Chương II Nghị định 136/2020/NĐ-CP: Phòng cháy

Chapter II

FIRE PREVENTION

Article 4. Facilities requiring fire management

1. The facilities the definition of which is provided for in Clause 3 Article 3 of the 2001 Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting, which is amended according to Clause 1 Article 1 of the 2013 Law on Amendments to Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting”), are subject to fire management.

A regulatory body or an organization may have one or more than one facility; multiple regulatory bodies and/or organizations may be located on the premises of one facility.

2.  List of facilities requiring fire management is provided for in Appendix I enclosed therewith.

Article 5. Fire safety requirements applicable to facilities

1. Any facility mentioned in the list in Appendix III enclosed therewith must satisfy the following fire safety requirements:

a) Regulations, prohibition signs, signage, plans or instruction signs concerning fire prevention, fighting and escape are provided in accordance with fire prevention and fighting regulations and standards or regulations of the Ministry of Public Security;

b) There are internal and specialized firefighting forces suitable for the facility’s characteristics and having received training in fire prevention and fighting operation, and on-site combat-ready firefighters according to regulations, excluding the case provided for in Point g Clause 2 Article 31 herein;

c) There is a firefighting plan approved by the competent authority.

d) Power system, lightning protection system, antistatic system, electrical equipment, spark-generating equipment, heat-generating equipment, and the use of fire sources and heat sources must ensure fire safety in accordance with regulations and standards on fire prevention and fighting or regulations of the Ministry of Public Security;

dd) There are sufficient and quality traffic system, water supply system and communication system supporting fire fighting, system for management of database on fire prevention and fighting, incident notification system, fire alarm system, firefighting system, fire blocking system, smoke blocking system, fire escape system, other fire prevention and fighting equipment, and rescue equipment in accordance with regulations and standards on fire prevention and fighting or regulations of the Ministry of Public Security;

e) The fire safety and firefighting authority (hereinafter referred to as “firefighting authority”) has issued a certificate of design appraisal and design appraisal document (if any) and written approval of fire safety commissioning results for projects and works included in the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith, excluding national defense facilities operating for military purpose and motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements manufactured or converted for military purpose by national defense facilities.

2. Any facility mentioned in the list in Appendix IV enclosed therewith must satisfy the following fire safety requirements:

a) The requirements in Points a, c and d Clause 1 herein; a certificate of design appraisal and design appraisal document (if any) and written approval of fire safety commissioning results are required for the facilities included in the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith;

b) There are sufficient and quality traffic system, water supply system and communication system supporting fire fighting, fire alarm system, firefighting system, fire blocking system, smoke blocking system, fire escape system, other fire prevention and fighting equipment, and rescue equipment in accordance with technical regulations and standards on fire prevention and fighting or regulations of the Ministry of Public Security;

c) There are fire prevention and fighting regulations and task assignment. Persons in charge of fire prevention and fighting must join training and refresher courses on fire prevention and fighting operation according to regulations in Article 33 of this Decree.

3. Any regulatory body or organization located on the premises of a facility having satisfied the fire safety requirements in Clauses 1 and 2 herein shall perform the following tasks intra vires:

a) Ensure compliance with the requirements in Point a Clause 1 herein;

b) Use electrical equipment, spark-generating equipment, heat-generating equipment, fire sources and heat sources in accordance with fire safety requirements;

c) Assign persons to the facility’s internal firefighting force;

d) Cooperate with the facility head in complying with fire safety requirements intra vires.

4. Heads of the facility and the regulatory body/ies and/or organization(s) located on the premises thereof must ensure that the fire safety requirements in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 herein are satisfied before putting the facility to operation and throughout the facility's operation.

In case multiple regulatory bodies and/or organizations are located on the premises of one facility, the facility head shall take charge in managing and maintaining compliance with fire safety requirements in the whole facility.

5. There are documents supporting management and monitoring of fire prevention and fighting of the facilities included in the lists in Appendix III and Appendix IV enclosed therewith, which are formulated and retained by facility heads. The components of these documents are provided for by the Ministry of Public Security.

Article 6. Fire safety requirements applicable to residential areas

1. A residential area is a place where individuals and households live as parts of a village, hamlet, mountain village, neighborhood and equivalent residential unit (hereinafter collectively referred to as “village”). A village is a residential area subject to fire management.

2. Residential areas must satisfy the following fire safety requirements:

a) 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;

b) There are sufficient and quality traffic system, water supply for firefighting, fire spread preventing solutions and, fire prevention and fighting equipment in accordance with technical regulations and standards on fire prevention and fighting or regulations of the Ministry of Public Security;

c) There is a firefighting plan approved by the competent authority.

d) There are a neighborhood having received training in fire prevention and fighting operation and on-site combat-ready firefighters.

3. Chairpersons of commune-level People’s Committees must organize and maintain compliance with the fire safety requirements in Clause 2 throughout the existence of the residential areas.

Article 7. Fire safety requirements applicable to households

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.

Article 8. Fire safety requirements applicable to motor vehicles

1. Road motor vehicles with at least 04 seats must meet conditions for inspected operation; and materials and goods on the vehicles must be arranged in compliance with fire safety requirements.

Road motor vehicles with more than 09 seats, inland watercrafts and railway vehicles must satisfy the following requirements:

a) Regulations, prohibition signs, signage and instruction signs are provided in accordance with fire prevention and fighting regulations and standards or regulations of the Ministry of Public Security;

b) The power system, fuel, materials and goods on these vehicles must be arranged in compliance with fire safety requirements;

c) There are sufficient and quality firefighting equipment appropriate to the characteristics and operations of the vehicles in accordance with regulations and standards on fire prevention and fighting or regulations of the Ministry of Public Security;

d) There are fire prevention and fighting regulations and task assignment and on-site combat-ready firefighters.

2. The motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements mentioned in section 21 in Appendix V enclosed therewith must comply with the following fire safety requirements and maintain such compliance:

a) The requirements in Clause 1 herein;

b) The firefighting authority has issued a certificate of design appraisal and design appraisal document (if any) and written approval of fire safety commissioning results, excluding motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements manufactured or converted for military purpose by national defense facilities;

c) There is a firefighting plan approved by the vehicle owner.

