Over 3,000 join fire drill at Ho Chi Minh City skyscraper

The exercise was organized by the municipal Department of Public Security, with the participation of leaders and representatives from various professional units of the department.

According to the simulated scenario, a fire broke out in the parking area on basement level B3 and in the shopping mall.

Once the incident occurred, the automatic fire alarm system transmitted a signal to the command information center of the Fire Prevention and Fighting and Rescue Police Division.

Upon receiving the alert, the division dispatched over 30 specialized vehicles, including command vehicles, firefighting trucks, aerial ladder trucks and firefighting robots, along with hundreds of officers and firefighters.

The forces quickly arrived at the scene to extinguish the fire and rescue people trapped inside.

As soon as the fire was detected, the building's on-site firefighting team alerted employees and customers and instructed them to evacuate to a safe area.

Besides, the on-site forces coordinated with other functional units to use portable fire extinguishers to tackle the blaze in the motorcycle parking area on basement level B3.

Outside the building, Saigon Ward police worked with traffic police officers to clear vehicles from Le Loi Street and Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street.

Officers also regulated traffic and established roadblocks to facilitate the emergency response.

At the scene, firefighters divided into multiple teams to approach the affected areas.

They sprayed water into the building to extinguish the flames and prevent the fire from spreading.

Aerial ladder trucks were deployed to search for and rescue people trapped on upper floors.

Two TAF35 firefighting robots were also mobilized and sent deep inside the building to assist with firefighting operations.

After a period of implementing the planned response measures, the fire was brought under control.

Colonel Tran Trung Hieu, head of the division under the municipal department, said the first two minutes of a fire is considered the ‘golden period’ for organizing an on-site response.

This is one of the key messages that the fire prevention, firefighting and rescue forces seek to convey to personnel at facilities.

Detecting and containing a fire immediately is critically important, as the blaze must be brought under control on site before professional firefighters arrive.

Therefore, such drills not only raise awareness and improve the skills of on-site personnel but also give them practical experience in carrying out firefighting plans and handling emergencies during the first few minutes.