Buzz
I'm currently at Zone 9, evacuating due to today's fire. Just read the news online, and it's disheartening to see most Vietnamese journalists sensationalizing and exploiting others' deaths.
I was at the scene during the fire. In reality, the fire was quite small, quickly extinguished by people. However, due to the toxic smoke, some workers ran inside to escape the flames, resulting in suffocation. Such negligence could occur anywhere in this country. If one associates that incident with labeling the entire Zone 9 as particularly unsafe regarding fires, it cannot be accurate.
Despite being a densely populated area, Zone 9 is generally considered safe in Hanoi. It is surrounded by open spaces, allowing fire trucks easy access from all sides. Hospitals, emergency services, and fire stations are nearby. The buildings are low-rise, well-ventilated, and contain minimal flammable materials, reducing the likelihood of fire spread. Moreover, this area is always populated, so any incident would be immediately noticed. Compared to the 70% of residential areas in central Hanoi situated in narrow alleys where fire trucks cannot access and the population density is high, or in apartments where nobody knows anyone and which floor is which, which place is safer?
Take the previous fall incident as an example. The railing was newly constructed, still wet, with clear warning signs, yet people sat on it to take photos. When they fell, they claimed the entire neighborhood was shaky and could collapse anywhere. However, they fell from a staircase only 1m high, which was exaggerated in the news. Their preoccupation with taking photos, falling, hitting their heads, and losing consciousness was simply coincidental; accidents can happen even on level ground.
Most of the developers of Zone 9 are architects, not ignorant enough to overlook whether the structure is safe or not. In fact, the structures of these buildings are overly safe, built during the subsidized era, with no expense spared on cement, steel, unlike the current trend. So much effort went into transforming a dilapidated place into a vibrant, attractive living space, potentially serving as a pilot project for urban planning in Vietnam.
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Source: Travel Guide Mytour - By Pho Duc Tung on soi.com.vn
MytourJanuary 2nd, 2014