3. A motor vehicle may transport goods posing fire or explosion hazard on the road, inland waterway or railway when it has obtained the permit for transport of goods posing fire or explosion hazard issued by the police authority according to regulations of laws on road, inland waterway and railway transport of dangerous goods (excluding cases within the competence of the Ministry of National Defense) and must comply with the following fire safety requirements and maintain such compliance:

a) The requirements in Clause 1 herein;

b) The vehicle’s motor must be separated from the cargo compartment by fire-resistant materials or buffer chamber as per regulations;

c) The motor’s exhaust pipe must be covered and ensure fire and explosion safety;

d) The floor and structure of the cargo compartment and other areas of the vehicle at fire and explosion risk must be made of fire-resistant materials;

dd) Technical safety and environmental protection requirements per regulations;

e) Road vehicles transporting liquids posing fire or explosion hazard must be grounded;

g) Road motor vehicles must bear signage of goods posing fire and explosion hazards (Form No. PC01) on the windshield; railway vehicles must bear signage of goods posing fire and explosion hazards (Form No. PC01) on both of their sides throughout the transport process;

h) Inland watercrafts must fly the letter B signal flag in the day and set up red signal light at night throughout the transport process. Specifications and standards of the signal flag and light are provided for by the Ministry of Transport.

4. Drivers and crewmembers of vehicles transporting passengers and goods posing fire and explosion hazards shall comply with the following requirements:

a) Drivers must have a driving license according to regulations of laws on road, inland waterway and railway transport;

b) Drivers and crewmembers of motor passengers vehicles with more than 29 seats and motor vehicles transporting goods posing fire and explosion hazards shall participate in training and refresher courses on fire prevention and fighting according to regulations in Article 33 herein.

Article 9. Issuance of licenses to transport goods posing fire and explosion hazards and transport of goods posing fire and explosion hazards

1. Applications and procedures for issuance of licenses to transport goods posing fire and explosion hazards of classes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 9 by road motor vehicles and by inland waterways are provided for in the Government’s Decree No. 42/2020/ND-CP dated April 08, 2020 on list of dangerous goods, transport of dangerous goods by land motor vehicles and transport of dangerous goods by inland waterways (hereinafter referred to as “Decree No. 42/2020/ND-CP”).

2. An application for the license to transport goods posing fire and explosion hazards by railway includes:

a) An application for the license to transport goods posing fire and explosion hazards (Form No. PC02);

b) Certified true copy (or copy together with the authentic copy for comparison) of the enterprise registration certificate of the applicant, which proves that the applicant is permitted to trade or transport dangerous goods;

c) List of goods posing fire and explosion hazards and weight and transport route thereof (route start and end); list of escorts;

d) Copy certified by the enterprise of the transport contract or written agreement on transport of goods posing fire and explosion hazards by railway between the consignor and the rail transport enterprise;

dd) Plan for incident prevention and response during transport of goods posing fire and explosion hazards bearing the signature and seal of the applicant;

e) Plan for vehicle cleaning and assurance of environmental protection requirements post-transport according to existing regulations on environmental protection.

3. The applicant shall submit 01 application prepared per Clause 2 herein to the competent authority in one of the following ways:

a) Directly at the single-window unit of the competent authority;

b) Online via the public service portal of the competent authority (documents included in state secret lists shall be submitted in compliance with regulations of laws on state secret protection);

c) By public postal service, service provided by an enterprise or individual or authorization as prescribed by law.

4. The official receiving the application shall check its components and validity and perform the following tasks:

a) If the application is adequate and valid according to regulations in Clause 2 herein, receive it and fill out the acknowledgement of receipt of application for administrative procedure concerning fire prevention and fighting (using Form No. PC03) (hereinafter referred to as “acknowledgement of application receipt”);

b) If the application is inadequate or invalid according to regulations in Clause 2 herein, instruct the applicant on how to complete the application as per regulations and fill out the written instruction on revision of application for administrative procedure concerning fire prevention and fighting (using Form No. PC04) (hereinafter referred to as “application revision instruction”).

5. Announcement of application processing results:

a) If the application is submitted directly at the single-window unit of the competent authority, the official receiving it shall give 01 copy of the acknowledgement of application receipt or application revision instruction to the applicant and retain 01 copy;

b) If the application is submitted via the public service portal of the competent authority, the official receiving the application shall send a notification of application receipt or instruction on application revision to the applicant via email or text message;

c) If the application is submitted by public postal service, the service of an enterprise and individual or authorization as per the law, the official receiving it shall send 01 copy of the acknowledgement of application receipt or application revision instruction to the applicant and retain 01 copy.

6. The person sent to submit the application by the applicant must have a letter of introduction or letter of authorization and present their unexpired identity card or passport.

7. Within 05 working days starting from the date of receipt of a valid application, the competent authority shall inspect the vehicle’s fire safety based on the requirements stated in Clause 3 Article 8 herein, consider and issue the license to transport goods posing fire and explosion hazards (using Form No. PC05) and signage of goods posing fire and explosion hazards (using Form No. PC01). If the application is rejected, the competent authority must provide an explanation in writing.

8. Competence in issuance of licenses to transport goods posing fire and explosion hazards by road, inland waterway or railway:

a) Fire safety, firefighting, and rescue authorities affiliated to provincial police authorities (hereinafter referred to as “fire departments”) have the power to issue the license to transport goods posing fire and explosion hazards to vehicles of applicants whose business premises are located in and vehicles operating in areas under their management;

b) District-level police authorities have the power to issue the license to transport goods posing fire and explosion hazards to vehicles of applicants whose business premises are located in and vehicles operating in areas under their management and beyond the competence of fire departments and to cases authorized by fire departments.

9. Licenses to transport goods posing fire and explosion hazards may be used across the country and shall be used once for vehicles operating under a charter agreement; shall remain valid for no more than 24 months for vehicles transporting goods posing fire and explosion hazards per a transport plan or agreement within the effective period of the inspection certificate for compliance with technical safety and environmental protection requirements (for road motor vehicles), certificate for compliance with technical safety and environmental protection requirements (for inland watercrafts) or certificate for compliance with quality, technical safety and environmental protection requirements (for railway vehicles).

