Gyeonggi-do Fire Department Produces Guidebook for Large-Scale Fires in High-Rise and Underground-Connected Complex Buildings

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters has created the nation's first original architectural design guide unique to Gyeonggi-do to prepare for large-scale disasters occurring in high-risk buildings such as high-rise and underground-connected complex buildings.

The newly created guide establishes pre-disaster impact assessment criteria in eight fields including fire safety, construction, mechanical, electrical and electronics, information communication, safety and disaster management, anti-terrorism, and construction sites, targeting high-risk buildings. It enables construction companies and local governments to install minimum safety devices considering disaster response from the architectural design stage.

In particular, it includes integrated response measures such as fire signal sharing between buildings and underground stations (shopping areas), installation of electric vehicle parking zones on underground floors adjacent to evacuation floors, and prevention of soil collapse at construction sites as well as strengthened safety management of flammable materials, covering facility and safety management systems from the architectural design stage.

The current Special Act on Disaster Management for Super High-Rise and Underground-Connected Complex Buildings defines buildings with 50 floors or more or a height of 200m or more as super high-rise buildings, and buildings with 11 floors or more or a daily capacity of 5,000 or more that are connected to underground stations or underground shopping malls as underground-connected complex buildings. In the Gyeonggi area, there are 50 sites with 85 super high-rise and underground-connected complex buildings.

The Fire and Disaster Headquarters also integrated and refined guidelines prepared by the Fire Agency and Gyeonggi-do for performance-oriented design applied to buildings with 30 floors (120m) or more or a total floor area of 200,000㎡ or more, establishing efficient review standards.

Nam Hwa-young, head of the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said, "When disasters occur in super high-rise or underground-connected complex buildings, they often develop into uncontrollable disaster patterns unlike existing buildings. Installing safety devices is crucial from the architectural design stage, and we expect that this newly published guide will greatly help ensure the safety of high-risk buildings."