HCMC karaoke parlors close amid long wait for fire safety certification

Su Van Hanh Street in HCMC’s District 10 was once a bustling place in the evenings with its dozens of karaoke parlors.
But most are now closed and some have even returned the premises to their landlords amid uncertainty surrounding their reopening. The new stricter rules were imposed after a fire at An Phu Karaoke in the city’s neighboring province of Binh Duong in September 2022 killed 32 people.

The interiors of a karaoke parlor at 768 Su Van Hanh Street are being dismantled for returning the premises to the landlord. The landlord said the place with a usable area of 400 square meters has been closed for half a year. Its monthly rent was VND150 million (US$6,350).

The dismantling has been going on for several days, with the owner carting away equipment but leaving furniture and decorative plastic items piled up.

Workers are busy demolishing walls, removing false ceilings and cleaning up for the new tenants. The work is expected to be finished in a week.

Some 300 meters away on Su Van Hanh Street, another karaoke bar also closed and removed its signboard a few months ago. Many karaoke owners on the street have not returned their premises to their landlords but are waiting for their fire safety measures to be certified by the police.

An FYou karaoke parlor on 3/2 Street in District 10 has built more windows and removed all flammable signs. The chain’s manager said of its four properties two are closed .

Its singing rooms have temporarily become warehouses. The owner pays a monthly rent of VND300 million. According to the manager, all four parlors have removed all flammable decorations, created emergency exits and installed gas masks, but has yet to get the safety certificate.

On Tran Nao Street in Thu Duc City, one of the 17 karaoke parlors run by the Icool chain has been closed for six months.
Dinh Hoang Thuy Duong, the manager of the chain, said tens of billions of dong are spent each month on maintaining equipment and rents.

A notice put up outside the parlor by the People’s Committee of An Khanh Ward says it is under repair and temporarily closed.

Stairs leading to its terrace have been removed because they did not meet fire safety norms. The parlor has also removed many decorative items that could cause a fire or explosion from its singing rooms, installed fireproof doors, closed the stairwell, and renovated the exits to comply with fire safety regulations.

Corridors have been equipped with protective equipment, gas masks, emergency hammers, and fire extinguishers. The chain had sought safety certification for its parlors last October, but is still waiting for it. The manager said the long shutdown has caused heavy losses, and most employees have been forced to quit. According to a senior official at the Department of Fire Prevention, Fighting, Relief and Rescue, many karaoke parlors have been repaired and renovated but still do not meet fire safety requirements because the original construction is difficult to change. That was why they have not been certified yet, he said. “These facilities are required to fully comply with requirements to reopen.”