10. Transport of goods posing fire and explosion hazards by road motor vehicles, inland watercrafts and railway vehicles shall adhere to regulations of Decree No. 42/2020/ND-CP and the Government’s Decree No. 65/2018/ND-CP dated May 12, 2018 elaborating some Articles of Law on Railway Transport.

Article 10. Fire safety requirements applicable to formulation of or amendment to planning for construction of cities, economic zones, industrial parks, industry clusters, export-processing zones, hi-tech parks and other functional zones according to Law on Planning

Requirements for formulation of or amendment to planning for construction of cities, economic zones, industrial parks, industry clusters, export-processing zones, hi-tech parks and other functional zones according to the Law on Planning:

1. Building sites of works and work clusters, land areas and land lots must be located in a manner that prevents fire from spreading and minimizes the effects of heat, smoke, dust and noxious gases produced by fire on surrounding residential areas and works.

2. Size and load capacity of transport systems and spaces must enable firefighting operations of motor firefighting equipment.

3. Firefighting water supply; communication systems and power supply must be available for firefighting activities and fire incident reporting.

4. Building sites of premises of firefighting authorities must be located according to regulations of technical regulations and standards on construction planning.

5. All projects must make a cost estimate for fire prevention and fighting items.

Article 11. Fire safety requirements applicable to development of projects on and designs for construction or renovation or repurposing of works

Development of projects on and designs for construction or renovation or repurposing of works and work items (hereinafter collectively referred to as “works”) must be compliant with fire safety regulations and standards. To be specific:

1. Building sites of works must ensure adequate fire safety separation distance from surrounding works.

2. Every work must have a fire resistance level appropriate to its size and purpose; and have solutions for fire safety and preventing fire from spreading to other items of the work and between the work and another work.

3. Production technology, power system,          lightning protection system, antistatic system and explosion protection system of works and locations of technical systems and equipment must adhere to fire safety requirements.

4. Fire escape routes, lighting and instructions and fire alarm signals; smoke exhaust ventilation systems; and rescue equipment must ensure fast and safe escape.

5. Size and load capacity of transport systems and parking lots must enable firefighting operations of motor firefighting equipment; firefighting water supply must enable firefighting activities.

6. Quantities, locations and technical specifications of fire alarm and firefighting systems and other firefighting equipment of every work must be appropriate to the characteristics and purpose of the work.

Article 12. Funding for fire safety in investment and construction

1. Funding for fire safety in investment and construction includes funding for the fire safety items mentioned in Articles 10 and 11 of this Decree and other amounts of funding for development of fire safety design projects and appraisal, testing, inspection, construction and commissioning in relation to fire safety.

2. Funding for fire safety in investment and construction must be allocated during the stage of work design and investment project development.

Article 13. Development and appraisal of fire safety design

1. Construction, renovation or repurposing of projects and works and manufacturing or conversion of motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements must comply with fire prevention and fighting regulations and standards. Planning schemes and construction design dossiers of projects, works and motor vehicles mentioned in Appendix V enclosed therewith shall be formulated by units eligible according to regulations and are subject to fire safety design appraisal.

2. Fire safety design appraisal refers to inspection and comparison of design content and solutions of projects, works and motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements with standards and regulations of Vietnamese law related to fire prevention and fighting or foreign and international standards on fire prevention and fighting applicable in Vietnam carried out by competent authorities following the procedure stipulated by law.

Fire safety design appraisal results shall provide a basis for consideration and planning approval, project approval, construction design appraisal and construction permit granting.

3. Fire safety designs of the following subjects require appraisal:

a) Schemes for or amendments to planning for construction of cities, economic zones, industrial parks, industry clusters, export-processing zones, hi-tech parks and other functional zones according to the Law on Planning;

b) Projects and works which are mentioned in Appendix V enclosed therewith and the construction, renovation or repurposing of which affects one of the fire safety conditions provided for in Point b Clause 5 herein;

c) Motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements which are mentioned in Section 21 of Appendix V enclosed therewith and the manufacturing or conversion of which affects one of the fire safety conditions provided for in Point c Clause 5 herein.

4. Components of applications for fire safety design appraisal:

a) For application for feedback on construction planning scheme: application for consideration of and feedback on fire safety solution of entity formulating the planning (made using Form No. PC06); documents and detailed planning drawings at a scale of 1/2000 (for industrial parks of more than 20ha) or 1/500 (for the remaining cases) showing requirements for fire safety solutions mentioned in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 Article 10 herein;

b) For application for building site approval prior to design of independent works posing fire or explosion hazard and mentioned in Sections 15 and 16 of Appendix V enclosed therewith (excluding internal filling stations and gas using facilities): application for building site approval by investor (made using Form No.06), and letter of authorization per the law if the investor authorizes another unit to carry out this task; certificate of land use rights or written proof of lawful land use rights for land of the project/work; drawings and documents showing current topographic conditions of the land relevant to fire safety such as fire resistance level of the work, distance between the work and surrounding works, wind direction and height of the work;

c) For application for feedback on fundamental design of project/work: application for consideration of and feedback on fire safety solution of investor (made using Form No. PC06), and letter of authorization per the law if the investor authorizes another unit to carry out this task; decision to approve construction investment guidelines (for state-funded projects); written approval of construction investment guidelines (if any) or investment registration certificate (if any) or certificate of land use rights or written proof of lawful land use rights (for the remaining cases); certificate of eligibility for fire prevention and fighting service business of fire safety design consultancy unit; fundamental design description and drawings showing requirements for fire safety solutions mentioned in Article 11 herein;

