Electricity causes most blazes: HCM City fire chief

All commercial and domestic users should exercise greater caution with electricity, which is responsible for most of fires in Ho Chi Minh City, the city fire chief has said.
All commercial and domestic users should exercise greater caution withelectricity, which is responsible for most of fires in Ho Chi Minh City,the city fire chief has said.

Speaking to the media this week,Lieutenant Tran Trieu Duong said: "Companies, organisations, andhouseholds should be equipped with safety equipment like gas leakwarning systems and extinguishers to put out fires as soon as they breakout."

In the first quarter of this year, there were 94 fires inthe city, 47 percent fewer than in the same period last year, in whichthree people were killed and three others were injured.

There were also two explosions in which four people died.

The department received 360 fire calls, half down from a year earlier, with 222 of them caused by burning grass and waste.

From companies and organisations, it collected fines of 1.6 billion VND (780,000 USD) after checking for fire safety equipment.

"Weare always focused on education," Duong said, adding that in thisquarter, over 50,000 people have taken part in 3,500 hours of trainingin fire safety.

The city plans to upgrade its firefighting ability to match the rest of the region, he said.-VNA

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