Hanoi officials to be investigated for deadly mini apartment fire

Officials from Hanoi’s Thanh Xuan district and Khuong Dinh commune will be investigated for an apartment fire that killed 56 people and injured 37 others on September 12, said Major General Nguyen Thanh Tung, deputy director of the Hanoi Police, on Monday.

At a quarterly press conference organized by the Ministry of Public Security, Tung noted that the Hanoi police are expanding the investigation into the case with "no-go zone and no exceptions".

Hanoi Police Department had already registered the case to be put under the monitoring and direction of the municipal Party Committee.

After the deadly fire, the Hanoi Party Committee decided to inspect signs of violations at three Party units in Thanh Xuan district, namely the standing board of the district Party Committee, the Thanh Xuan district Police Party Committee, and the Party Committee of Khuong Dinh ward for the 2015-2020 and 2020-2025 tenures to clarify the responsibilities of relevant organizations and individuals.

Colonel Nguyen Minh Khuong, deputy head of the Ministry of Public Security's Police Department of Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue, said that certain fire safety regulations only apply to apartment blocks with seven floors or more. Private houses follow separate fire prevention and fighting regulations. However, some mini apartment owners apply for permits to build private houses under six floors and then illegally add more.

"With apartment buildings like this, fire safety is the responsibility of the people's committees at the commune and ward levels," Khuong said at the press conference.

The fire broke out at 11:50 p.m on September 12 at No. 37, Alley 29/70, Khuong Ha street, Khuong Dinh ward. The 10-floor building covered an area of more than 200 square meters with about 150 people living there, mainly tenants.

When the fire broke out, residents were preparing to go to bed. Some witnesses said the fire started in the motorbike parking area on the first floor. Seeing the fire and smoke, many people ran to the rooftop while others jumped onto the corrugated iron roof of the house next door.

One week later, the investigative arm of the Hanoi Police Department concluded that an electrical wire leading into the battery area of a gasoline-powered motor scooter short circuited, starting the fire.

The scooter in question was positioned adjacent to the southern wall on the first floor.

The fire spread to the electric meter boxes attached to the first-floor wall, and then continued to spread, resulting in the serious incident with the highest death toll in recent years in Vietnam.

The building construction approval issued by Thanh Xuan district in March 2015 stipulated a six-floor house of 20.2 meters in height with each floor measuring 167 square meters.

But the owner turned it into a 10-story mini apartment building with 230- square meter floors and 45 apartments.

The owner, Nghiem Quang Minh, has been remanded for four months for investigation into fire safety violations.