Issue of October 2024 – New Regulations on fire prevention and firefighting for enterprises

Dear Valued Clients,

On July 10, 2024, the Ministry of Public Security issued Circular No. 32/2024/TT-BCA (“Circular 32”), amending Circular No. 149/2020/TT-BCA (“Circular 149”) dated December 31, 2020 of Minister of Public Security elaborating the Law on Fire prevention and firefighting and the Law on amendment to the Law on Fire prevention and firefighting and Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP (“Decree 136”) dated November 24, 2020 of the Government elaborating the Law on Fire prevention and firefighting and the Law on amendment to the Law on Fire prevention and firefighting and Circular No. 08/2018/TT-BCA dated March 5, 2018 of Minister of Public Security elaborating Decree No. 83/2017/ND-CP (“Decree 83”) dated July 18, 2017 of the Government on rescue operations of fire brigade. Accordingly, Circular 32 has been amended and supplemented on the entitlement to approve firefighting solutions; fire drill interval; management and monitoring documents for fire prevention and firefighting… officially taking effect from August 24, 2024.

In this Legal Update, we would like to summarize and clarify new regulations on fire prevention and fighting that enterprises need to pay attention to in the coming time.

1. Amendments to management records, monitoring of fire prevention and fighting activities

Pursuant to Article 1.1 of Circular 32, the records of management and monitoring of fire prevention and fighting activities of facilities in the list specified in Appendix III issued together with Decree No. 50/2024/ND-CP (“Decree 50”) dated May 10, 2024 of the Government amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 136 dated November 24, 2020 of the Government detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting and Decree 83 dated July 18, 2017 of the Government regulating rescue work of the fire prevention and fighting force established and kept by the head of the facility will include the following records:

• Decision to issue internal regulations, directives and instructions on fire prevention and fighting; decision to assign responsibilities and tasks in implementing fire prevention and fighting work of the facility (if any);
• Certificate of design approval, design approval document on fire prevention and fighting, document approving the results of fire prevention and fighting acceptance that have been issued;
• Copy of the master plan drawing showing traffic, water source for fire fighting, functional arrangement of items, technological lines in the facility approved by competent authority (if any);
• Decision to establish a fire prevention and fighting team at the facility, specialized fire prevention and fighting team in cases where it must be established according to regulations;
• Certificate of professional training in fire prevention and fighting, rescue and salvage issued by competent police authority;
• Fire prevention and fighting plan at the facility approved by competent authority; plan and report on results of organizing Fire prevention and fighting plan practice at the facility;
• Fire prevention and fighting inspection records of competent agencies and persons; written recommendations on fire prevention and fighting; records of violations, decisions on administrative sanctions for violations of fire prevention and fighting; decisions on temporary suspension, decisions on suspension of operations, decisions on restoration of operations by competent agencies (if any); reports on changes in fire prevention and fighting safety conditions of the facility;
• Report on the results of periodic fire prevention and fighting inspections every 6 months by the head of the facility;
• Reports on fire, explosion, accidents (if any); notice on fire incident verification and settlement results issued by competent authority (if any);
• Certificate of eligibility to provide fire prevention and fighting services in case of fire prevention and fighting service providers;
• Certificate of compulsory fire and explosion insurance for establishments on the list of establishments at risk of fire and explosion;
• Documents recording earth ground resistance, inspection of pressure system, equipment, and pipes (if any).

Thus, to comply with the new legal regulations on fire prevention and fighting, Circular 32 has supplemented a number of records for managing and monitoring fire prevention and fighting activities of facilities in the list specified in Appendix III issued with Decree 50 such as:

• Minutes of fire prevention and fighting inspection according to Article 16.3(d) of Decree 136;
• Fire prevention and fighting inspection results report according to Appendix III issued with Decree 50;
• Certificate of compulsory fire and explosion insurance according to Appendix II issued with Decree 67/2023/ND-CP.

