Chương III Luật phòng cháy chữa cháy 2001: Chữa cháy

Chapter III

FIRE FIGHTING

Article 30.- Basic fire- fighting measures

1. Mobilizing, as soon as possible, forces and means to immediately extinguish fires.

2. Concentrating on the rescue of people and properties and the fight against fire spread.

3. Unifying the fire-fighting command and control.

Article 31.- Elaboration and practicing of the fire-fighting plan

1. Every establishment, village, hamlet, urban residential quarter, forest or special-use motorized transport means must have a fire-fighting plan to be elaborated by the head of the establishment, village, hamlet, urban residential quarter or owner of forest or means, and approved by the competent authority.

2. The fire-fighting plan must be practiced regularly according to the approval. When mobilized, all forces and means named in the plan must participate in the practice.

Article 32.- Notification of a fire and fire fighting

A fire shall be alarmed by signal or telephone.

The fire-alarming telephone number is provided for uniformly throughout the country. Communication means must be prioritized in service of fire alarming and fire fighting.

Article 33.- Responsibility for fire fighting and participation therein

1. People who detect a fire shall have, by all means, alarm it as soon as possible and fight it; agencies, organizations, households and individuals near the fire shall have to quickly notify it and take part in fire fighting.

2. Fire prevention and fighting forces shall, when receiving fire alarms in localities under their respective management or mobilization orders, have to immediately come to fight the fires; if receiving fire alarms outside the areas under their management, they shall have to notify the fire prevention and fighting forces in the concerned areas thereof, and at the same time report such to their superior agencies.

3. The medical agencies, agencies in charge of power supply, water supply, urban environment and traffic as well as the concerned agencies, when receiving requests from fire-fighting commanders, shall have to quickly send their personnel and means to the fires in service of fire fighting

4. The police, militia and self-defense forces shall have to maintain order, protect the fire-fighting area and take part in fire fighting.

Article 34.- Mobilization of forces and means for fire fighting

1. In case of fire, people, means and properties of agencies, organizations, households and individuals may all be mobilized for fight fighting and service of the fire fight; they shall also have to execute orders immediately upon the receipt thereof. If the mobilized means and properties are damaged or houses or projects are dismantled as prescribed at Point d, Clause 1, Article 38 of this Law, compensation therefor shall be made according to law provisions.

2. The mobilization of priority vehicles, people and means of the army, international organizations, foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam for fire fighting shall comply with the Government’s regulations.

Article 35.- Water sources and fire-fighting materials

When fires occur, all water sources and fire-fighting materials must be, first of all, used for fire fighting.

Article 36.- Priority and ensuring of priority rights for people and means participating in fire fighting

1. People mobilized to perform fire-fighting task shall be given priority to travel by various transport means.

2. Forces and means, while mobilized for fire fighting, shall enjoy the following priority rights:

a/ Forces and means of the fire prevention and fighting police shall be allowed to use priority sirens, lights, banners and other special signals; and given priority on traffic roads as prescribed by law;

b/ Other forces and means, when mobilized for fire-fighting, shall enjoy priority rights as provided for at Point a of this Clause within the fire- fighting area.

3. People and means participating in traffic, when realizing the priority siren, light and/or banner signals of the means performing fire-fighting task shall have to quickly give way to the latter.

4. The traffic police force and other forces, when performing the task of maintaining traffic order, shall have to ensure that the fire-fighting forces and means travel as fast as possible.

Article 37.- Fire-fighting commander

1. In all cases, the persons holding the highest positions in units of the fire prevention and fighting police units, who are present at the fires, shall be the fire-fighting commanders.

2. Where the fire prevention and fighting police force has not arrived yet at places where fires break out, the fire-fighting commander is stipulated as follows:

a/ If a fire occurs at an establishment, its head shall be the fire-fighting commander; in case of his/her absence, the head of the grassroots fire brigade or the authorized person shall be the fire-fighting commander;

b/ If a fire occurs at a village, hamlet or urban quarter, the chief thereof shall be the fire-fighting commander; in case of his/her absence, the head of the civil defense group or the authorized person shall be the fire-fighting commander;

c/ If a motorized vehicle being in circulation is on fire, the commander or owner thereof shall be the fire-fighting commander; in case of such person’s absence, the means operator shall be the fire-fighting commander;

d/ In case of a forest fire, if the forest owner is an agency or organization, the head thereof or an authorized person shall be the fire-fighting commander while the chief of the village or hamlet where the fire occurs shall have to participate in commanding the fire fighting; if the forest owner is a household or individual, the chief of the village or hamlet or the authorized person shall be the fire-fighting commander.

