Many problems exist.
According to Dr. Cao Duy Khoi, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Institute of Building Science and Technology (IBST), a nationwide inspection by the Ministry of Public Security of approximately 1.2 million buildings revealed that over 38,000 existing structures do not meet fire safety standards. These structures are very difficult or impossible to rectify.
The highest percentage of violations was related to evacuation routes, accounting for 35%, while this is the number one core requirement of fire safety. Violations of the second most important fire safety element, fire spread prevention, accounted for 21%.
Thus, the two most crucial fire safety elements alone accounted for more than half of the total violations (56%). In addition, 20% of buildings violated standards regarding fire prevention and fighting equipment, fire alarm systems, and fire extinguishing systems.
Citing real-world examples, the IBST leader cited the fire at a mini-apartment building in Khuong Ha (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi ). This building was located in a deep alley, with no road access for fire trucks.
The apartment building has 9 floors and a penthouse; the actual construction area is approximately 270m2, with 3 floors built illegally and exceeding the permitted area. According to the typical floor plan, there is a very narrow corridor in the middle, surrounded by densely packed apartments, enclosing the elevator and stairwell.
The building has stairwells and staircases running through all floors, from the ground floor (which serves as a parking area) up to the rooftop on the ninth floor. These stairwells are the primary cause of many deaths.
When the fire broke out in the ground-floor parking area, the building had only one escape route to the front alley because the fire produced a lot of smoke and heat, and all the smoke and heat were drawn up through the ventilation holes to the upper floors.
Regarding the house fire at 4 Hang Luoc Street (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi), the typical floor plan shows that the first floor was an outdoor retail area, with an indoor staircase leading to the upper floors. The second floor was a warehouse, also with a staircase leading to the upper floors. The third and fourth floors contained the family's living space.
The fire broke out early in the morning while everyone was asleep, so there was no time to react. When the smoke was detected, only the adult woman was able to climb over to the neighboring balcony to escape. The two elderly people and two children, unable to reach the emergency exit, perished in the fire.
"Existing housing is diverse in type and poses fire hazards, especially detached houses combined with businesses that violate basic fire safety principles such as evacuation routes and fire spread prevention. Fire safety deficiencies are often serious and difficult to remedy for many reasons (difficult to remedy or impossible to remedy; inadequate infrastructure, etc.), while the golden time for evacuation is usually 5 minutes, or a maximum of 10 minutes," said Dr. Cao Duy Khoi.
Preventing fires during construction.
Fire safety is a crucial issue in building design and construction, and is codified in regulations and standards. From a design perspective, architectural layouts with well-designed escape routes and staircases are essential and prerequisite for minimizing risks in the event of an emergency.
Next, the fire alarm and firefighting systems must be scientifically designed, meet standards, and be convenient to operate. From a construction perspective, all fire safety-related items must be built according to design specifications and meet professional quality standards.
However, effective fire protection depends not only on architectural elements but also on building materials, including structural materials, fire-resistant materials, structural solutions, architecture, and interior design.
The better the fire-resistant a solution is, the less likely it is to cause a fire; or, if a fire does occur, it will reduce the spread of the fire, extending the time it can withstand the flames, making it easier to escape and ensuring the safety of human lives.
Associate Professor Chu Thi Binh from Hanoi University of Architecture stated that all buildings, when designed, constructed, and used in Vietnam, must ensure fire safety requirements.
Therefore, in the structural design of buildings, in addition to designing structures that ensure load-bearing capacity and normal use, structures must also be designed to satisfy fire resistance requirements.
However, Vietnam does not yet have guidelines for calculating and selecting fire-resistant protective materials for steel structures, although some lookup tables exist for steel columns and beams protected by fire-resistant mortar, concrete, or specialized fire-resistant panels. The number of lookup tables and the types of materials included in them are limited. There are no lookup tables available for fire-resistant mortars and fire-resistant paints.
Meanwhile, Europe already has comprehensive regulations and standards related to structural design to ensure fire safety, with fire-resistant structural design standards alongside those for structural design under normal temperature conditions.
Therefore, studying European standards to inform the compilation of guidelines for the design of refractory steel-concrete composite structures according to new guidelines is essential.
"It is possible to apply European, American, or Russian standards to the design calculations of refractory steel structures. However, testing is still needed to determine the thermophysical properties of the refractory protective coating material in order to have data to include in the structural calculations," said Associate Professor Dr. Chu Thi Binh.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Truong Thang from Hanoi University of Civil Engineering stated that fire-resistant structural design is a passive measure and the last line of defense protecting buildings from collapse in a fire, when other proactive measures in planning, architecture, mechanical and electrical engineering, etc., are no longer effective.
Along with QCVN 06, the practical need for a Vietnamese National Standard (TCVN) on the design of refractory reinforced concrete structures necessitates the drafting of a TCVN on the design of refractory reinforced concrete structures according to SP 468.1325800.2019 in the short term due to its interconnectedness and systematic nature with QCVN 06 and TCVN 5574:2018 for normal temperatures.
"In the long term, the transition to European standards is also advantageous because Russian and European standards have many similarities. Guidelines for the design of refractory reinforced concrete structures should be drafted alongside the Vietnamese National Standard (TCVN). More experimental studies are needed to verify the standards under Vietnamese conditions," Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Truong Thang informed.
Based on current realities, houses and buildings typically have two main structural components: reinforced concrete and steel. Each structural element has a specified fire resistance time. Therefore, the fire resistance of these layers needs careful consideration, and their load-bearing capacity must be calculated specifically and scientifically.
Dr. Le Quang Hung - former Deputy Minister of Construction, Chairman of the Vietnam Concrete Association
Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/giai-phap-ngan-ngua-hoa-hoan-nha-o.html
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