d) For application for appraisal of technical design or construction drawing design: application for appraisal of fire safety design of investor (made using Form No. PC06), and letter of authorization per the law if the investor authorizes another unit to carry out this task; written feedback on fundamental fire safety design from the firefighting authority (if any); decision to approve construction investment guidelines (for state-funded projects); written approval of construction investment guidelines (if any) or investment registration certificate (if any) or certificate of land use rights or written proof of lawful land use rights (for the remaining cases); certificate of eligibility for fire prevention and fighting service business of fire safety design consultancy unit; cost estimate for construction of work; drawings and description of technical design or construction drawing design showing fire safety requirements mentioned in Article 11 herein; copies of design appraisal certificate, design appraisal document, drawing bearing seal of fire safety appraisal (for renovation/amended design dossiers); document on construction design appraisal by construction authority (if any);

dd) For application for appraisal of technical design of motor vehicle subject to special fire safety requirements: application for appraisal of fire safety design of investor/vehicle owner (made using Form No. PC06), and letter of authorization per the law if the investor/vehicle owner authorizes another unit to carry out this task; certificate of eligibility for fire prevention and fighting service business of fire safety design consultancy unit; estimated investment in vehicle; technical design description and drawings showing fire safety requirements mentioned in Points b and c Clause 1 and Points b, c, d and e Clause 3 Article 8 herein;

e) Documents included in these applications shall be the authentic copy or certified or notarized true copy or copy/photocopy submitted together with its authentic copy for comparison. The design description and drawing must be certified by the applicant. For applications in a foreign language, a Vietnamese translation must be provided and the applicant shall take responsibility for the content of the translation.

5. Appraised items:

a) For planning schemes: compliance of planning schemes with regulations in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 Article 10 herein;

b) For projects and works: compliance of their designs with existing regulations on the following matters: list of regulations and standards on fire prevention and fighting, technical documents, technical instructions and technologies applicable to work design; roads for fire trucks, fire safety separation distance from surrounding works; water supply for fire fighting; fire resistance levels, fire and explosion hazard classes and purpose-based space division related to fire prevention and fighting; solutions for fire and fire spread prevention; smoke dispersion solutions; escape solutions; solutions for rescue and rescue support; plans for lightning and static prevention; solutions for supply of power to fire prevention and fighting system and other technical systems relevant to fire prevention and fighting; fire alarm and firefighting systems and firefighting equipment of works;

c) For motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements: fire safety solutions suitable for characteristics of operations and fire and explosion hazards of vehicles; conditions for fire prevention, fire spread prevention, escape and human rescue during fire; fire safety solutions applicable to power system, fuel system and engine; fire alarm and firefighting systems and other firefighting equipment; systems and equipment for detection and handling of leakage of gases and liquids posing fire and explosion hazards;

d) For construction or renovation of fire prevention and fighting systems or equipment of works having undergone commissioning and been put into use according to regulations: fire safety design of the constructed or renovated parts of the fire prevention and fighting systems or equipment.

6. The applicant shall submit 01 application prepared according to Clause 4 herein to the competent authority mentioned in Clause 12 herein in one of the following ways:

a) Directly at the single-window unit of the competent authority;

b) Online via the public service portal of the competent authority (documents included in state secret lists shall be submitted in compliance with regulations of laws on state secret protection);

c) By public postal service, service provided by an enterprise or individual or authorization as prescribed by law.

7. The official receiving the application shall check its components and validity and perform the following tasks:

a) If the application is adequate and valid according to regulations in Clause 4 herein, receive it and fill out the acknowledgement of application receipt (using Form No. PC03);

b) If the application is inadequate or invalid according to regulations in Clause 4 herein, instruct the applicant on how to complete the application as per regulations and fill out the application revision instruction (using Form No. PC04).

8. Announcement of application processing results:

a) If the application is submitted directly at the single-window unit of the competent authority, the official receiving it shall give 01 copy of the acknowledgement of application receipt or application revision instruction to the applicant and retain 01 copy;

b) If the application is submitted via the public service portal of the competent authority, the official receiving the application shall send a notification of application receipt or instruction on application revision to the applicant via email or text message;

c) If the application is submitted by public postal service, the service of an enterprise and individual or authorization as per the law, the official receiving it shall send 01 copy of the acknowledgement of application receipt or application revision instruction to the applicant and retain 01 copy;

d) If an application is invalid (the applying project or work does not require fire safety design appraisal according to regulations in Appendix V enclosed therewith or the receiving authority is not competence in appraising fire safety design of the applying project or work according to regulations in Clause 12 herein), the receiving authority shall notify the applicant that the application is rejected within the time limit prescribed in Clause 10 herein in writing and in the way in which the applicant sent their application.

9. The person sent to submit the application by the applicant must have a letter of introduction or letter of authorization and present their unexpired identity card or passport.

10. Time limit for fire safety design appraisal:

Time limit for fire safety design appraisal starting from the date of receipt of a valid and adequate application:

a) For construction planning schemes: no later than 05 working days;

b) Building site approval: no later than 05 working days;

c) Fundamental designs: no later than 10 working days for projects of national importance and group A projects; no later than 05 working days for the remaining projects;

d) Technical designs or construction drawing designs: no later than 15 working days for projects and works of national importance and group A projects and works; no later than 10 working days for the remaining projects and works;

dd) Technical designs of motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements: no later than 10 working days.

11. Results of fire safety design appraisal:

a) For planning schemes: firefighting authorities shall give their feedback on fire safety solutions in writing;

b) For building site approval: firefighting authorities shall approve of the building sites in writing;

c) For fundamental designs: firefighting authorities shall give their feedback on fire safety solutions in writing;

d) For technical designs or construction drawing designs and technical designs of motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements: firefighting authorities shall issue the certificate of fire safety design appraisal (made using Form No. PC07) and stamp the seal of fire safety design appraisal (made using Form No. PC08) on appraised descriptions and drawings and return these documents to applicants. Every applicant shall submit a file containing the photocopy or copy of the application bearing the seal of appraisal to the firefighting authority carrying out the appraisal for retention purpose according to regulations before receiving the certificate of fire safety design appraisal;

For technical designs or construction drawing designs of renovation or repurposing of works or conversion of motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements: firefighting authorities shall approve of the fire safety design (using Form No.08) in writing and stamp the seal of fire safety design appraisal (made using Form No. PC08) on appraised descriptions and drawings and return these documents to applicants. Every applicant shall submit a file containing the photocopy or copy of the application bearing the seal of appraisal to the firefighting authority carrying out the appraisal for retention purpose according to regulations before receiving the written approval of fire safety design appraisal;

dd) If firefighting authorities do not announce the results provided for in Points a, b, c and d herein, they shall provide a written explanation and return the applications to applicants within the time limit prescribed in Clause 10 herein.

