Chương 2 Nghị định 35/2003/NĐ-CP: Phòng cháy

Chapter II

FIRE PREVENTION

Article 8.- Establishments prone to fires and explosions

Fire and/or explosion-prone establishments prescribed in Clause 4, Article 3 of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting include factories, enterprises, storehouses, working offices, hospitals, schools, theatres, hotels, marketplaces, trade centers, army barracks and other works prescribed in Appendix 1 to this Decree.

Article 9.- Fire prevention and fighting safety conditions for establishments

1. Establishments which are arranged in certain areas, have managers, operate and need independent fire prevention and fighting plans must satisfy the following fire prevention and fighting safety conditions:

a) Having regulations, internal rules, ban signals, signboards, diagrams or instruction boards on fire prevention and fighting, escapes, suitable to the characteristics and nature of their operations;

b) Having regulations on, and assigning responsibilities and tasks for, fire prevention and fighting at the establishments;

c) Having written approval of fire prevention and fighting for projects which require fire prevention and fighting designs and approval;

d) The electric system, electric equipment, lightning-arresting systems, places where flame is used or heat is generated must ensure fire prevention and fighting safety;

e) Having fire prevention and fighting technical process suitable to their production, business or service conditions;

f) Having the grassroots fire prevention and fighting forces trained in fire prevention and fighting operations and organized to be ready for fire fighting, meeting the on-spot fire-fighting demands; having the fire fighting and escape plans already approved by competent authorities;

g) Having fire-alarming, fire-fighting and fire-checking systems, other fire prevention and fighting means, human rescue means, suitable to the nature and characteristics of the establishments, ensuring the quantity, quality and operations thereof as provided for by the Ministry of Public Security as well as fire prevention and fighting standards; having traffic, water supply, communications and information systems in service of fire fighting at the establishments as provided for;

h) Having dossiers on management and monitoring of fire prevention and fighting activities as provided for.

2. For other establishments, the fire prevention and fighting safety conditions prescribed in Clause 1 of this Decree shall be met in conformity with the scale and nature of operation of those establishments.

3. The fire prevention and fighting safety conditions prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article must be met and maintained throughout the process of operation. For establishments prescribed in Appendix 2 to this Decree, before being put into operation, they must be certified by the Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Department or Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Sections of the provincial-level Police Departments as having fully satisfied the fire prevention and fighting conditions.

The Ministry of Public Security shall specify the form of "fire prevention and fighting condition satisfaction certificate" and the procedures for the granting thereof.

Article 10.- Fire prevention and fighting safety conditions for population quarters

1. Having regulations and internal rules on fire prevention and fighting, on the use of electricity, the use of flame, flammables and explosion-prone substances; having ban signals, signboards, diagrams or instruction boards on fire prevention and fighting, escapes, suitable to the characteristics of the population quarters.

2. Having the approved fire prevention and fighting designs, for newly constructed population quarters.

3. The electric system must ensure the fire prevention and fighting safety standards.

4. Having fire prevention and fighting means with quantity and quality prescribed by the Ministry of Public Security and up to the fire prevention and fighting standards; having measures against spread of fires; having traffic systems and water sources in service of fire fighting as provided for; having fire-fighting, escape plans already approved by competent authorities.

5. Having civil-defense forces trained in fire prevention and fighting operations and organized to be ready to fight fires, meeting the on-spot fire-fighting requirements.

6. Having dossiers on management and monitoring of fire prevention and fighting activities as provided for by the Ministry of Public Security.

Article 11.- Fire prevention and fighting safety conditions for family households

1. Cooking places, worshipping places, places of flame or heat sources, flame- or heat-generating equipment, electric systems and electric equipment must ensure fire prevention and fighting safety.

2. Assets, supplies, flammables must be stored, arranged, preserved and used strictly according to regulations on fire prevention and fighting safety.

3. Having anticipations of fire circumstances, escape and fire-fighting measures; having fire-fighting means suitable to the characteristics of activities of the family households and ensuring their quantity and quality under the guidance of the Ministry of Public Security.

