Twelve fire and explosive accidents have been recorded in Ho Chi Minh City since the beginning of May. The cause of the fires has been said to have resulted from overloading circuits. The higher the demand for electricity is, the more likely electrical systems in the city will be overloaded, which may cause the risk of fire to increase.
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| Fire due to overloading circuits at Cho Ray Hospital, HCMC. |
As the hottest period of the season approaches, electricity used for cooling equipment is seeing a high increase in demand. Circuits being overloaded is one of the most common causes for fires to occur. Other reasons can be a result of carelessness or improper use of electrical equipment by people.
In particular, after examining the recent fire that occurred in Room no.16, level 9, row B1 of Cho Ray Hospital, the authorities identified the cause to be overloading circuits heating up.
According to initial inspection results, due to hot weather, hospital staff bought some power sockets and connected the power themselves in order to use more fans in the room. However, the staff did not know how to connect the power properly. Some electric wires were even extended across patients beds. Thus, when the circuits became overloaded, the sparks set out on patients blanket and mattress causing the fire.
Fortunately, the hospital security guards were be able to put out the fire using fire extinguishers before it spread and got out of control.The damage was estimated to be insignificant, however, the fire sent hundreds of Cho Ray Hospital patients into panic attacks.
Senior lieutenant-colonel Vu Van Bon, Deputy Head of the Fire Prevention Division from HCMC Fire Prevention Department said, "According to preliminary statistics, since early May, 12 fire accidents consecutively occurred in HCMC with circuits being overloaded as the main cause. People's carelessness and lack of electrical knowledge are two other main factors in those incidents."
The HCMC Fire Prevention Department has issued a notice that demands people to take measures in reducing fire risk such as checking and shutting the power down before leaving the house, having electrical wire systems as well as electrical equipments checked regularly.
Currently, the department is planning to inspect many hospitals, residential areas, shopping centres and markets to see if their fire prevention equipments are sufficient. Serious disciplinary actions will be carried out if these standards are not met.