[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Koo Dae-sun] The Gyeongbuk Office of Education plans to install sprinklers in all dormitories by 2026, regardless of legal installation standards, to protect students from fire hazards.
The reason the sprinkler installation rate in school dormitories in the Gyeongbuk area is currently only 18% is due to the "Act on Fire Prevention, Installation and Maintenance of Firefighting Facilities, and Safety Management," which requires sprinklers to be installed on all floors of dormitories with a total floor area of 5,000㎡ or more, or buildings with 4 or more floors and a floor area of 1,000㎡ or more, and all floors of buildings with 6 or more floors. Additionally, simple sprinklers must be installed in dormitories with a total floor area of 100㎡ or more.
The Gyeongbuk Office of Education, although not legally obligated, plans to spend over 10 billion KRW annually to gradually install sprinklers in 183 dormitory buildings out of a total of 223 school dormitories in the Gyeongbuk area, excluding the 40 buildings where sprinklers are already installed, by 2026.
Three dormitories of special schools, which are vulnerable to disaster evacuation, will complete sprinkler installation first by 2025.
Lee Moo-hyung, Director of Facilities at the Gyeongbuk Office of Education, said, "Since 2020, the installation of sprinklers has become a key issue, and we are expanding installations according to the Ministry of Education's guidelines. Securing the golden time for initial fire suppression and evacuation is most important, so we will do our best to complete the installation of sprinklers in dormitories and boarding facilities in the Gyeongbuk area by 2026, ensuring that students can live and study in a safe environment."
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