Công văn 1091/C07-P3,P4,P7 2023 tháo gỡ khó khăn vướng mắc công tác phòng cháy chữa cháy

To: Police departments of provinces and central-affiliated cities

Implementing order of the Ministry under Telegram No. 23/DK-HT dated April 9, 2023 on implementing Official Telegram No. 220/CD-TTg dated April 5, 2023 of the Prime Minister on resolving difficulties in fire prevention and firefighting, in order to promptly resolve difficulties of facilities, projects, and constructions relating to fire safety and firefighting operations, the C07 has reached an agreement with the Ministry of Construction regarding the application of QCVN 06:2022/BXD under Official Dispatch No. 1397/BXD-KHCN dated April 11, 2023 of the Ministry of Construction and hereby provides guidelines for police departments as to how to resolve difficulties relating to fire safety and firefighting operations under Appendix hereof.

C07 hereby requests local police departments to study and apply guidelines above in order to resolve difficulties of facilities, projects, constructions; immediately process and instruct project developers, facility owners faced with difficulties in order to promptly rectify all issues; appraise fire safety and firefighting design and conduct fire safety and firefighting commissioning as per the law. Difficulties that arise during implementation must be consolidated and reported to the C07./.

PP. DIRECTOR
VICE DIRECTOR




Colonel Bui Quang Viet

APPENDIX

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1. Regarding appraisal of fire safety and firefighting design

1.1. Regarding requirements of compositions of application for appraisal of fire safety and firefighting design

With respect to legal parts under application for appraisal of projects and constructions (certificate of land use right, documents proving legitimate land use right, decision on investment guidelines, documents approving investment guidelines, investment registration certificate, written design appraisal of construction authorities, etc.) that only serve inspection of application composition and legitimacy of project developers, the appraisal of fire safety and firefighting design shall only deal with technical matters under Clause 5 Article 13 of Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP and not deal with any other matter. However, any discrepancy must be promptly discussed and communicated with competent authority (People’s Committees of all levels, Departments of Natural Resources and Environment, Departments of Construction, etc.) in order to be promptly dealt with in accordance with regulations on land management, planning, and construction permit issuance.

1.2. Regarding application of standards and regulations during the transition.

- With respect to constructions that have been advised and appraised in accordance with previous standard and/or regulation editions, these constructions shall be appraised for technical design or appraised for revision in accordance with said standard and/or regulation editions without complying with newer editions.

For example: If a construction has its fundamental design advised in accordance with the QCVN 06:2021/BXD, the project developers are allow to comply with the QCVN 06:2021/BXD for technical design. As a result, although the QCVN 06:2022/BXD does not prescribe protective coating of structures in form of plaster, project developers are still allowed to do so in accordance with Appendix F of the QCVN 06:2021/BXD; certificate of firefighting apparatus inspection is not required for structures coated with protective layers during fire safety and firefighting commissioning of this feature.

- With respect to constructions whose fire safety and firefighting design has been revised at request of the Fire and Rescue Police Department on the basis of previous National Technical Regulations editions, said editions are still applicable. The current QCVN 06 edition is recommended for application.

- If a construction is appraised in accordance with previous editions of the QCVN 06, TCVN 3890, TCVN 7336, TCVN 5738 and then appraised for revision or renovation where the scale and primary occupancy of the construction are not changed, the construction shall be appraised for revision in accordance with the QCVN 06, TCVN 3890, TCVN 7336, TCVN 5738 so as to not alter overall fire safety solutions of the construction, except for specific cases elaborated in each regulation and standard.

- If project developers, design entities propose application of provisions under newer regulations, standards which have lower requirements than those of previous regulations, standards, it is feasible to study in order to appraise in accordance with newer regulations, standards. Some specific cases of the QCVN 06:2022/BXD such as:

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If fire-resistant paint has been inspected in accordance with Decree No. 79/2014/ND-CP for each specific construction, proceed with construction process and conduct commissioning in accordance with certificate of inspection issued to fire-resistant paint. If fire-resistant paint has been applied but not inspected, it is now permissible to conduct additional inspection for structures coated with fire-resistant paint in accordance with Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP. In case fire-resistant paint has been applied but not qualified through inspection, it is permissible to select a different qualified fire-resistant paint to replace the applied fire-resistant paint or adopt other protective coating solutions if revision is not implemented.