2. Subjects required to establish specialized fire prevention and fighting teams

In addition to amending the records of management and monitoring of fire prevention and fighting activities, Circular 32 also amends the establishment of specialized fire prevention and fighting teams in Article 13 of Circular 149. Accordingly, the following facilities must establish specialized fire prevention and fighting teams:

• Nuclear facilities
• Airports, seaports
• Oil and gas exploitation and processing facilities
• Coal mining facilities;
• Production facilities, arsenals, explosives;
• National reserve warehouses; oil and petroleum product warehouses with a total capacity of 15,000 m³ or more; hydropower plants with a capacity of 300 MW or more; thermal power plants with a capacity of 200 MW or more; nitrogen fertilizer production facilities with a capacity of 180,000 tons/year or more; Industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech zones, industrial clusters with an area of ​​50 hectares or more. In case facilities or industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech zones, industrial clusters are located in the same premises or adjacent to each other and are directly managed and operated by a unit, a specialized fire prevention and fighting team can be established.

3. Entitlement to approve firefighting solutions

From August 24, 2024, the entitlement to approve firefighting solutions [1] is stipulated as follows:

• Director of Department of Fire safety, Fire prevention and fighting, and Rescue affiliated to provincial police department shall approve firefighting solutions of the police department in respect of facilities at risk of conflagration, residential areas at high risk of conflagration in areas in which they perform firefighting and rescue operations and grassroots firefighting solutions in respect of facilities under Appendix III attached to Decree 50 under their management;
• Director of district police department shall approve fire prevention and fighting solutions of the police department in respect of facilities at risk of conflagration, residential areas at high risk of conflagration in the areas in which they perform firefighting and rescue operations and grassroots firefighting solutions in respect of facilities named under Appendix III attached to Decree 50 under their management;
• Chairperson of commune-level People’s Committee shall approve firefighting solutions in respect of residential areas under their management;
• The head of the facility[2] approves the firefighting solutions of the facility under its management;
• Owners of motorized vehicles under special safety requirements pertaining to fire prevention and fighting shall approve firefighting solutions in respect of motorized vehicles under their management.

Within 5 working days from the date on which Director of Department of Fire safety, Fire prevention and fighting, and Rescue affiliated to provincial police department or director of district police department receives adequate documents, Director of Department of Fire safety, Fire prevention and fighting, and Rescue affiliated to provincial police department and director of district police department are responsible reviewing, approving, and keeping approved grassroots firefighting solutions; issuing written response and reasons for rejection where they do not grant approval.

4. Fire prevention and fighting drills at least once a year

Circular 32 amends and supplements Article 10 of Circular 149 on the specific fire prevention plan practice period [3]as follows:

Firefighting solutions for facilities under fire prevention and fighting management, residential areas, and motor vehicles with special requirements for ensuring fire prevention and fighting safety must be practiced at least once a year and suddenly practiced when there is a requirement to ensure fire prevention and fighting safety for special political, economic, cultural, and social events held in the locality. Each time a firefighting solution is practiced, one or more different situations can be practiced, but it must be ensured that all situations in the plan are practiced in turn.

The firefighting solution of the police agency shall be practiced when requested by the person with the authority to approve the fire fighting solution. Before organizing the practice of the plan, the police agency responsible for organizing the practice of the plan must notify in writing the Chairman of the People’s Committee at the commune level and the head of the facility where the practice is held at least 05 working days before the practice time and send a request to mobilize forces and means to the agencies, organizations, households and individuals mobilized to participate in the practice of the plan at least 05 working days before the practice time.

5. Types of fire prevention and fighting equipment inspection stamps

According to the provisions of Article 1.6 of Circular 32, the inspection stamp affixed on fire prevention and fighting equipment is applied according to the new regulations in Appendix VII issued with Decree 50 that have been inspected and issued a Certificate of inspection of fire prevention and fighting equipment:

– Sample stamp A is used to affix on the following types of equipment: Fire pumps; tools (tanks, drums, cylinders, cans) containing fire extinguishing agents specified in Section 3 of Appendix VII issued with Decree 50;

– Sample stamp D is used to affix on the following types of equipment: Alarm valves, flood valves of fire fighting systems; pipes and non-metallic pipe fittings used in indoor fire fighting water supply systems or used in automatic fire fighting systems using water, flexible pipes used for fire sprinklers;

– Sample stamps B, C, E, G are basically kept in accordance with the old regulations, without any new regulations.

As usual, we hope you find this Legal Update helpful and look forward to working with you in the upcoming time.

Kind regards,

ENT Law LLC

The full version of this Legal Update can be found here.

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[1]Article 1.3 Circular 32.

[2]These facilities are specified in detail in Appendix IV issued with Decree 50 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 136 detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting and Decree 83 regulating rescue work of fire prevention and fighting forces.

[3] Article 1.4 Circular 32.