HCM City: Explosions and fires fall in quarter 1 hinh anh 1Firefighters extinguish a fire at a garage in HCM City on January 30 (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNA) – In the first three months of this year, 121 fires occurred in Ho Chi Minh City, injuring nine people.

The fires were equivalent to three-fourth of the number reported during the same period last year.

The fires causes economic damage estimated at 54 billion VND (2.5 million USD), a reduction of 272 billion VND (12.5 million USD) over the same period last year. However, 28 cases were not included in the estimate.

The main cause of fires in the city is carelessness by users, accounting for 80 percent of the total cases, Colonel Tran Thanh Chau, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Fire Prevention and Fighting, said at a press conference held on April 8.

He reported that there were no explosions during the period but warned against indiscriminate burning of vegetation and garbage.-VNA
VNA