The 'tiger cage' matrix is ​​a potential danger in the capital

"Double-edged sword" when something goes wrong

Recently, many fires have occurred in several provinces and cities across the country, many of which have caused great damage to people and property. Most recently, on May 12-13, two consecutive fires occurred, killing seven people.

"Tiger cages" are everywhere in the old Kim Lien apartment complex (Dong Da District)

Specifically, on May 12, a fire broke out at a 4-story bar in Dang Giang Ward (Ngo Quyen District, Hai Phong City), killing 3 female bar employees. On May 13, a fire broke out at a 3-story house on Thanh Cong Street (Quang Trung Ward, Ha Dong District, Hanoi ), killing 4 people.

According to information from the Hanoi People's Committee, the area where the fire broke out was about 50 square ^meters of land, in which the burned part was in a tube-shaped house, with a construction area of ​​about 40 ^square meters, 3 floors high, 1 attic, and a front yard area of ​​about 5 ^square meters (roofed with corrugated iron), the main structure was reinforced concrete, and the walls were brick. However, it is worth mentioning that the entire front and the sides adjacent to the neighboring house were fenced by the owner with an iron frame system, sealed in the front like a "tiger cage" to prevent theft.

In Hanoi for decades now, it has become common for people to install iron cages (also known as "tiger cages" - PV) for security purposes. Many years ago, "tiger cages" mainly appeared in old apartment buildings and collective houses, but now many households have also installed them.

According to Thanh Nien , in old apartment buildings in the inner city of Hanoi in the wards: Thanh Xuan Bac, Kim Giang (Thanh Xuan District); Thanh Cong, Giang Vo, Ngoc Khanh (Ba Dinh District); Kim Lien (Dong Da District) ... or high-rise resettlement apartments such as Den Lu (Hoang Mai District), Trung Hoa - Nhan Chinh (Thanh Xuan District) ..., "tiger cages" made by people themselves appear everywhere. Most of the apartments with "tiger cages" installed have only one exit, the main door.

Building "tiger cages" besides the purpose of expanding the living area, is also a necessary need of people to protect the safety of property. However, according to many experts, if attention is not paid to fire prevention and fighting, it will inadvertently become a "double-edged sword" when an incident occurs.

Talking to Thanh Nien , Associate Professor, Doctor, Colonel Ngo Van Xiem, former Vice Principal of the Fire Prevention and Fighting University, shared: observing the house fire in Quang Trung Ward, it was found that there were 3 main causes leading to the large casualties in the incident.

Firstly, toxic smoke spread quickly up the stairs to the upper floors, making the victims unable to stay awake enough to escape, and even quickly faint and die.

Second, the victims were children and the elderly, so their resilience and escape skills were poor. From the scene images, another reason was that the 2nd and 3rd floors were installed with protective iron frames. In essence, this was a way for people to prevent theft, but they accidentally made the frames and cages themselves when a fire broke out. When the fire broke out on the morning of May 13, all 4 victims were on these 2 floors. Therefore, this is considered the reason why finding an escape route and rescuing people was difficult. Neighbors tried to throw fire extinguishers on the 2nd and 3rd floors but failed.

"Tiger cages" are everywhere in the old Kim Lien apartment complex (Dong Da District)

Prevent theft but forget about fire prevention

Lieutenant Colonel Do Anh Quyen, Deputy Chief of Bac Tu Liem District Police (Hanoi), who has a lot of experience in command and directly participated in many fire fighting cases, noted that the important thing when a fire breaks out is that people should quickly escape from the fire before calling relatives and authorities. The recent fire in Quang Trung Ward was a pity, because the "golden time" to escape was only the first 1-2 minutes, while the victims still had time to call outside for help.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Quyen, the current trend of preventing theft but forgetting about fire prevention is happening in almost all types of houses. Tube houses almost only have the stairs inside the house as the only escape route. However, when there is a fire, this escape route is blocked by smoke and fire. Therefore, the best method for fire prevention and fighting forces is to cut down the iron cages to open a rescue route.

In a "life-or-death" situation, the time it takes to cut the iron cages is quite long, leading to not being able to save people in time. Therefore, the more solidly the "tiger cages" are made, the greater the risk of loss of life and property because the escape route has been blocked. If people have built "tiger cages" to prevent theft, Lieutenant Colonel Quyen noted that it is mandatory to have an escape door. It is possible to use a key or fingerprint lock design to protect security, when needed, people can still quickly open the door and escape.

"People should pay attention and not charge items such as phones, bicycles, motorbikes, etc. when no one is home. In addition, there must be a circuit breaker to protect against electrical overload. If the household uses gas, before not using it, the valve must be closed, not just the stove," Lieutenant Colonel Quyen emphasized.

Regarding long-term solutions, Colonel Xiem said that disseminating knowledge about escape and fire prevention is a key factor that needs to be implemented. Controlling and isolating heat sources needs to be more widely disseminated to the people by grassroots forces, especially during the hot summer season when the risk of fire and explosion is very high.

In addition, the local police and authorities should provide guidance to people on escape skills and fire prevention in case of fire; there may even be sanctions against households that deliberately expand the area to the size of a "tiger cage" for use, increasing the risk of fire and explosion.

In Hanoi alone, there have been many fires recently related to the lack of escape routes due to being surrounded by "tiger cages", causing unfortunate consequences such as: the fire at the B9 Kim Lien apartment complex (Dong Da District) that killed 5 people and injured 2 people in the early morning of April 21, 2022; the fire on Ton Duc Thang Street (Dong Da District) that killed 4 people on April 4, 2021; the house fire in alley 41 of Vong Street (Hai Ba Trung District) in 2017 that killed 2 people; the fire at karaoke bar No. 68 Tran Thai Tong (Cau Giay District) in 2016 that killed 13 people...

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/ma-tran-chuong-cop-tiem-an-hiem-hoa-giua-thu-do-185230516165448945.htm