Fire Agency Revises Seismic Design Standards Completely... Enhances Seismic Performance of Fire Water Tanks

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The National Fire Agency announced on the 3rd that it has prepared and promulgated revised seismic design standards for fire protection facilities, improving the previously inadequate seismic standards, which will now be enforced.

The revision, promulgated on the 19th of last month, includes major amendments aimed at enhancing safety. For seismic design of fire water tanks, the previous requirement to install baffles inside the tank has been changed to a method that verifies the safety of the connection points between the tank body and other parts, thereby improving seismic performance.

Additionally, while there were previously only regulations on the spacing between braces installed to prevent pipe shaking (hereafter referred to as braces), concerns about pipe damage under heavy loads have led to the establishment of installation intervals for braces that take load into account.

Furthermore, for branch pipes, although one fixing device was required to secure the terminal sprinkler head, in cases where the pipe length is long, the pipe may bend and the sprinkler head may collide with the building causing damage. To prevent this, additional fixing devices must be installed at regular intervals to protect the heads from damage.

The revision also includes relaxed regulations allowing omission of brace and fixing device installation if certain criteria are met, such as ensuring the distance from the upper part of the pipe to the building’s fixed point is 150 millimeters or less for lateral braces and branch pipe fixing devices. Mandatory use of performance-certified braces will apply six months after the establishment and enforcement of technical standards for performance certification and product inspection of anti-shake braces.

Nam Hwa-young, Director of the Fire Policy Bureau, stated, "With this revision, we expect to more effectively prevent damage to fire protection facilities during earthquakes and reduce fire damage by ensuring the normal operation of these facilities."