Flames erupt as victims remain trapped
At over 1:00 a.m. on September 5, a fire reportedly broke out at a vegetable kiosk owned by Mr. T’s family in a Dong Hung Thuan Ward alley. The local police force swiftly coordinated with the Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue Police Division (under the HCMC Public Security Department) to extinguish the blaze. However, Mr. T. was tragically trapped inside the inferno and perished; his wife was guided outside but couldn’t survive subsequently.
Less than two months prior, a devastating fire struck a house operating concurrently as an eatery at 56D Ngo Duc Ke Street, leaving five people dead. Spanning roughly 4 by 20 meters, the property doubled as a family-run restaurant with a rear kitchen. As flames ignited from the cooking area, the sole ground-floor exit was rapidly engulfed by toxic smoke, leaving everyone inside nearly no viable escape route.
Practical evidence indicates fires causing catastrophic losses in these multi-purpose houses aren’t exactly a novel phenomenon. Blazes typically originate on the ground floor, a hub for kitchens, merchandise, motorbikes, plus electrical systems, before swiftly barricading staircases alongside main doors, rendering occupants trapped before they can react.
Victims invariably fall into this grim scenario, such as the To Ky Street fire killing a mother alongside her two children, plus the Tran Hung Dao Street blaze claiming four lives recently.
Such multi-purpose houses remain exceedingly prevalent. Inside a Truong Chinh Street alley residence, Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh’s family runs an outsourced tailoring business. The ground floor houses sewing machines, fabrics, cooking spaces, plus parked motorbikes at night; the upper floor serves as sleeping quarters. Featuring only a single ground-floor main door, the upstairs balcony is considered a backup escape trajectory. Should an explosion erupt below, fleeing upstairs is merely a stopgap solution.
For Ms. Hanh, the grim reality became undeniable. “Ater witnessing these fires and receiving police propaganda, I finally realized the risk is incredibly close; my family self-inspected our electrical system, reorganized the production area, and purchased fire extinguishers,” she explained.
It isn’t just in heavily populated working-class neighborhoods; numerous downtown HCMC houses are in a similarly precarious predicament. Down alleyways of Bui Vien, Ho Hao Hon, or Ben Van Don streets, myriad small houses feature narrow pathways, their ground floors packed with flammable goods. Many installed roller doors, “tiger-cage-like” iron grilles, plus massive signs completely concealing upper-floor balconies. At night, once locked tight, escaping a ground-floor fire is practically zero.
According to the HCMC Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue Police Division, elevated fire risks in multi-purpose properties stem directly from residents altering usage functions without guaranteeing vital safety conditions.
Numerous households stack combustible merchandise that entirely blocks pathways, completely lacking smoke containment strategies between their business hubs and living quarters.
Furthermore, charging electric vehicles or backup batteries remains haphazard, frequently left near flammables without proper protective devices.
Adding escape routes diminishes imminent hazards
Roller doors can easily become insurmountable barriers for escape during sudden emergencies. Meanwhile, “tiger-cage-like” iron grilles sealing off balconies don’t just block escape routes; they simultaneously hinder rescue forces.
Facing this grim reality, authorities have actively mobilized residents to dismantle these cages and open secondary escape routes. As of June 2026, roughly 97.8 percent of targeted apartments had reportedly completed opening a second exit, while the dismantling of unauthorized extensions reached 80 percent.
Over in Tan Son Hoa Ward, where over 80 percent of street-facing houses concurrently operate as businesses, local police have visited households to provide hands-on guidance regarding escape routes and firefighting equipment.
For Mr. Vu Duc Tuan, the owner of a house doubling as an eatery, proactive measures are undeniably essential. “After receiving instructions from the ward police, my family equipped two fire extinguishers, opened additional escape routes, and hung keys in a highly visible location,” he elaborated. During business hours, motorbikes are walked outside, and gas cylinders are strictly locked after cooking.
In Dong Hung Thuan Ward, rather than relying on generic propaganda, functional forces enter every single home, meticulously scrutinizing electrical appliances, gas setups, and miscellaneous items left on balconies.
Alongside the police, localities are cleverly promoting grassroots forces. For Mr. Phung The Vinh, a Party Cell Secretary in Hoa Hung Ward, fire prevention is paramount for maintaining social order. Consequently, the locality deployed Joint-Family Fire Safety Groups to act as core forces, conducting training while standing ready to intervene when emergencies strike.
Recent blazes have delivered an exceptionally clear lesson: it’s increasingly imperative to segregate living spaces from storage areas, rigorously control heat sources, and strictly prevent the ground floor from morphing into a deadly trap.
Opening a secondary escape route isn’t merely a bureaucratic formality; it’s practically a vital lifeline. A roof access door or a strategically placed demolition hammer can instantly become lifesaving tools when smoke closes in.
According to Division PC07, the vast majority of fatalities in these fires aren’t caused by burns, but rather by asphyxiation from toxic smoke.
Smoke in contemporary fires is typically generated by modern materials like PVC plastic and polyurethane foam. Carbon Monoxide (CO) rapidly displaces oxygen, causing victims to swiftly lose consciousness and perish. Meanwhile, Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN), emitted from plastics, is a potent neurotoxin that paralyzes cellular respiration after just a few breaths.
Consequently, toxic smoke proliferates alarmingly fast within enclosed spaces, rendering victims unconscious well before flames arrive. Citizens urgently need to arm themselves with anti-asphyxiation skills and move swiftly toward emergency exits.
The Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue Police Division reported that the city currently houses approximately 109,000 facilities interwoven within residential areas that fall under fire safety management; this includes over 34,000 combined residential and commercial properties, more than 55,000 boarding houses and partitioned rental homes, upwards of 5,000 warehouses, and 16,000 small-scale manufacturing facilities.