12. Competence in fire safety design appraisal:

a) Police Department of Fire Prevention and Firefighting and Rescue has the power to appraise fire safety designs of projects and works meeting criteria for projects and works of national importance and group A projects and works as per the law on public investment (excluding state-funded projects and works whose investors are provincial governments); works of more than 100 m in height; works located in 02 or more central-affiliated cities and provinces; watercrafts of 50 m or more in length carrying passengers or flammable liquids,  flammable gases, explosives and chemicals posing fire and explosion hazards; and work investment projects proposed by fire departments (excluding national defense facilities operating for military purpose and motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements manufactured or converted for military operations by national defense facilities);   

b) Fire departments have the power to appraise fire safety designs of planning schemes for cities, economic zones, industrial parks, industry clusters, export-processing zones, hi-tech parks and other functional zones according to the Law on Planning located in localities under their management; projects and works fire safety designs of which are not appraised by Police Department of Fire Prevention and Firefighting and Rescue and which are located in localities under their management, and cases authorized by Police Department of Fire Prevention and Firefighting and Rescue; motor vehicles which are subject to special fire safety requirements and located in localities under their management and fire safety designs of which are not appraised by Police Department of Fire Prevention and Firefighting and Rescue, and cases authorized by Police Department of Fire Prevention and Firefighting and Rescue, excluding national defense facilities operating for military purpose and motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements manufactured or converted for military operations by national defense facilities.

13. Construction, renovation or repurposing of projects and works not included in the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith must satisfy fire safety requirements stipulated by fire prevention and fighting regulations and standards.

14. Fees of fire safety design appraisal shall be included in the total investment of each project, work and motor vehicle.

Article 14. Responsibilities of investors, motor vehicle owners, project consultancy and construction supervision units, design consultancy units, construction units, authorities competent in approving planning, authorities competent in approving construction investment projects, authorities competent in granting construction permits and firefighting authorities in investment and construction

1. Responsibilities of the investor/motor vehicle owner:

a) Develop the design project according to regulations in Article 11 herein and approved planning. If the work/motor vehicle is subject to special fire safety requirements according to the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith, construction shall start when its design dossier has been appraised by the firefighting authority competent in appraising fire safety design;

b) Organize construction and construction inspection and supervision according to the appraised fire safety design. In case there is any change to the fire safety design or a piece of fire safety equipment during the construction process that affects one or more than one of the contents provided for in Point b or c Clause 5 Article 13 herein, an additional design shall be prepared to ensure compliance with fire safety regulations and standards, and the change must be appraised before construction;

c) Organize fire safety commissioning if the project, work or motor vehicle is subject to special fire safety requirements according to the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith and take responsibility for the commissioning results;

d) Ensure fire safety of their work from construction to commissioning, handover and putting into operation;

dd) Provide dossiers on appraisal of fire safety design and commissioning of their work/motor vehicle for the manager/user when putting the work/motor vehicle into use, which will be presented at the request of the competent authority;

e) Present dossiers on appraisal of fire safety design and commissioning of their work/motor vehicle at the request of the competent authority.

2. Responsibilities of the project consultancy and construction supervision unit:

a) Take responsibility before the law and the investor for performance of fire safety tasks in compliance with regulations of law on project consultancy and supervision consultancy under the agreement between the investor and the consultancy unit;

b) Participate in the commissioning process.

3. Responsibilities of the design consultancy unit:

a) Make a design in compliance with fire safety requirements; take responsibility for the quality of the design product;

b) Exercise designer's supervision during the construction process.

4. Responsibilities of the construction unit:

a) Build the work in accordance with the appraised fire safety design;

b) Ensure fire safety of areas under its management from construction to handover;

c) Formulate the as-built dossier; prepare documents and conditions necessary for commissioning and participate in commissioning.

5. Responsibilities of authorities competent in approving planning, authorities competent in approving construction investment projects and authorities competent in granting construction permits:

a) Authorities competent in approving planning and authorities competent in approving construction investment projects for projects and works included in the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith shall approve these projects and works after the reply to the fire safety design appraisal results provided for in Clause 11 Article 13 herein;

b) For projects and works included in the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith, authorities competent in granting construction permits shall request the investor to present the fire safety design appraisal certificate and document (if any) and the drawing bearing the seal of fire safety design appraisal of the firefighting authority before granting the construction permit.

6. Responsibilities of firefighting authorities:

a) Consider and decide whether to approve the building sites of the works mentioned in Sections 15 and 16 of Appendix V enclosed therewith (excluding internal filling stations and gas using facilities) and fire safety solutions for construction planning projects and design dossiers of the facilities mentioned in Appendix V enclosed therewith;

b) Appraise the fire safety design in the technical design dossier or construction drawing design of projects, works and motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements according to the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith;

c) Inspect fire safety commissioning results of projects, works, work items and motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements according to the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith;

d) Inspect fire safety during construction of works included in the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith.

Article 15. Fire safety commissioning and inspection of results thereof

1. The investor or owner of a project, work or motor vehicle which is subject to special fire safety requirements and the fire safety design of which has been appraised must organize fire safety commissioning for the project, work or motor vehicle. The investor or owner shall request the firefighting authority appraising the fire safety design to inspect the commissioning results and issue a written approval of fire safety commissioning results before putting the work or motor vehicle into use.

Fire safety commissioning comprises commissioning of each part, stage, work item and system and commissioning for handover; for parts of a project, work or motor vehicle which is subject to special fire safety requirements that are hidden from view during the construction process, they must be commissioned before starting other tasks. The investor has the power to decide commissioning of an individual part of the work if the area to undergo commissioning could operate independently and meet fire safety requirements; the firefighting authority must inspect the commissioning results and issue a written approval of the results before that part of the work could be put into use.

