Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has signed Official Dispatch No. 220/CD-TTg regarding the urgent removal of difficulties and bottlenecks in fire prevention and firefighting (FPF) operations.
The dispatch highlights that inspections and safety audits revealed many buildings and production facilities fail to meet statutory fire and explosion safety requirements, posing safety hazards, forcing temporary shutdowns, and disrupting construction investments, manufacturing, and business activities.
To ensure strict compliance with the legal provisions on fire prevention and fighting while effectively supporting investment, production, and business operations of citizens and enterprises, the Prime Minister requests the Ministry of Public Security to take the lead, coordinating with the Ministry of Construction, other ministries, sectors, and localities to review fire safety policies and laws. The objective is to promptly amend and supplement regulations within their jurisdiction or propose revisions to competent authorities, while aggressively slashing administrative red tape in the FPF sector to align with socioeconomic realities.
Bac Ninh Provincial Police providing fire safety guidance for high-rise buildings
Simultaneously, authorities must categorize buildings and facilities experiencing post-inspection remediation difficulties into distinct groups. Agencies must proactively provide comprehensive guidance and technical solutions to help organizations, enterprises, and citizens rectify safety deficiencies and restore production and construction activities (to be completed before April 30, 2023).
The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Construction to lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security, ministries, and local administrations to urgently review and identify technical FPF obstacles in building and industrial facility construction. Authorities must clarify underlying causes to promptly amend technical standards and building codes under their jurisdiction, ensuring adaptability to Vietnamese practical conditions and streamlining unnecessary bureaucratic procedures while ensuring robust fire safety (reporting findings to the Prime Minister before April 30).
| Training workshop on the application of FPF standards and codes for 500 enterprises organized by the Vietnam Fire and Rescue Association in coordination with the Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Construction on March 24, 2023, in Hanoi |
The Prime Minister also directed chairpersons of Provincial People's Committees to assume direct responsibility for handling shortcomings and bureaucratic obstacles in fire safety administration within their jurisdictions. Local authorities must formulate practical solutions to resolve fire safety non-compliances in construction investments, expediting regulatory clearance for businesses. Issues exceeding local jurisdiction must be consolidated and submitted to the Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Construction for guidance or escalation (submitted prior to April 20, 2023).
Source: Cong Thuong Newspaper