Article 12.- Fire prevention and fighting safety conditions for motorized traffic means

1. Motorized traffic means with 4 seats or more, motorized traffic means carrying fire and/or explosion-prone dangerous substances or commodities must ensure and maintain the following fire prevention and fighting safety conditions:

a) Having regulations, internal rules, ban signals, signboards, diagrams or instruction boards on fire prevention and fighting, escapes, suitable to the characteristics and nature of the means’ operations;

b) The means-operating process, the electric systems, the fuel systems, the arrangement of people, supplies and commodities onboard the means must ensure fire prevention and fighting safety;

c) Operators of motorized traffic means must learn about the fire prevention and fighting know-hows in the course of training for being granted the driving licenses; for motorized traffic means operators enjoying responsibility allowances and persons who operate, work onboard and work as attendants on motorized traffic means with 30 seats or more, or on special-use traffic means carrying fire- and/or explosion- prone dangerous substances or commodities must have certificates of training in fire prevention and fighting operations, issued by competent fire-fighting police offices;

d) Having fire-fighting means suitable to the means’ requirements, natures and characteristics, ensuring the quantity, quality and operations thereof under the regulations of the Ministry of Public Security and the fire prevention and fighting standards.

2. Motorized traffic means with special requirements on fire prevention and fighting safety, including special-use ships, trains used for transportation of passengers, petroleum, other flammable liquids, gas, explosive materials, fire- and/or explosion-prone chemicals must be approved in term of fire prevention and fighting when they are newly built or transformed, and the registries shall grant registration and inspection certificates only after the Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Department or Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Sections of the provincial-level Police Departments certify the full satisfaction of fire prevention and fighting conditions.

3. Motorized traffic means, when carrying fire- and/or explosion-prone substances or commodities of types 1, 2, 3, 4 and 9 prescribed in Appendix 1 to Decree No. 13/2003/ND-CP of February 19, 2003 of the Government, must have permits for transportation of fire-and/or explosion-prone substances or commodities, issued by the Ministry of Public Security.

The Ministry of Public Security shall specify the form of, the procedures and competence for granting, "permits for transportation of fire-and/or explosion-prone substances, commodities."

Article 13.- Fire prevention and fighting requirements upon the elaboration of plannings or projects on construction or renovation of urban centers, population quarters, special economic zones, industrial parks, export-processing zones, hi-tech parks

Upon the elaboration of plannings, projects on construction or transformation of urban centers, population quarters, special economic zones, industrial parks, export-processing zones, hi-tech parks, there must be fire prevention and fighting designing solutions, ensuring the following contents:

1. Locations for construction of works, work clusters, arrangement of land plots and housing blocks must ensure to combat fire spread, minimize the harms of heat, smoke and noxious gas emitted from the fires for surrounding population quarters and works;

2. Traffic systems and space must be designed with enough sizes and load capacity for motorized fire-fighting means to deploy fire-fighting activities;

3. The water supply systems must ensure the supply of water for fire fighting; the information and communications system, electricity supply system must ensure the service for fire-fighting activities, fire-alarming communications;

4. Arranging locations for building up fire prevention and fighting units at central areas convenient for traffic, information and communications and large enough for activities of combat readiness, drills, preservation, maintenance of fire-fighting means as provided for by the Ministry of Public Security;

5. The projects must contain estimates of funding for fire prevention and fighting work items.

Article 14.- Fire prevention and fighting requirements upon the project elaboration and project construction designs

Upon the elaboration of projects and designs for construction, renovation or changing the utility of projects, there must be fire prevention and fighting designing solutions ensuring the following contents:

1. The locations for construction of projects must ensure fire prevention and fighting safety distance for surrounding works;

2. The fire-resistance degree or extent of projects must conform to the scale and nature of operations of the projects; having solutions to check fires and combat fire spread between project items and between projects;

3. Manufacturing technologies, electric systems, lightning-arresting system, and anti-explosion systems of projects as well as machinery, equipment and supplies must be arranged to ensure the fire prevention and fighting safety requirements;

4. The fire escape system comprises doors, passages, corridors, common elevators, doors, passages and escape stairs, equipment for lighting and directing exits, ventilation and smoke blowing equipment, rescue equipment, signaling equipment, ensuring fast and safe escapes upon fire occurrence;

5. Traffic systems, parking lots in service of the operations of motorized fire-fighting means must ensure prescribed sizes and load capacity; the system of water supply for fire fighting must ensure the requirements of serving the fire fighting;