+ Fire separation distance: According to the QCVN 06:2021/BXD, fire separation distance between 2 factories with fire resistance categories of IV and V must not be less than 18 m, it is permissible to appraise revision that applies Schedule E.3 of QCVN 06:2022/BXD so that the fire separation distance is lowered and only requires more than 6 m if it is determined by boundary or line of reference.

Method of determining fire separation distance under Article 4.33 and Articles E.1, E.2, and E.3 of Appendix E of QCVN 06:2022/BXD: it is permissible to determine fire separation distance between constructions in accordance with E.1, E.2 or determine fire separation distance to the boundary in accordance with E.3.

+ Fire-resistance rating of non-load bearing exterior walls: According to the QCVN 06:2021/BXD, non-load bearing exterior walls of buildings with fire resistance category I are required to have fire-resistance rating of E30, it is permissible to apply E.3 of the QCVN 06:2022/BXD and Note 6 Schedule 4 of the QCVN 06:2022/BXD in order to revise design and disregard fire-resistance rating of exterior walls. For example: high-rise buildings and factories that have satisfied fire separation distance and buildings that have equipped automatic extinguishing system are not required to be fitted with exterior walls and glass façade made of fire-resistance-rated walls and glass; class D and class E factories and low-rise buildings (3 storeys or less and less than 15 m of fire service height) that are not equipped with automatic extinguishing system and have satisfied fire separation distance according to Schedule E.3 are not required to have exterior walls with fire-resistance rating of E15.

+ Means of egress:

According to the QCVN 06:2021/BXD, fire compartments must have independent means of egress, it is permissible to apply Article 3.2.4 of the QCVN 06:2022/BXD and design so that up to 50 % means of egress lead to adjacent fire compartments, thereby reducing the number of means of egress of the buildings.

According to QCVN 06:2021/BXD, flats located on 2 storeys (maisonette), if height of the upper storey exceeds 18 m, each storey must have its own means of egress, it is possible to apply the QCVN 06:2022/BXD in order to optionally not situate means of egress from each storey.

According to the QCVN 06:2021/BXD, number of means of egress on a storey must not be less than 2 in most cases, it is permissible to apply Article 3.6.2.2 of the QCVN 06:2022/BXD in order to situate only 1 means of egress in case of constructions with small scale (up to 15 m in fire service height, up to 300 m² in area, or up to 21 m in fire service height, up to 200 m² in area), sprinkler system, and up to 20 people of occupant load. In addition, tourist resorts where mansions and villas of up to three storeys are located can have 1 means of egress that travels through type 2 open staircase and 1 fire exit through the balcony.

+ Traffic serving firefighting:

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Civil structures whose fire service height does not exceed 15 m are not required to situate fire engine parking spaces but are required to situate fire lanes which are capable of reaching any point on the ground projection of the buildings within 60 m. With respect to apartment buildings whose fire service height exceeds 15 m, fire engine parking spaces must be able to access at least one whole side of each building block.

+ Flame spread prevention: According to the QCVN 06:2021/BXD, building sections and rooms with different occupancies must be physically separated by fire protection assemblies to prevent flame spread, it is permissible to apply Article 4.5 of the QCVN 06:2022/BXD in order to not physically separate primary occupancy from secondary occupancy if primary occupancy takes at least 90% of floor area. For example: if office occupancy of a factory takes no more than 10% of factory area, manufacturing section and office section are not required to be physically separated.

+ Water supply for outdoor firefighting: According to the QCVN 06:2021/BXD and QCVN 01:2021/BXD on construction planning, minimum distance between outdoor hydrants to a construction is 5 m, it is permissible to reduce this distance to a minimum of 1 m in accordance with Article 5.1.4.6 of the QCVN 06:2022/BXD.