2. Application for fire safety commissioning includes:

a) Copy of fire safety design appraisal certificate and document submitted together with the dossier bearing the appraisal seal the firefighting authority;

b) Copy of certificate of fire prevention and fighting equipment inspection (hereinafter referred to as “equipment inspection certificate");

c) Records of testing, commissioning of each part and comprehensive commissioning of the fire prevention and fighting system;

d) As-built drawings of the fire prevention and fighting system and items related to fire prevention and fighting in accordance with the appraised design dossier;

dd) Written guidelines for operation and maintenance of fire prevention and fighting equipment and system and systems related to fire prevention and fighting of the work or motor vehicle;

e) Records of commissioning of work items and systems related to fire prevention and fighting;

g) Copies of certificates of eligibility for fire prevention and fighting service business of the supervision consultancy unit (if any) and fire prevention and fighting system construction unit.

Documents in the application must be certified by the investor or vehicle owner, supervision consultancy unit and construction unit. The application must be translated into Vietnamese if it is in a foreign language.

3. Content of inspection of fire safety commissioning results from investors and vehicle owners by firefighting authorities:

a) Inspect content and validity of the application for fire safety commissioning prepared by the investor or vehicle owner according to regulations in Clause 2 herein;

b) Inspect consistency between the commissioning results from the investor or vehicle owner and the appraised design;

c) Organize inspection and testing of actual operation probability of fire prevention and fighting equipment and systems related to fire prevention and fighting of the work or motor vehicle to compare with the commissioning results from the investor or vehicle owner. The inspection must be recorded in writing (using Form No. PC10).

4. The applicant shall submit 01 application containing the documents mentioned in Clause 2 herein together with the report on results of construction, inspection, testing and commissioning of fire prevention and fighting system, equipment and solutions and an application for inspection of fire safety commissioning results (using Form No. PC11) to the firefighting authority appraising the fire safety design in any of the following ways:

a) Directly at the single-window unit of the competent authority;

b) Online via the public service portal of the competent authority (documents included in state secret lists shall be submitted in compliance with regulations of laws on state secret protection);

c) By public postal service, service provided by an enterprise or individual or authorization as prescribed by law.

The application must be submitted at least 10 working days (for projects and works of national importance and group A projects and works) or at least 07 working days (for the remaining works and motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements) prior to the date upon which the inspection takes place.

5. The official receiving the application shall check its components and validity and perform the following tasks:

a) If the application is adequate and valid according to regulations, receive it and fill out 02 copies of the acknowledgement of application receipt (Form No. PC03);

b) If the application is inadequate or invalid according to regulations, instruct the applicant on how to complete the application and fill out 02 copies of the application revision instruction (Form No. PC04).

6. Announcement of application processing results:

a) If the application is submitted directly at the single-window unit of the competent authority, the official receiving it shall give 01 copy of the acknowledgement of application receipt or application revision instruction to the applicant and retain 01 copy;

b) If the application is submitted via the public service portal of the competent authority, the official receiving the application shall send a notification of application receipt or instruction on application revision to the applicant via email or text message;

c) If the application is submitted by public postal service, the service of an enterprise and individual or authorization as per the law, the official receiving it shall send 01 copy of the acknowledgement of application receipt or application revision instruction to the applicant and retain 01 copy.

7. The person sent to submit the application by the applicant must have a letter of introduction or letter of authorization and present their unexpired identity card or passport.

8. Within 10 working days (for projects and works of national importance and group A projects and works) or 07 working days (for the remaining works and motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements) from the date of receipt of an application adequate per regulations in Clause 4 herein, the firefighting authority shall inspect the commissioning results and draw up an inspection record (using Form No. PC10). Within 7 working days from the date of approval of the inspection record, the firefighting authority shall consider and decide to issue a written approval of fire safety commissioning results (using Form No. PC12) and return the commissioning dossier received to the applicant. If the commissioning results are rejected, the firefighting authority must provide a written explanation for the applicant.

9. The written approval of fire safety commissioning results shall provide a basis for the authority competent in granting permits to put works and motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements into use.

Article 16. Fire safety inspection

1. Entities subject to inspection:

a) Facilities requiring fire management;

b) Residential areas, households, forests, motor vehicles and technical infrastructures related to fire prevention and fighting of cities, economic zones, industrial parks, industry clusters, export-processing zones and hi-tech parks;

c) Works included in the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith in their construction stage, excluding national defense facilities operating for military purpose;

d) Fire prevention and fighting service businesses.

2. Inspected items:

a) Fire safety requirements applicable to facilities, residential areas, households and motor vehicles provided for in Articles 5, 6, 7 and 8 herein;

b) Forest fire safety requirements according to regulations of the Government’s Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP dated November 16, 2018 elaborating a number of Articles of Law on Forestry;

c) Fire safety requirements applicable to construction works in their construction stages: fire safety design appraisal certificate or document for works included in the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith; regulations on fire prevention and fighting and fire escape signage; regulations on fire safety task assignment by the investor and construction unit intra vires; duties of personnel in charge of fire safety; use of power system, electrical equipment, spark-generating equipment, heat-generating equipment, fire sources and heat sources; and provision of emergency firefighting equipment appropriate to the characteristics of the work;

d) Performance of fire prevention and fighting duty of heads of regulatory bodies and organizations, investors, contractors, motor vehicle owners, household heads and forest owners per the law;

dd) Requirements applicable to fire prevention and fighting service businesses per regulations in Article 41 of this Decree.