The head of the forest ranger unit or the authorized person at the place where the fire occurs shall have to take part in commanding the fire fighting;

e/ The heads of agencies or organizations, the presidents of the commune/ward/township (commune-level for short) or higher-level People’s Committees, who are present at the fire, shall direct and command the fire-fighting.

Article 38.- Rights and responsibilities of fire-fighting commanders

1. Fire-fighting commanders of the fire prevention and fighting police shall have the following rights:

a/ To immediately mobilize personnel and means of fire prevention and fighting forces for fire fighting;

b/ To decide the fire-fighting area and measures; and use the surrounding terrain and natural objects for fire fighting;

c/ To ban irrelevant people and means from travelling across the fire-fighting area; mobilize people, means and properties of agencies, organizations, households and individuals for fire fighting;

d/ To decide the dismantlement of houses, projects and obstacles as well as removal of properties in emergency cases so as to rescue people and prevent big fires, which may cause serious damage.

2. Fire-fighting commanders being the heads of agencies, organizations and presidents of the commune- or higher-level People’s Committees are entitled to exercise the rights defined in Clause 1 of this Article within the areas under their respective management

Fire-fighting defined prescribed at Points a, b, c and d, Clause 2, Article 37 of this Law may, within the areas under their respective management, exercise the rights provided for at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article.

3. All people shall have to obey orders of fire-fighting commanders. Fire-fighting commanders shall be held responsible before law for their decisions.

Article 39.- Responsibility to handle big fires and fires that may cause serious damage

1. The presidents of commune-level People’s Committees, the heads of the agencies or organizations where fires occur shall have to direct and command the fire fighting, ensuring conditions therefor; quickly report cases beyond their competence to the presidents of the People’s Committees of rural districts, urban districts, provincial towns or cities or the heads of the superior agencies for direction of the settlement, and in really necessary cases, report them to the presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities, and at the same time, to the presidents of the People’s Committees of rural districts, urban districts, provincial towns or cities.

2. In cases where the handling goes beyond the local administration’s jurisdiction, at the proposals of the presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities, the Minister of Public Security shall have to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies attached to the Government and People’s Committees of the concerned provinces or centrally-run cities in directing the settlement.

3. In particularly serious cases, the Minister of Public Security shall report them to the Prime Minister for decision.

Article 40.- Overcoming of fire consequences

1. The overcoming of fire consequences includes the following jobs:

a/ Giving the first-aid to victims; providing relief and assistance for people suffering from damage to stabilize their life;

b/ Applying measures to ensure environmental hygiene, social order and safety;

c/ Quickly restoring production, business, service and other activities.

2. The presidents of commune- or higher-level People’s Committees, the heads of agencies and organizations with establishments having been on fires shall have to organize the implementation of the provisions at Clause 1, this Article.

Article 41.- Protection of the fire scene, compilation of fire dossiers

1. The police force shall have to organize the protection and examination of the fire scene as well as investigation thereof; agencies, organizations, households and individuals at places where fires occur shall have to participate in the protection of the fire scene and supply truthful information on the fires to the competent State agencies.

2. The fire prevention and fighting police shall have to compile fire dossier, evaluate the fire-fighting results, take part in the scene examination and determine causes of the fires.

Article 42.- Fighting fires at offices of diplomatic missions, consulates, representative offices of international organizations or residences of their members

1. When fires occur at offices of diplomatic missions, consulates, representative offices of international organizations or residences of their members, the people present thereat shall have to quickly extinguish the fires and prevent the fire from spreading to surrounding areas.

2. The Vietnamese fire prevention and fighting forces shall have to quickly fight fire spread outside offices of diplomatic missions, consulates, representative offices of international organizations or residences of their members.

3. The Vietnamese fire prevention and fighting forces, when entering offices of diplomatic missions, consulates, representative offices of international organizations or residences of their members, for fire fighting, shall have to comply with the provisions of international agreements which Vietnam has signed or acceded to.

4. The Government shall stipulate in detail the fire fighting for subjects mentioned in Clause 3 of this Article.