6. Fire-alarming system, fire-fighting system and other fire-fighting means must be enough, the installation locations and technical parameters must conform with the characteristics and nature of operation of the projects;

7. The projects and designs must contain estimates of funding for fire prevention and fighting project items.

Article 15.- Fire prevention and fighting fundings in investment and construction

1. The fire prevention and fighting fundings in investment and construction shall include fundings for fire prevention and fighting project items prescribed in Articles 13 and 14 of this Decree and other fundings for the elaboration of projects, designs, appraisal and approval, experimentation, testing, construction, test and acceptance of fire prevention and fighting items. The fire prevention and fighting funding in investment and construction must be arranged right at the stage of elaboration of planning projects, investment and work design projects.

2. The Finance Ministry shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Public Security in prescribing norms for fire prevention and fighting fundings in investment and construction.

Article 16.- Fire prevention and fighting designs, appraisal and approval

1. Projects, works or work items (hereinafter referred collectively to as works) prescribed in Appendix 3 to this Decree belonging to all investment capital sources, when being newly constructed, renovated or utility-related changed, must have fire prevention and fighting designs made by fully capable agencies and must be appraised and approved in term of fire prevention and fighting before the construction thereof.

Works not on the list prescribed in Appendix 3 to this Decree, when being newly constructed, renovated or utility-related changed, must also have designs ensuring the fire prevention and fighting requirements prescribed by law, but shall not be subject to appraisal and approval in term of fire prevention and fighting.

Basing itself on the socio-economic development situation in each period, the Ministry of Public Security shall submit to the Prime Minister for decision appropriate supplements and amendments to the list of projects and works requiring designs and appraisal and approval in term of fire prevention and fighting prescribed in Appendix 3 to this Decree.

2. The competent Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Offices shall be responsible for appraisal and approval of fire prevention and fighting for planning projects, work construction and designing projects prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article according to the contents prescribed in Article 15 of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting and Article 13 or 14 of this Decree. The written fire prevention and fighting appraisal and approval shall serve as one of the bases for the competent agencies to approve projects, designs and grant construction permits. The Ministry of Public Security shall prescribe the decentralization of fire prevention and fighting appraisal and approval.

3. A fire prevention and fighting appraisal and approval dossier includes:

a) The written request for fire prevention and fighting appraisal and approval, made by the investor; where the investor authorizes another unit to do it, the letter of authorization must be enclosed therewith;

b) The copies of the investment license and planning certificate or location agreement of the competent State management body;

c) Drawings and explanations expressing contents of fire prevention and fighting requirements prescribed in Article 13 or 14 of this Decree.

A fire prevention and fighting appraisal and approval dossier shall be made in 3 sets; it the dossiers are made in foreign language(s), the Vietnamese translations thereof must be enclosed therewith and the dossiers must be certified by the investors.

4. The fire prevention and fighting appraisal and approval shall be conducted simultaneously with the construction appraisal and approval. The fire prevention and fighting appraisal and approval time limit shall be counted from the time of receiving the complete and valid dossiers and prescribed as follows:

a) Not exceeding 20 working days for planning projects, construction projects;

b) Not exceeding 30 working days for technical designs of Group A projects; not exceeding 20 working days for projects of Group B or C.

The classification of projects in Groups A, B and C at this Point shall comply with the current Regulation on investment and construction management.

5. Fundings for fire prevention and fighting appraisal and approval shall be determined in the investment capital of projects, works.

The Finance Ministry shall consult with the Ministry of Public Security in determining charge and fee levels for fire prevention and fighting appraisal and approval.

Article 17.- Responsibilities of designing agencies, investors, construction contractors and Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Offices in investment and work construction

1. The fire prevention and fighting designing agencies have the responsibilities:

a) To design to ensure the fire prevention and fighting requirements; take responsibility for the designing product quality in the period of work construction and use;

b) To exercise the author’s supervision in the course of work construction and installation;

c) To participate in test and acceptance of works.

2. The investors have the responsibilities:

a) To submit the fire prevention and fighting appraisal and approval dossiers prescribed in Clause 3, Article 16 of this Decree;

b) To organize the construction according to the appraised and approved designs. In case of change in fire prevention and fighting designs and equipment in the course of construction, the investors must explain or make supplementary designs which must be re-appraised and approved;

c) To organize the inspection and supervision of work construction and test as well as acceptance;

d) To ensure safety on work fire prevention and fighting and explosion prevention throughout the process of construction till the works are tested, accepted and put to use.