3. Fire safety inspection shall be carried out on a regular, periodic and ad hoc basis. To be specific:

a) Heads of facilities and owners of motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements, household heads and forest owners shall organize fire safety inspection on a regular basis intra vires;

b) Heads of facilities included in the list in Appendix III enclosed therewith shall inspect fire safety of their facilities on a regular basis; send biannual reports on the inspection results to the supervisory police authority and take responsibility before the law for these results;

c) Chairpersons of commune-level People’s Committees shall direct and organize fire safety inspection on an annual basis; and ad hoc inspection upon detection of any of the cases provided for in Points a and b Clause 1 Article 17 herein or a violation against fire safety regulations that can lead to fire or explosion or for the purpose of security and order preservation as per instructional documents of the competent authority for facilities included in the list in Appendix IV enclosed therewith, and residential areas under their management;

d) Chairpersons of People’s Committees at district level and higher shall direct and organize ad hoc inspection for the purpose of security and order preservation as per instructional documents of the competent authority for the entities mentioned in Points and b Clause 1 herein intra vires;

dd) Police authorities shall inspect fire safety on a biannual basis for facilities included in the list in Appendix II enclosed therewith; on an annual basis for technical infrastructures related to fire prevention and fighting of cities, economic zones, industrial parks, industry clusters, export-processing zones and hi-tech parks, and motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements and the remaining facilities included in the list in Appendix III enclosed therewith; and on an ad hoc basis upon detection of any of the cases provided for in Points a and b Clause 1 Article 17 herein or a violation against fire safety regulations that can lead to fire or explosion or for the purpose of security and order preservation as per instructional documents of the competent authority intra vires; and on an annual basis during the construction process for construction works included in the list in Appendix IV enclosed therewith.

4. Fire prevention and fighting service businesses shall be subject to inspection on a periodic and ad hoc basis. To be specific:

After a fire prevention and fighting service business is granted a certificate of eligibility for fire prevention and fighting service business, the competent police authority mentioned in Clause 12 Article 45 herein shall inspect the business on an annual basis to determine the business’s compliance with conditions for fire prevention and fighting service business and maintenance of such compliance; and on an ad hoc basis upon detection of sign of breaching of a condition for fire prevention and fighting service business provided for in Article 41 herein or misuse of fire prevention and fighting operations to compromise security or disturb order, which requires handling at the request of the competent authority. Upon detection of such violation, draw up a record (using Form No. PC10) and propose a revocation decision (made using Form PC35) to the competent authority for signing.

5. Inspection procedure;

a) For fire safety inspection

The bodies and individuals with competence in inspection mentioned in Points c and dd Clause 3 herein shall notify the inspected entity of the inspection time, inspected items and inspection team members 03 working days prior to the date of a periodic inspection. When inspecting the fire safety of a facility managed by a subordinate body, notify the subordinate body of the inspection. Where necessary, request the subordinate body to join the inspection team and provide documents and update situation related to fire prevention and fighting of the inspected facility. Notify the inspection results to the subordinate body;

The bodies and individuals with competence in inspection mentioned in Points c, d and dd Clause 3 herein shall notify the specific reason for an ad hoc inspection to the inspected entity. When carrying out an ad hoc inspection, police officers must present a letter of introduction from their supervisory body;

Inspected entities must prepare for all notified inspected items and assign the competent or responsible person(s) to work with the bodies and individuals competent in carrying out the inspection;

b) For inspection of fire prevention and fighting service businesses per regulations in Clause 4 herein:

The police authority having granted the certificate of eligibility for fire prevention and fighting service business must notify the inspected entity of the inspection time, inspected items and inspection team members 03 working days prior to the date of a periodic inspection;

The competent bodies and individuals shall notify the specific reason for an ad hoc inspection to the inspected entity. When carrying out an ad hoc inspection, police officers must present a letter of introduction from their supervisory body;

Inspected entities must prepare for all notified inspected items and assign the competent or responsible person(s) to work with the bodies and individuals competent in carrying out the inspection;

c) The competent bodies and individuals mentioned in Points c, d and dd Clauses 3 and 4 herein shall record their periodic and ad hoc inspections in writing (using Form No. PC10). In case the inspected entity fails to sign the inspection record, the record must be certified by two witnesses or the local government.

Article 17. Temporary suspension and suspension of operations of facilities, motor vehicles, households and individuals not meeting fire safety requirements

1. Cases subject to temporary suspension of operations:

a) Presence of a fire or heat source in an environment at risk of fire or explosion or appearance of an environment at risk of fire or explosion in the presence of a fire or heat source (hereinafter referred to as “direct fire or explosion risk”);

b) Failure to remedy a serious violation against fire prevention and fighting regulations after the competent authority has requested remedy in writing, including illegal storage and use of goods posing fire or explosion hazard; production, trade, division and filling of goods posing fire or explosion hazard without permit or at unauthorized location; and obstruction of fire escape and buffer chamber during fire or explosion that can lead to serious damage to human lives and property;

c) Extremely serious violation against fire prevention and fighting regulations:

Renovation or repurposing of a facility or an item of a facility or conversion of a motor vehicle subject to special fire safety requirements according to the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith that affects one of the fire safety conditions provided for in Points b and c Clause 5 Article 13 herein without a fire safety design appraisal document from the competent police authority;

Putting a work, work item or motor vehicle subject to special fire safety requirements according to the list in Appendix V enclosed therewith into use without a written approval of fire safety commissioning results from the competent police authority.

2. Temporary suspension of operations shall be limited to the operations that pose a risk of fire or explosion or violate fire prevention and fighting regulations.

3. The temporary suspension duration shall be determined based on the ability to eliminate the direct fire or explosion risk or remedy the violation against fire prevention and fighting regulations and shall not exceed 30 days.

4. If facilities and motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements and households and individuals whose operations are temporarily suspended according to regulations in Clause 1 herein fail to remedy their violations by the end of the temporary suspension period, their operations will be suspended. This suspension may apply to a part or the whole operations of the facilities and motor vehicles, households and individuals.

5. The temporary suspension or suspension decision shall be made in writing; a verbal temporary suspension decision may be made for the case provided for in Point a Clause 1 herein but a written decision must be issued afterwards.

6. Procedure for temporary suspension of operations:

a) Upon detection of a case subject to temporary suspension of operations as per regulations in Clause 1 herein, the present official shall request the organization or individual to stop its/their operations or violation according to the following procedure:

Draw up a record of the extent of direct fire or explosion risk or violation against fire prevention and fighting regulations.

