Do households in Vietnam need to equip fire extinguishers?

Do households in Vietnam need to equip fire extinguishers?

Pursuant to Article 7 of the Decree 136/2020/NĐ-CP stipulating fire safety requirements applicable to households as follows:

1. Households must satisfy the fire safety requirements in Clause 1 Article 17 of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting.

2. Households engaging in business operations must satisfy the following fire safety requirements:

a) The requirements in Clause 1 herein;

b) Regulations on fire prevention and fighting and use of electricity, fire, flammable materials and explosives are provided in accordance with technical regulations and standards on fire prevention and fighting or regulations of the Ministry of Public Security;

c) There are solutions for fire escape, fire spread prevention and smoke blocking between the living quarters and the business area.

3. Household heads must organize and maintain compliance with the fire safety requirements in Clauses 1 and 2 herein throughout the existence of the households.

4. The households mentioned in Clause 2 herein and issued with the enterprise registration certificate must satisfy the fire safety requirements corresponding to the type of enterprise that they are according to regulations in Article 5 of this Decree.

Pursuant to Clause 1 Article 17 of the Law on fire prevention and fighting in 2001 stipulating as follows:

1. Dwelling houses must be arranged with electric systems, kitchens and worshipping places in a way to ensure safety; inflammables and explosives must be kept far away from flame and heat sources; facilities and means must be readied for fire fighting.

According to the above regulations, households must have fire extinguishing equipment that is suitable for the characteristics of each household. The regulations do not require the placement of fire extinguishers with each household.

Do households in Vietnam need to equip fire extinguishers? - Source: Internet

What are the fines for households equipped with fire extinguishers that do not meet quality standards in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 1 Article 44 of the Decree 144/2021/NĐ-CP stipulating violations against regulations on provision, storage and use of fire safety and firefighting equipment as follows:

1. A warning or a fine ranging from 100.000 VND to 300.000 VND shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Visually or physically blocking the access of fire safety and firefighting equipment;

b) Use of unfit common firefighting equipment as prescribed by law;

c) Failure to prepare documents for management of fire safety, firefighting and rescue equipment.

Pursuant to Clause 2 and 4, Article 4 of the Decree 144/2021/NĐ-CP stipulating as follows:

2. The fines specified in Chapter II of this Decree are imposed upon administrative violations committed by individuals. The fine imposed upon an organization for the same violation shall be twice the fine imposed upon an individual.

4. Households, household businesses that commit violations specified in this Decree shall incur the same penalties as individuals.

Therefore, if your household equips a fire extinguisher that does not meet the quality standards specified by the law, you may be fined a warning or a fine of VND 100,000 to VND 300,000 under the law.

Do household owners have to participate in training and professional development on fire prevention and fighting in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 1 Article 33 of the Decree 136/2020/NĐ-CP stipulating training and refresher courses on fire prevention and fighting operations as follows:

1. Persons required to participate in training and refresher courses on fire prevention and fighting operations include:

a) The persons holding the incident commander title provided for in Clause 2 Article 37 of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting;

b) Members of the neighborhood watch and internal firefighting forces;

c) Members of specialized firefighting forces:

d) Persons working in an environment containing fire or explosion hazard or regularly coming into contact with goods posing fire or explosion hazard;

dd) Drivers and crewmembers of motor passengers vehicles with more than 29 seats and motor vehicles transporting goods posing fire or explosion hazard;

e) Persons in charge of fire prevention and fighting in facilities included in the list in Appendix IV enclosed therewith;

g) Members of forest fire fighting forces.

Therefore, only the subjects mentioned above must participate in training and professional development on fire prevention and fighting. The head of the household does not belong to the above subjects, so it is not compulsory to participate.

Best regards!