3. The construction contractors have the responsibilities:

a) To conduct construction according to the appraised and approved designs;

b) To ensure fire prevention and fighting safety, explosion prevention in areas under their management throughout the process of construction and installation till the works are handed over;

c) To compile dossiers on construction completion, to prepare documents in service of the work test and acceptance and to participate in work test and acceptance.

4. The Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Offices have the responsibilities:

a) To appraise and approve fire prevention and fighting contents and requirements for projects and designs strictly according to standards and law provisions and must ensure the appraisal and approval time limits prescribed in Clause 4, Article 16 of this Decree;

b) To expertise fire prevention and fighting equipment and means before they are installed; to inspect the construction and installation of fire prevention and fighting equipment according to the approved designs; to check fire prevention and fighting safety in the process of work construction, test and acceptance;

c) To join in the pre-acceptance tests of works and issue fire prevention and fighting test and acceptance for works which are subject to fire prevention and fighting appraisal and approval.

Article 18.- Fire prevention and fighting test and acceptance

Construction works which have been appraised and approved in term of fire prevention and fighting must be subject to pre-acceptance test of fire prevention and fighting before the investors proceed with the test and acceptance of works. The fire prevention and fighting test and acceptance covers the test and acceptance of each part, each stage, each item and the test, acceptance and hand-over of the entire works; for hidden parts of works, they must be tested and accepted before proceeding to next jobs.

The fire prevention and fighting test and acceptance documents shall serve as one of the bases for the investors to test and accept, settle and put the works to use.

Article 19.- Inspection of fire prevention and fighting safety

1. The inspection of fire prevention and fighting safety shall be carried out with the following contents:

a) The satisfaction of fire prevention and fighting safety conditions by each of the subjects defined in Articles 9, 10, 11, 12 and other relevant articles of this Decree and other law provisions;

b) The fulfillment of fire prevention and fighting responsibility by each of the subjects defined in Articles 3, 4, 5 and relevant articles of this Decree and other law provisions;

c) The observance of standards and law provisions on fire prevention and fighting as well as fire prevention and fighting requests of competent persons or agencies.

2. The fire prevention and fighting safety inspection shall be conducted according to the regime of regular, periodical and unexpected inspections.

3. The responsibilities for fire prevention and fighting safety inspection are prescribed as follows:

a) The establishment heads, the commune-level People’s Committee presidents, motorized traffic means owners, forest owners, family masters shall have to organize the fire prevention and fighting safety inspection in areas under their respective management according to the inspection regime prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article;

b) The heads of agencies or organizations, the presidents of the People’s Committees of the district or higher level have the responsibility to organize the fire prevention and fighting safety inspection according to the regime of periodical and unexpected inspections within areas under their respective management;

c) The fire prevention and fighting police offices have the responsibilities to inspect the fire prevention and fighting safety quarterly, for establishments exposed to fire and explosion dangers and motorized traffic means requiring special fire prevention and fighting safety; biannually or annually for remaining subjects; and unexpectedly upon the appearance of signs of fire prevention and fighting dangers or unsafety or violations of regulations on fire prevention and fighting safety and upon special protection requests.

4. The Ministry of Public Security shall specify the procedures for fire prevention and fighting safety inspection.

Article 20.- Suspension and extended suspension of operations of establishments, motorized traffic means, activities of family households and/or individuals, that fail to ensure fire prevention and fighting safety, and restoration of operations and acitvities

1. Cases of operation suspension prescribed in Clause 1, Article 29 of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting are construed as follows:

a) Direct fire and/or explosion dangers means the appearance in the fire and/or explosion danger environment of flame or heat sources or the appearance of fire and/or explosion danger environment when flame or heat sources are available;

b) Particularly serious violations of regulations on fire prevention and fighting mean violations which, if not being stopped in time, may lead to direct fire and/or explosion dangers or may cause particularly serious consequences upon the occurrence of fires or explosions;

c) Serious violations of regulations on fire prevention and fighting means the violations which may lead to fires and/or explosions with serious consequences which are requested by competent State management bodies in charge of fire prevention and fighting to be overcome, but have not yet been overcome though administrative sanctions were imposed.

