At around 2:00 a.m. on July 19, a fire broke out at Anh Duong's house and electric bicycle and motorbike business (Ngai Cau village, An Khanh, Hoai Duc, Hanoi ).

Ms. Ta Thi Tho (Hoai Duc, Hanoi) recounted that many people tried to shout and use available fire extinguishers to put out the fire. They even used forklifts to break the rolling door to rescue the victims trapped inside, but were unsuccessful.

The fire quickly spread, the house of about 120 square meters containing dozens of bicycles and electric motorbikes was burning red.

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Fire Police and Rescue Force put out a fire at a house and electric vehicle business in Hoai Duc

The Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Force dispatched 8 fire trucks and 50 officers and soldiers to the scene to put out the fire and rescue the victims. However, the fire killed 3 people trapped inside. They were all members of the same family.

A representative of the Hoai Duc District Police said that when approaching the scene, the Fire Police had to use specialized equipment to break the rolling door. In addition, because the store had just imported many new cars, filling the first floor, the fire spread very quickly, creating a lot of toxic smoke.

"Firefighting at residential and commercial properties in general, and bicycle and electric motorbike shops in particular, is very difficult," added a representative of Hoai Duc District Police.

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Residential and commercial house in Hanoi after fire

Four days earlier, in Hoa Binh, a fire broke out at a house and shoe business, killing three people in a family.

Specifically, at 3:39 a.m. on July 15, the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department of Hoa Binh Province Police received a report of a house fire at Group 14, Tan Thinh Ward (Hoa Binh City).

5 fire trucks, 2 ambulances, water tankers and 40 officers and soldiers were mobilized to the scene.

The Fire Police force had to divide into many groups to attack, put out the fire, break the rolling door and cut the iron bars to rescue the trapped victims.

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The first floor of the house on fire in Hoa Binh was littered with goods.

After more than 2 hours of struggling with the smoke and fire, the Fire and Rescue Police force was able to bring out 6 trapped victims. However, 3 unfortunate victims died and 3 were injured.

During the investigation of the scene, the authorities noted that the first and second floors, the stairs and the first floor restroom were packed with shoes and sandals. This is considered one of the factors that made it difficult to put out the fire and rescue the victims. In addition, the rolling door on the first floor was very sturdy, making it take time for the fire department to break down the door.

Goods blocking fire escape routes

Mr. Bui Xuan Thai, an expert of the Vietnam Fire Prevention and Rescue Association, said that residential and commercial houses in many large urban areas in our country are typically built in the form of tube houses. These tube houses are characterized by having one escape route through the staircase connecting the floors and exiting through the main door of the house on the first floor.

In addition, in tube-shaped houses, it is possible to use balcony exits, terrace exits or roof exits (often called emergency exits) to escape to adjacent houses or buildings.

However, for security reasons, households often install multiple doors at the main entrance on the first floor. Emergency exits are also equipped with sturdy iron frames or arranged with goods to block the way.

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Goods were stacked high in the rooms causing the fire to spread quickly.

In case of fire, the doors themselves can trap victims and make it difficult for them to escape. The doors also make it difficult for firefighters and rescuers to approach to rescue people and extinguish the fire.

"Evacuation routes, electrical systems in the house, simple firefighting and rescue equipment, and furniture arrangement that does not block escape routes are things that families must pay attention to in order to ensure fire safety," an expert from the Fire Prevention and Rescue Association advised.