1.3. Regarding calculation and design of fire-resistant structures

With respect to constructions whose reinforced concrete columns, reinforced concrete floor on each storey (in case of multi-storey constructions), and roof components consisting of girders and struts are made of unprotected steel, if calculation and design dossiers indicate that these structures do not contribute towards overall integrity and spatial stability of the constructions in case of fire, it is permissible to consider fire-resistance rating of these structures as that of roof structures (other than load bearing pillars and other load bearing structures of the constructions); in this case, fire resistance category of the constructions can be either category I or category II depending on whether fire-resistance rating of these components is R15, RE115, R30, or RE30.

Regarding calculation of Am/V section factor or calculation of R8 of unprotected steel structures when minimum fire-resistance rating of the structural elements is R/REI 15, project developers and consulting, design entities are required to depict the calculation in design dossiers and conclude fire-resistance rating of the structures, appraising officials are not required to reexamined and cross-checked.

Fire-resistance rating of exterior walls made of sheet metal can be E15, RE15 if design dossiers provide explanation. At the same time, these structures are not required to be tested for fire-resistance rating when inspecting fire safety and firefighting commissioning results.

Roof tiles that do not contribute towards load-bearing capacity of roof structures are not required for R. In case of factories that are detached, distant from one another, or far from residential areas, houses, and other structures where risk of flame spread is eliminated through evaluation, E of roof structures can be considered for reduction.

1.4. Regarding fire-stop solutions

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- First-storey lobby is physically separated from adjacent corridors and rooms by type 1 fire-resistance-rated partitions; upper lobbies do not contain flammable substances.

- In upper storeys, type 2 staircases must be physically separated by type 1 fire-resistance-rated partitions or corridor enclosing structures connecting to type 2 staircases are type 1 fire-resistance-rated partitions.

1.5. Regarding exit solutions

Enclosing structures of means of egress of single-loaded corridors are not required to have sufficient fire-resistance rating and door closers for doors that open to these corridors in accordance with Article 3.3.5, 3.2.11 of QCVN 06:2022/BXD; single-loaded corridors longer than 60 m are not required to be physically separated by type 2 fire-resistance-rated corridors.

1.6. Regarding provision of firefighting apparatus

The TCVN 3890:2023 has removed certain provisions compared to the 3890:2009 such as lowering conditions for water supply for outdoor firefighting; no longer requiring fire alarm and detection, automatic extinguishing system for rooms with fire class D and E; increasing the area requirement for automatic extinguishing system in production rooms with fire risk class C to 1.000 m². With respect to rooms manufacturing facilities and storage facilities that have been equipped with automatic extinguishing system connected to fire control units, automatic fire detectors are not required. It is permissible to apply the TCVN 3890:2023 in order to reduce equipment load for project developers.

1.7. Regarding smoke build-up prevention solutions

- Requirements of make-up air supply system according to Appendix D of the QCVN 06:2022/BXD: Technical requirements of the system have been specified under Appendix D of the QCVN 06:2022/BXD. For detail design of the system, it is necessary to guide project developers and design entities to study, apply foreign standards in accordance with Article 8 of Decree No. 15/2021/ND-CP dated March 3, 2021 with or without approval of the Ministry of Public Security according to Clause 5 Article 8 of the Law on Fire Prevention and Firefighting 2013 since this is not a fire prevention and firefighting system.

Specific requirements of make-up air supply system under the QCVN 06:2022/BXD:

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+ Mechanical air supply system for smoke control can be designed as a stand-alone system or as air supply system that supplies air into fire protection vestibules or elevator shafts (other than fire service elevator shafts and N2 stairwells);

+ Make-up air must be provided through lower section of rooms and corridors protected by smoke extraction system in order to make up for the extracted smoke volume (lower section of rooms or corridors means the section of rooms and corridors that are lower than the smoke layer in case of smoke, protected by smoke extraction system and air supply system for smoke control);

+ Minimum clearance between smoke inlets of smoke extraction system and air outlet of air supply system for smoke control mentioned under i) of D.10 must not be lower than 1,5 vertically;

+ Fire-resistance rating of supply pipelines are specified under b) of D.13 of the QCVN 06:2022/BXD (EI 30 within the protected fire compartments and EI 120 for areas outside of the protected fire compartments);

+ Make-up air supply system must be activated simultaneously or immediately after activation of smoke extraction system.

