Fire Management of High-Rise Buildings: a Case Study In

FIRE MANAGEMENT OF HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS: A CASE STUDY IN HANOI, VIETNAM NGUYEN THI THUY LINH A Thesis Submitted to Asia e University in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 2021 i ABSTRACT Fires can cause great damages to properties, injuries and even loss to human life. In high rises, they are mostly caused by accidents or deliberate act of arson. In most countries government relies on policies incorporated into laws, rules and procedures to control fires and managed them through the establishment of specialist organization, such as the Fire and Rescue Department. This indicates that traditionally, control structure relies heavily on bureaucracy. Little has been discussed about other control alternatives. This study was carried out to fill this void and seeks to answer three questions. First, what are the root-causes of accidental fires in HRB? Second, is bureaucratic control sufficient as a control mechanism? Third, what are the potentials that market or clan control has as an alternative control mechanism to reduce accidental fires in HRB, in Vietnam. The study was carried out as an in-depth case study of four accidental HRB fires which occurred in Hanoi, Vietnam. Data was collected through in-depth analysis of the original reports and relevant documents such as current fire prevention regulations, building by laws and related statute enforced by the VFPPD. Insights of fire incidences was gathered through detailed face to face interviews with relevant stakeholders and those directly affected by the four fire cases. The theoretical framework employed is rooted in the concept of Organizational Control. Data was analyzed using content analysis and findings were framed for theory development based on the Grounded Theory approach. Results showed that bureaucratic control was inadequate to be the only mechanism of control in reducing fire incidences and damages, injuries and fatalities in fire situations. It was too technical and procedural in its approach, making it insufficient as a mechanism to institute effective control. This is because guidelines or definitive legal requirements only provide parameters for rule-following and functions only as a structure to facilitate controls. It cannot guarantee obedience as people are inherently selfish. Procedures, rules and regulations abeyance happened only when those serve their self-interest. Clan control has the potential to enhance organizational control if blended with bureaucratic control. Market control is not suitable because service performance cannot be exactly defined for performance evaluation purposes. In sum, for controls to be effective in the context of fire controls in Vietnam, the need to follow rules must be supplemented by innate sense of shared responsibility as a responsible citizen, and not only by their fear of the consequences of non-rules following. As such, this study suggests, in controlling HRB fires, residents must be educated and trained to enhance their fire prevention and fighting skills and to subconsciously develop a common belief that, collectively, they can prevent and reduce the risks of fires to their residential and workspaces. ii APPROVAL PAGE I certify that I have supervised /read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in quality and scope, as a thesis for the fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Dr Trinh The Dung Faculty of Fire Prevention Fire Fighting and Prevention University, Vietnam Supervisor Examination Committee: Dr Oo Yu Hock Assoc Prof Dr Fadzli Shah Abd Aziz Academic Fellow, School of Management School of Business Management Asia e University Universiti Utara Malaysia Examiner Examiner Prof Dr Chow Wan-Ki Prof Dr Siow Heng Loke Department of Building Services Engineering Dean, School of Graduate Studies The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Asia e University Examiner Chairman, Examination Committee This thesis is submitted to Asia e University and is accepted as fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prof Dr Juhary bin Ali Prof Dr Siow Heng Loke Dean, School of Management Dean, School of Graduate Studies Asia e University Asia e University iii DECLARATION I hereby declare that the thesis submitted in the fulfilment of PhD degree is my own work and that all contributions from any other persons or sources are properly and duly cited. I further declare that the material has not been submitted either in the whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other university. In making this declaration, I understand and acknowledge any breaches in this declaration constitute academic misconduct, which may result in my expulsion from the programme and/or exclusion from the award of the degree. Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh Signature of Candidate Date: 31 January, 2021 iv Copyright by Asia e University v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I acknowledge with extremely grateful gratitude to many people who involved in making this research possible. I am also thankful to the Fire Department for their kind help in collecting data, to all those who have given their time to be interviewed and consulted. I would like to say a very warm thank you. My very special thanks goes to Prof. Dr. Mohammad Adam Bakar for his timely, invaluable support, comments, supplying materials and his patience during the course of my research and thesis writing. I am indebted to Dr. Trinh The Dung for his patient assistance, guidance and moral support and supervision. I should also like to thank Dr. Nguyen Phi Nga for giving me the opportunity to undertake this doctoral study. Finally, I owe a special debt to my family and to my daughter for giving me the time and encouragement to conduct this study. Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh 31 January, 2021 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ii APPROVAL iii DECLARATION iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi TABLE OF CONTENTS vii LIST OF TABLES x LIST OF FIGURES xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Theoretical roots and background of research 3 1.3 Statement of the problem and research questions 7 1.4 Purpose of research 9 1.5 Scope and conduct of the study 10 1.6 Significance of the study 11 1.7 Organization of the thesis 14 CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW 16 2.1 Introduction 16 2.2 Fire and fire incidences 2.2.1 Background 17 2.2.2 High rise building (HRB) fire 20 2.2.3 Fires in Vietnam 22 2.3 Organizational control 25 2.4 Past studies in fire control 30 2.4.1 Fire behavior and building safety 31 2.4.2 Factors contributing to building fires 33 2.4.3 Fire safety strategies 36 2.4.4 Preventive measures in building structure design 40 2.4.5 Human behavior in fire situations 42 2.4.6 Economic and social impacts of fires 44 2.4.7 Organizational control of public institutions 47 2.5 Summary 52 vii CHAPTER 3 - RESEARCH METHOD 55 3.1 Introduction 55 3.2 Research framework and operational definitions 56 3.3 Purpose of research 64 3.4 Research approach 66 3.5 The case studies 70 3.5.1 JSC34 70 3.5.2 An Sinh 71 3.5.3 Custom Headquarters Building 72 3.5.4 EVN Tower 73 3.6 Data collection framework 76 3.7 Data analysis 77 3.8 Methods to enhance research quality 79 3.8.1 Reliability 79 3.8.2 Validity 80 3.9 Summary 80 CHAPTER 4 - RESEARCH SETTING 83 4.1 Introduction 83 4.2 Vietnam – A historical journey 84 4.3 Vietnam – Economic development 89 4.3.1 The early years 89 4.3.2 The Doi Moi period 91 4.3.3 Growth of the construction industry 94 4.4 Vietnam Fire Protection Police Department 98 4.5 Government spending 101 4.6 The Hanoi Fire Protection Police Department 103 4.7 Regulatory frameworks in fire protection in Vietnam 108 4.8 Summary 120 CHAPTER 5 - FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 123 5.1 Introduction 123 5.2 Causes of fires 125 5.2.1 The JSC34 fire 125 5.2.2 The An Sinh fire 126 5.2.3 The Custom Headquarters fire 127 5.2.4 The EVN Tower fire 128 viii 5.3 Compliances to fire protection laws, decrees and standards 129 5.3.1 Basic laws on construction and fire safety 129 5.3.2 Rules and standards of fire protection related to construction 133 5.3.3 Rules and standards of fire protection related to design 135 5.3.4 Rules and standards of fire protection related to 137 installation of firefighting systems and equipment 5.4 Human behavior responses to fire 138 5.4.1 The JSC34 fire 139 5.4.2 The An Sinh fire 141 5.4.3 The Custom Headquarters fire 143 5.4.4 The EVN Tower fire 145 5.5 Summary 148 CHAPTER 6 - CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSIONS 155 6.1 Introduction 155 6.2 Conclusions 157 6.3 Discussions 162 6.4 Developing a more efficient fire control systems for Vietnam 174 6.4.1 To reduce accidents 175 6.4.2 To reduce risks of fire occurring, flames to spread and and smokes to escape 176 6.4.3 To reduce damages, injuries and fatalities 177 6.5 Limitations 178 6.6 Recommendations for further research 179 REFERENCES 181 APPENDICES Appendix A - Primary and Secondary Data Sources Appendix B – Interview Guide Appendix C – Overview of Informants and Interview Guide Appendix D – Overview of Documents ix LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Documented Major Building Fires 19 Table 2.2 Documented Major High Rise Building Fires 22 Table 2.3 Documented Major Fires in Vietnam 24 Table 3.1 Conditions Determining the Measurement of Behavior 60 and of Output Table 3.2 General Features of Buildings 75 Table 3.3 Summary of the Four Cases Studies 75 Table 4.1 Vietnam GDP Growth Rate (%) 93 Table 4.2 20 Tallest Buildings in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City 97 Table 4.3 Firefighting Assets 102 Table 4.4 Facilities of VFPPD 103

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