Issue the temporary suspension decision or report to the competent person for issuance of the temporary suspension decision;

b) The temporary suspension decision shall be made in writing (using Form No. PC13). In an emergency, a verbal temporary suspension decision may be made and a written decision shall be issued afterwards. A verbal temporary suspension decision must include full name, post, workplace of the present official, extent of the risk or violation and temporarily suspended operations;

The issuer of the temporary suspension decision shall organize supervision of elimination of the direct fire or explosion risk.

7. Procedure for suspension of operations:

a) Upon end of the temporary suspension period, the temporary suspension decision issuer shall organize an inspection of the facility, motor vehicle, household or individual whose operation is imposed the temporary suspension decision to consider its/their ability to eliminate the direct fire or explosion risk or remedy the violation against fire prevention and fighting regulations. The inspection must be recorded in writing (using Form No. PC10);

b) Upon end of the inspection, if deeming the direct fire or explosion risk not eliminated or the violation not remedied or irremediable, the temporary suspension decision issuer shall consider and issue a decision to suspend operations of the facility, motor vehicle, household or individual (using Form No. PC14).

8. Competence in temporary suspension and suspension of operations:

a) The Minister of Public Security has the power to issue decisions to temporarily suspend or suspend a part or the whole operations of facilities, motor vehicles, households and individuals across the country, excluding national defense facilities operating for military purpose and motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements manufactured or converted for military purpose by national defense facilities;

b) Chairpersons of commune-level People’s Committees have the power to issue decisions to temporarily suspend or suspend a part or the whole operations of facilities, motor vehicles, households and individuals under their management. Chairpersons of district-level People’s Committees have the power to temporarily suspend or suspend a part of the whole operations of facilities, motor vehicles, households and individuals subject to the inspections provided for in Point d Clause 3 Article 16 herein;

c) Heads of Central Departments of Fire Safety, Firefighting and Rescue, heads of provincial police authorities, heads of fire departments, heads of district-level police authorities and heads of commune-level police authorities have the power to issue decision to temporarily suspend or suspend a part or the whole operations of facilities, motor vehicles, households and individuals under their management intra vires, excluding national defense facilities operating for military purpose and motor vehicles subject to special fire safety requirements manufactured or converted for military purpose by national defense facilities;

d) Police officers have the power to temporarily suspend operations in the cases provided for in Point a Clause 1 herein and must report to their superiors, who have the power to issue the temporary suspension decision according to regulations in Point c herein, as soon as possible.

9. The temporary suspension decision or suspension decision must be delivered to the entity whose operation is imposed such temporary suspension or suspension, supervisory body thereof (if any), the People's Committee of the commune or district where the premises or place of residence of the temporarily suspended or suspended entity are/is located; in case the temporarily suspended or suspended operations concern multiple entities, each entity shall receive one decision.

10. Measures to ensure execution of temporary suspension and suspension decisions:

a) Upon receipt of a temporary suspension or suspension decision, heads of facilities, regulatory bodies and organizations, motor vehicle operators or owners, household heads and individuals must comply with the decision immediately and eliminate the direct fire or explosion risk or remedy the violation against fire prevention and fighting regulations as soon as possible;

b) Authorities competent in issuing temporary suspension or suspension decisions shall announce temporary suspension and suspension of facilities, motor vehicles, households and individuals not meeting fire safety requirements on websites and via the media until these entities are permitted to resume their operations. An announcement shall include name of the offender, the violation and imposed penalty.

Article 18. Resumption of operations of facilities, motor vehicles, households and individuals

1. The person competent in issuing the temporary suspension or suspension decision has the power to resume the temporarily suspended or suspended operation. If the competent person has decided to suspend an operation verbally and yet to issue a decision, but the direct fire or explosion risk or violation against fire prevention and fighting regulations is eliminated or remedied immediately, they may decide to resume the operation verbally.

2. During the temporary suspension period or upon end of the temporary suspension period, if the direct fire or explosion risk has been eliminated or violation against fire prevention and fighting regulations has been remedied, the facility head, motor vehicle owner, household head or individual must submit an application for operation resumption (using Form No. PC15) to the competent person who issued the temporary suspension decision for consideration and decision to resume the operation.

3. If a facility, motor vehicle, household or individual whose operation is suspended meets all fire safety requirements and wishes to resume its/their operation, the facility head, motor vehicle owner, household head or individual shall submit an application for operation resumption (using Form No. PC15) to the competent person who issued the suspension decision for consideration and decision to resume the operation.

4. The applicant shall submit 01 application to the workplace of the competent person mentioned in Clause 8 Article 17 herein in one of the following ways:

a) Directly at the single-window unit of the competent authority;

b) Online via the public service portal of the competent authority (documents included in state secret lists shall be submitted in compliance with regulations of laws on state secret protection);

c) By public postal service, service provided by an enterprise or individual or authorization as prescribed by law.

5. Announcement of application processing results:

a) If the application is submitted directly at the single-window unit of the competent authority, the official receiving it shall give 01 copy of the acknowledgement of application receipt (made using Form No. PC03) to the applicant and retain 01 copy;

b) If the application is submitted via the public service portal of the competent authority, the official receiving the application shall send a notification of application receipt or instruction on application revision to the applicant via email or text message;

c) If the application is submitted by public postal service, the service of an enterprise and individual or authorization as per the law, the official receiving it shall send 01 copy of the acknowledgement of application receipt to the applicant and retain 01 copy.

6. The person sent to submit the application by the applicant must have a letter of introduction or letter of authorization and present their unexpired identity card or passport.

7. Within 07 working days starting from the date of receipt of the application for operation resumption, the person having issued the temporary suspension decision or suspension decision must inspect elimination of the direct fire or explosion risk or remedy of the violation against fire prevention and fighting regulations or fire safety requirements, record the inspection in writing (using Form No. PC10), consider and decide to issue the operation resumption decision (using Form No. PC16). If the operation resumption decision is not issued, a written explanation must be provided for the applicant in the way in which the applicant sent their application.

8. The operation resumption decision must be delivered to the entity whose operation is imposed temporary suspension or suspension, supervisory body thereof (if any), and the People's Committee of the commune or district where the premises or place of residence of the temporarily suspended or suspended entity are/is located; and posted on websites and via the media.