Detail calculation and design of the system has been elaborated under standards such as the NFPA 92:2021 of the U.S., the SP 7.13130.2020, SP 60.13330.2020 of Russian, provinces shall guide project developers and contractors to study and choose appropriately. Rely on calculation results in dossiers to approve.

If the design utilizes turbocharger system of stairs and/or elevators to supply make-up air to constructions, the number of fans must be calculated in order to maintain the capacity required for supplying air to stairs and elevators (maintain pressure of 20 to 50 Pa in case of fire) and provide sufficient make-up air.

- Requirements of natural ventilation: Note 3 of D.2 of Appendix D QCVN 06:2022/BXD prescribes maximum distance of 40 m between 2 structures if openings are located on exterior structures that face the other. Regulations above on distance between 2 structures shall apply to rooms. For this reason, if there is no regulation on maximum distance between 2 exterior structures of a construction, for the purpose of natural ventilation, it is permissible to apply this to structures wider than 40 m on the basis of appropriate calculation.

In multi-storey buildings, natural ventilation solutions are allowed in corridors and rooms if the design satisfies the notes under D.2.

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- Regarding water supply system for outdoor firefighting of manufacturing facilities, sale facilities, and storage facilities of industrial explosive ordnance and explosive precursors; storage facilities of petroleum and petroleum products, or storage facilities of gas, flow rate and volume of water for firefighting shall be determined in accordance with specialized regulations and standards such as the QCVN 01:2019/BCT and TCVN 5307:2009.

- With respect to water supply system for outdoor firefighting of petroleum refill stations and gas retailers, apply Schedule 8 of the QCVN 06:2022/BXD in order to determine flow rate for these locations (5 l/s in rural areas, 10 l/s in urban areas), where water supply for outdoor firefighting provided by hydrants, natural lakes, ponds, or water reservoirs within a 200 m radius is allowed.

2. Regarding fire prevention and firefighting commissioning

2.1. Part commissioning

In order to assist and enable project developers to conduct commissioning and bring constructions into use at a pace appropriate to progress and investment stage, it is necessary to provide project developers with guidelines regarding solutions and requirements for part commissioning in accordance with Clause 1 Article 15 of Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP following the principle that work items for commissioning must meet fire prevention and firefighting requirements according to appraised design, be capable of operating independently, not be affected by work items under construction in a manner that conforms to regulations on work item commissioning under Decree No. 06/2021/ND-CP.

Assuring of independence of buildings (civil or industrial) requires full assessment of fire safety solutions, including traffic for fire engines, fire separation distance, structural solutions, means of egress, fire prevention solutions, fire prevention and firefighting systems, other relevant technical systems, immunity from the effect of construction and completion of other work items, separation between non-commissioned areas and areas under construction in form of flame spread prevention, water supply pipelines for firefighting, fire alarm loops, exit accesses, etc. For example, in a high-rise building, it is permissible to conduct commissioning of sections other than the podium block if these sections are physically separated from neighboring sections by fire protection assemblies, fire detection and fire alarm, extinguishing, smoke extraction systems of commissioned sections are isolated from those of the podium block, fire protection systems are isolated (fire command centers, lobbies, exit discharges on the first storey, pump stations, electrical substations, and generators must be able to operate separately from commissioned sections); in a three-storey factory with concrete columns and floors and steel roof on the topmost storey, it is permissible to conduct commissioning for the first and second storey except for the third storey if structural independence is guaranteed (the first and second storey still maintain fire resistance category I and II), exit staircases lead to the roof, and independent fire protection system is in place similar to high-rise building, etc.

With respect to industrial park infrastructures, it is permissible to conduct part commissioning if the infrastructures for commissioning operate independently (fire lanes are in place, outdoor water supply system has sufficient flow rate and connects in loop, fire engines are ready for industrial parks with minimum scale of 50 ha).

