Logistics Warehouses and Construction Sites in Gyeonggi Still Suffer from 'Fire Safety Apathy'... 1 in 4 Facilities Defective

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] One out of four large logistics warehouses and construction sites in Gyeonggi-do was found to have clogged sprinkler valves and malfunctioning fire shutters.

The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced on the 4th that, as a result of conducting a crackdown on illegal fire safety practices at 437 large logistics warehouses and construction sites across the province on the 9th and 28th of last month, fire facility defects were confirmed at 112 sites (26%).

The Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters took actions including filing charges for one case, imposing fines on 27 cases, issuing corrective orders for 98 cases, and notifying relevant agencies for 14 cases.

Among the detected cases, logistics warehouse A in the Gyeonggi area was found to have closed sprinkler system valves on multiple floors and cut off fire facilities such as the fire pump power control panel. In particular, it was revealed that the sprinklers would not operate in the event of a fire, making initial response impossible. The Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters filed charges against the warehouse for violating the Fire Safety Facilities Act.

Logistics warehouse B blocked the emergency exit with boxes, making evacuation difficult in case of fire or other emergencies, and logistics warehouse C had issues with fire shutter closure obstruction. The Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters decided to impose fines on these warehouses.

In addition, warehouses and construction sites with disconnected (open circuit) fire detector monitoring lines or malfunctioning fire alarm systems were also caught in this crackdown.

Earlier, after a fire occurred at a logistics center in Icheon in May and large logistics warehouse fires continued in the province, the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters formed 107 teams (246 personnel) including patrol teams from the headquarters and each fire station to conduct the crackdown.

A representative of the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters stated, "We plan to strictly punish illegal fire safety practices that threaten the safety of residents," and added, "We will continue to designate targets for crackdowns by period to create a fire-free Gyeonggi-do."