fire prevention regulations

In fact, Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP dated November 24, 2020 of the Government and regulation 06 QCVN:06 National technical regulation on Fire safety for houses and constructions, effective from January 10, 2021, when put into practice, have had shortcomings and problems, many businesses have had difficulties and confusion when implementing.

Accordingly, many businesses reported that they built factories based on Decree 79/2014/ND-CP (detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Fire Prevention and Fighting Law and the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Fire Prevention and Fighting Law) which has been completed and is currently in production and is now facing violations.

The current functional sector requires that fireproof materials such as fireproof doors... were previously subject to inspection, but after the new circular, only one sample is inspected and the manufacturing unit is responsible. Inspection of the entire project as before is no longer accepted.

Fire prevention training in Dinh Vu, Hai Phong

A lawyer specializing in promoting investment in industrial parks said that many Japanese enterprises in his industrial park reported that Vietnam's fire prevention and fighting regulations are among the top in the world, higher than the criteria set by the Japanese government in their home country.

"If we follow current requirements, the cost of building a fire protection system will increase from 1.7 to 2.2 times compared to the old method, causing the total investment to increase, affecting the capital, investment sources, and production plans of the enterprise."

When applying automatic fire protection standards in factories, it is no longer possible to use equipment from China or neighboring Asian countries, but must be imported from Europe. Importing equipment from Europe to Vietnam is currently very difficult, increasing waiting time, increasing costs, longer administrative procedures, ... causing businesses to lose autonomy in production. Because, without fire protection acceptance, operations will be suspended. At that time, production will stagnate.

"That is the reason why many foreign investors currently do not dare to expand factories or make new investments. If the above problems are not adjusted to suit reality, they may be forced to consider and switch to other markets," he worried.

Karaoke Hoang Kim KTV in Hai Duong faces bankruptcy due to new fire prevention regulations.

Regulations change constantly, businesses can't keep up

Ms. MH, owner of a leather shoe company chain in Hai Phong, was upset: Decree 136/2020/ND-CP was issued, and the authorities inspected and accepted it based on the new regulations. This led to the fact that, using the same type of fireproof paint, projects completed before January 10, 2021 were accepted, while projects completed after January 10, 2021 were not.

“The decree does not give businesses time or a roadmap to adapt. Suddenly, there are simultaneous inspections, simultaneous demands for penalties, and in the end, businesses have to spend billions of dong to do and take care of new procedures,” said Ms. H.

According to her, in just 18 months, there have been 3 documents, including 2 guiding circulars from the Ministry of Construction related to national technical standards on fire safety for houses and buildings, making businesses very confused. Businesses are investing according to the old plan, but are appraising and accepting according to the new plan without any transitional instructions. This has put both businesses and inspection and management agencies in a state of confusion.

Fire prevention and fighting approval: Karaoke 'long neck' waiting for approval

The cost of repairing business locations is several tens of billions of VND, renting premises costs 250-340 million VND/month for each facility. The karaoke chain owner said he had to mortgage personal assets and borrow money to maintain but had not yet been approved for fire prevention and fighting.

Thousands of billions of dong in projects 'stuck' by fire prevention and fighting regulations

Many businesses from Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (China) said that fire prevention and fighting regulations are inadequate, greatly affecting business operations.

90cm fire escape staircase, the 'culprit' that could cause the entire building to be demolished

Changes in fire prevention and fighting regulations have caused many businesses to face the risk of suspension and closure after a year of fixing and waiting...

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