2.2 Regarding commissioning of structures coated with protective layers

- In case constructions have approved fire prevention and firefighting design that uses structure coating solutions according to Appendix F of the QCVN 06:2021/BXD where the QCVN 06:2022/BXD no longer prescribes so, the commissioning process shall no longer require inspection of these coated structures and shall only require inspection for compliance if the construction process with approved design and Appendix F of the QCVN 06:2021/BXD.

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2.3. Regarding requirements of finish materials for means of egress and common rooms

Guide project developers to use materials declared for conformity by manufacturers or tested and qualified in multiple constructions without testing fire risk for each finish materials of every construction.

Documents on testing of materials used in singing rooms of karaoke establishments must correspond to the time in which the establishments are appraised, brought into use, for example, an establishment that has been appraised and operated before the effective date of QCVN 06:2022/BXD is only required to be proved that it uses barely combustible materials and is not required to be proved for fire risk level CV1 (combustibility, ignitability, smoke production, toxic potency) according to the QCVN 06:2022/BXD.

2.4. Regarding certificate of inspection of firefighting apparatus

According to Clause 2 Article 38 of Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP, structures coated by fire-resistant materials or substances and fire protection elements must be inspected and issued with certificate of inspection of firefighting apparatus “trước khi đưa vào lưu thông” (before entering circulation); according to Section b Clause 3.1.1 of the QCVN 03:2021/BXD “Mẫu kết cấu, cấu kiện sau khi được cấp giấy chứng nhận kiểm định được sử dụng làm mẫu để sản xuất, nhập khẩu các sản phẩm đưa ra lưu thông trên thị trường” (Structures and structural elements issued with certificate of inspection are eligible for use as samples for manufacturing and importing products for market circulation). As a result, certificate of inspection for structures coated by fire-resistant substances or materials and fire protection elements is not required to be issued for every project and construction. Project developers may freely choose firefighting apparatus declared, tested, and inspected by manufacturers.

3. Regarding facilities with issues and violations receiving recommendations from fire prevention and firefighting authority for remediation following Plan No. 513/KH-BCA-C07.

3.1. Establishments that remediate and rectify issues, violations pertaining to fire prevention, firefighting, and rescue in order to conform to design and adhere to standards, regulations applicable at the time which the establishments enter into operation (establishments that require appraisal of fire prevention and firefighting design must adhere to appraised design drawing; establishments that do not require appraisal of fire prevention and firefighting design must adhere to respective regulations, standards on fire prevention and firefighting) shall not be considered to be doing so in order to be appraised in accordance with Article 13 of Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP and thus shall not be required to apply the QCVN 06:2022/BXD (except for cases under 3.2). To be specific:

a) Regarding establishments with exiting issues and violations that do not warrant temporary or permanent suspension of operation:

- Provide guidelines pertaining to solutions, methods and agree on deadline for rectifying fire prevention and firefighting issues and violations. Require the establishments to make written commitment for completion deadline and assume responsibility for ensuring fire prevention, firefighting, and rescue safety during operation throughout rectification process. Note:

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+ Regarding issues and violations pertaining to flame spread prevention: Take measures to arrange production line, equipment, materials, and goods in order to increase fire separation distance between areas with different occupancies.

+ Regarding issues and violations pertaining to evacuation: Adjust the number of people regularly attending areas above in order to meet maximum number of people per 1 m in width of means of egress as per the law. Organize training for knowledge and skills in using firefighting apparatus and evacuation for public employees and public officials working in the establishments.

- Once rectification process is complete, establishment owners shall submit written reports (including design drawings, design documents, as-built drawings, and dossiers relating to the remediation and rectification of issues, violations) to their direct authorities for examination.

b) Regarding temporarily and permanently suspended establishments:

- With respect to cases under Point a and Point b Clause 1 Article 17 of Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP: Guide establishments to take measures in order to negate the risk of fire and explosion, rectify fire prevention and firefighting violations.

