Official Letter No. 5269/BXD-KTQLXD: Guidance on the Appraisal of Fire Prevention and Fighting Design

On 18 June 2025, the Ministry of Construction issued Official Letter No. 5269/BXD-KTQLXD providing guidance on the organization and implementation of the appraisal of fire prevention and fighting design by specialized construction authorities, in accordance with the laws on fire prevention and fighting, rescue and salvage. The Official Letter took effect on the date of signing. Accordingly, the Ministry of Construction provided specific guidance on the following matters:

1. Authority to appraise fire prevention and fighting design

The Law encourages:

• The authority is prescribed in Clause 1, Article 17 of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting, Rescue and Salvage.

• For construction investment feasibility study reports and construction designs implemented after the basic design, the authority shall be determined in accordance with Decree No. 175/2024/ND-CP, Decree No. 140/2025/ND-CP and Decree No. 144/2025/ND-CP.

2. Scope of appraisal

Specialized construction authorities shall appraise the following aspects of fire prevention and fighting design:

• Fire safety distances;

• Roads, parking areas and open spaces for vehicles and fire prevention and fighting, rescue and salvage operations;

• Escape solutions;

• Proposed fire-resistance ratings, fire compartmentation and fire spread prevention solutions;

• Smoke control solutions.

3. Documents required for the appraisal of fire prevention and fighting design

a) Appraisal of the construction investment feasibility study report:

In addition to the contents required under construction laws, the following are also required:

• An explanatory report covering: the list of applicable standards and technical regulations, and the type and grade of the construction works used in the calculations; a summary table of calculation results for fire safety assessment criteria; the proposed fire-resistance rating; proposed fire compartmentation and fire spread prevention solutions; proposed smoke extraction solutions for buildings and rooms, and the smoke-protection air supply system; and an explanation of the design solutions meeting fire prevention and fighting requirements;

• Fire prevention and fighting design drawings showing: dimensions, technical specifications and the main materials used, including the overall site plan of the construction works or the route plan for linear construction works; plans, elevations and sections of the construction works, or other drawings required by specialized disciplines showing the dimensions and technical specifications of the construction works; schematic diagrams of fire prevention and fighting systems; and other drawings required for the construction works. 

b) Appraisal of construction designs implemented after the basic design:

Similarly, construction designs implemented after the basic design must show the following:

• Explanatory documents comprising: the list of applicable standards and technical regulations, and the type and grade of the construction works used in the calculations; detailed and complete calculation results for all structural elements and parts of the construction works to ensure compliance with fire compartmentation and fire spread prevention requirements, together with the accompanying calculation sheets; and a summary table of calculation results showing the fire safety assessment criteria.

• Fire prevention and fighting design drawings showing the dimensions, technical specifications and materials used, ensuring that sufficient information is provided to assess compliance with fire prevention and fighting requirements.

4. Requirements for reports on the results of fire prevention and fighting design verification:

• Construction investment feasibility study report: Form No. 02 of Appendix I to Decree No. 175/2024/ND-CP, including an assessment of compliance with fire and explosion prevention and protection requirements: checking the completeness of the basic design dossier in respect of fire prevention and fighting design in accordance with the law; checking compliance with the National Technical Regulations on fire safety proposed by the design consultancy contractor; and the design solutions and assessment criteria for meeting fire prevention and fighting requirements as evaluated by the design verification consultant, such as fire safety distances, roads serving firefighting vehicles, escape routes, refuge areas (if any), the fire-resistance rating of the construction works, etc.

• Construction designs implemented after the basic design: Form No. 09 of Appendix I to Decree No. 175/2024/ND-CP. The construction design verification report shall include an assessment of compliance with fire and explosion prevention and protection regulations, “based on the accompanying construction design dossier and explanatory documents demonstrating compliance with fire and explosion prevention and protection requirements proposed by the consulting contractor; the verification contractor shall prepare a comparison table to assess compliance with the requirements for the criteria prescribed in the National Technical Regulations on fire safety for buildings and construction works, and check the implementation of the laws on fire prevention and fighting, rescue and salvage.” 

5. Contents and results of the appraisal of fire prevention and fighting design by specialized construction authorities

• The contents of the fire prevention and fighting design appraisal shall comprise those specified in Section 2 above.

• At the stage of appraising the construction investment feasibility study report:

Based on the fire prevention and fighting dossier components prescribed at Point a, Clause 3, Article 6 of Decree No. 105/2025/ND-CP and the assessment by the design verification consultant in accordance with the above provisions, specialized construction authorities shall appraise the fire prevention and fighting design in the construction investment feasibility study report with respect to the contents prescribed at Point b, Clause 1, Article 17 of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting, Rescue and Salvage and Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree No. 105/2025/ND-CP.

• At the stage of appraising construction designs implemented after the basic design:

  • Under Point d, Clause 3, Article 44 of Decree No. 105/2025/ND-CP: “a) Compare and assess the conformity of the construction design implemented after the basic design with the certificate of fire design appraisal and the design bearing the fire design appraisal stamp, or the design verification results report as prescribed in Clause 5, Article 43 of this Decree;”.

  • On this basis, specialized construction authorities shall appraise the fire prevention and fighting design in the construction design implemented after the basic design in accordance with Point b, Clause 1, Article 17 of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting, Rescue and Salvage and Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree No. 105/2025/ND-CP.

6. Submission of dossiers, receipt and return of appraisal results

• For construction investment feasibility study reports of construction works/projects appraised by specialized construction authorities: The submission of the dossier for appraisal of fire prevention and fighting design in the construction investment feasibility study report by the investor/the construction works at the specialized construction authority shall be integrated into the process of submitting the dossier for appraisal of the construction investment feasibility study report.

• For construction designs implemented after the basic design of construction works/projects appraised by specialized construction authorities: Where the construction works are required to undergo fire prevention and fighting design appraisal by the Police Authority, the investor/the construction works may simultaneously submit the dossier for appraisal of the construction design implemented after the basic design to the specialized construction authority and the dossier for appraisal of fire prevention and fighting design to the Police Authority.

• c) Economic-technical reports and construction designs implemented after the basic design of construction works/projects falling within the appraisal authority of the investor or construction works owner: The investor or construction works owner shall submit the fire prevention and fighting design dossier to the Police Authority for appraisal in accordance with the laws on fire prevention and fighting, rescue and salvage. The procedures and contents for design approval shall be implemented in accordance with construction laws.

Read the full text of the regulations here.