2. The suspension of operations of establishments, motorized traffic means and/or activities of family households and individuals as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article is limited within the smallest scope and effected according to the principle that suspension shall be effected only on activities in domains where the direct fire and/or explosion dangers have emerged or where the violations of fire prevention and fighting regulations are committed. When the operations of sections or entire establishments, motorized traffic means and activities of family households and individuals are affected and the direct fire and/or explosion dangers emerge, such operations and activities shall also be suspended.

3. The operation or activities suspension duration is determined on the basis of the conditions and capabilities to eliminate the direct fire and/or explosion dangers, the capabilities to redress the violations of fire prevention and fighting regulations, but must not exceed 30 days. If past the operation or activities suspension time limit the direct fire and/or explosion dangers have not yet been eliminated or the violations of the fire prevention and fighting regulations have not yet been redressed, the extended suspension shall be considered, but must not exceed 30 days. In special cases where the duration of extended suspension of operation has expired while the direct fire and/or explosion dangers have not yet been eliminated or the violations of the fire prevention and fighting regulations have not yet been redressed, the persons who issued the suspension decisions shall report such to the competent superior authorities who shall consider and decide on further extension or handle such cases according to law provisions.

4. During the operation or activities suspension, if the direct fire and/or explosion dangers are eliminated or the violations of the fire prevention and fighting regulations are redressed, the operation shall be restored.

5. The operation or activities suspension decisions and the operation restoration decisions shall be expressed in writing or verbally; where the competent persons make verbal decisions, such decisions must be expressed in writing within the shortest time. In cases where after the competent persons make verbal decisions the direct fire and/or explosion dangers are eliminated or the violations of the fire prevention and fighting regulations are redressed, they may make verbal decisions on operation restoration.

The heads of establishments, agencies, organizations or family households, the motorized traffic means operators or owners and individuals, when receiving the suspension decisions, must strictly abide by them and have the responsibility to eliminate the direct fire and/or explosion dangers or redress the violations of the fire prevention and fighting regulations within the shortest time.

6. Competence to suspend operation, extend operation suspension and restore operation is stipulated as follows:

a) The Minister of Public Security or authorized persons are entitled to decide on suspension of operations of establishment sections or entire establishments or motorized traffic means and activities of family households or individuals nationwide; the special cases shall be reported to the Prime Minister for decision;

b) The People’s Committee presidents at all levels are entitled to decide on suspension of establishment sections, entire establishments, motorized traffic means, activities of family households or individuals falling within the scope of their respective management responsibilities;

c) The director of the Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Department and the heads of Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Sections shall, within the ambit of their respective jurisdiction, be entitled to decide to suspend the operations of parts or whole of establishments, motorized traffic means, or activities of family households or individuals;

d) The fire prevention and fighting safety inspection police shall be entitled to suspend the operations of parts or whole of establishments, motorized traffic means, activities of family households or individuals when there exist direct fire and/or explosion dangers, and must promptly report such to the competent immediate superiors;

e) Persons competent to issue operation or activity suspension decisions shall be entitled to extend the operation or activity suspension and to restore the suspended operation or activities.

7. The Ministry of Public Security shall specify the forms of "operation suspension decisions," "extended operation suspension decisions," "operation restoration decisions"; the procedures for operation suspension, operation suspension extension and operation restoration.

Article 21.- Suspension of operations of establishments, motorized traffic means, activities of family households and individuals, that fail to ensure fire prevention and fighting safety

1. Establishments, motorized traffic means, family housesholds and individuals, that are suspended from operations or activities under the provisions in Clause 1, Article 20 of this Decree, but, upon the expiry of the suspension duration, still fail to or cannot overcome the situation and threaten to cause fires and/or explosions with serious consequences, shall be subject to stoppage of their operations or activities. The operation or activity stoppage may be imposed on part or whole of the activities of establishments, motorized traffic means, family households and/or individuals.

2. Competent persons defined at Points a, b and c, Clause 6, Article 20 of this Decree, who have powers to suspend the operations or activities of any subjects, shall be entitled to stop the operations or activities of such subjects.

3. The Ministry of Public Security shall prescribe the form of "operation stoppage decisions" and the procedures for operation stoppages.