- With respect to cases under Point c Clause 1 Article 17 of Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP: Guide establishments to restore the premise to design that has been appraised, commissioned for fire prevention and firefighting or adopt procedures for appraising design depending on renovation and repurposing and conducting fire prevention and firefighting commissioning in accordance with Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP.

3.2. Cases of renovating, repurposing establishments or work items therein (that require appraisal in accordance with Appendix V of Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP) that affect any of fire safety requirements under Point b Clause 5 Article 13 of Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP shall require appraisal pertaining to fire prevention and firefighting in accordance with Point b Clause 3 Article 13 of Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP and apply the QCVN 06:2022/BXD in the renovation works, to be specific:

- When repurposing rooms, fire compartments, or buildings (including the case where the establishments do not require appraisal previously and now require appraisal in accordance with Appendix V of Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP);

- When renovating that:

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+ Reduces fire-resistance rating or raises fire risk classes of structural elements of fire compartments or buildings (by reducing fire-resistance rating of partitions and doors separating corridors from EI 30 to EI 15 or regular glass; reducing fire-resistance rating of non-load bearing exterior walls, etc.);

+ Changes evacuation solutions of fire compartments or buildings (by changing location, quantity, or type of means of egress, stairs, stairwells on exit accesses, etc.);

+ Changes fire protection system (fire alarm and detection system and audible warning system; fire extinguishing systems; anti-smoke build-up system; emergency and exit lighting system; fire service elevators; power supply solutions for fire prevention and firefighting system and technical systems relating to fire prevention and firefighting) such as changing primary technical parameters of the system (central fire control units, fire pumps, gas cylinders in automatic extinguishing systems, fans, smoke extraction fans, etc.) or general operating principles (adding new system to rooms, fire compartments, or buildings; changing operating zones of automatic fire alarm and detection system, fire extinguishing system, smoke extraction system; activation principles of valves of fire extinguishing system, etc.). If relocation of equipment of the system (fire detectors, sprinklers, extinguishant gas dispensers, pipelines, pressure outlets, smoke inlets, etc.) does not change technical parameters of the equipment or general operating principles of the system, fire prevention and firefighting design is not required to be appraised.

- With respect to establishments that require to be appraised but have not been appraised and now require to be appraised in accordance with Appendix V of Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP, documents on renovation must be produced in order to appraise design and conduct fire prevention and firefighting commissioning in accordance with Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP.

3.3. If owners of establishments that have had their design appraised and commissioned pertaining to fire prevention and firefighting and no longer require appraisal in accordance with Appendix V of Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP remediate and/or rectify issues at request of police authorities in order to maintain adherence to standards and regulations applicable at the time in which the establishments are appraised or enter into operation, the owners shall immediately rectify without having to request design appraisal and fire prevention, firefighting commissioning. Upon completion of rectification process, notify and enable police authority to examine rectification results.

3.4. In case of establishments that do not require to be appraised in accordance with Decree No. 35/2003/ND-CP, Decree No. 46/2012/ND-CP, Decree No. 79/2014/ND-CP, and Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP, owners of said establishments shall remediate and rectify issues at request of police authority in order to maintain adherence to standards and regulations applicable at the time in which the establishments enter into operation. Upon completion of rectification process, the owners shall report and enable competent fire authority to examine rectification results.

3.5. In case of establishments with issues or violations which cannot be rectified easily to conform to standards and regulations applicable at the time in which fire prevention and firefighting design is approved or the establishments enter into operation, guide owners of said establishments to adopt the standards and regulations in a way that is favorable for the establishments to enable the owners to remediate and rectify issues and violations pertaining to fire prevention, firefighting and rescue (except for cases under 3.2). Once the rectification process is complete, the owners of these establishments shall submit written reports (including design drawings, design documents, as-built drawings, and dossiers relating to the remediation and rectification of issues, violations) to their superior authorities for verification.

4. Regarding temporary suspension of operation

4.1. For cases under Point a and Point c Clause 1 Article 17 of Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP: Temporarily suspend operation on the smallest scale as per the law. At the same time, guide owners of establishments to take rectifying solutions and communicate with the owners about deadline for rectification; issue written request for rectification.

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