After several fires broke out in Ha Noi markets, deputy chairman of the city People's Committee Nguyen Ngoc Tuan asked districts and towns to ensure that local markets conformed to fire regulations.
Districts and towns were told to set up teams to conduct surprise inspections and report violators to the city authorities. Markets that failed to meet regulations could be suspended until completing the necessary upgrades and repairs.
A fire killed one woman and injured four others in Long Bien District's Thuong Thanh Market in November.
Several days later, fires in Bac Tu Liem District's Cau Dien Market and Tay Ho District's Nhat Tan Market destroyed billions of dong worth of goods.
Deputy director of the Ha Noi Department of Fire Fighting To Xuan Thieu told the Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that the fires were caused by dry weather.
Moreover, residents lacked awareness about fire prevention measures and when fires occurred, they informed the department too late, he said.
Another factor was the huge amount of goods that vendors stocked up before Tet, which will fall in February.
"Some market management boards organised training for local firemen, but they only worked for form's sake and did not pay enough attention," said Thieu.
Thieu said that from now until Tet, the city faced a high risk of fire due to the dry weather, especially in places with a large number of goods and people.
"We asked markets to improve the spread of information via loudspeakers and will hold more market inspections," he said.
