Fire Safety Managers Cannot Take on Other Safety Management Roles

Jeonnam Fire Department to Separate Amend Fire Prevention Act and Firefighting Facilities Act from December 1
Transition to Manager Certification System... Mandatory Appointment at Construction Sites Above Certain Scale

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] From December 1, the qualification for fire safety managers, which was previously granted through various technical certifications, will be converted into a certification system, and fire safety managers of special grade and first-grade facilities will be prohibited from concurrently holding positions as other safety managers such as electrical safety managers.

The Jeonnam Fire Headquarters (Chief Kim Joil) announced on the 30th that the current "Act on Fire Prevention, Installation and Maintenance of Firefighting Facilities, and Safety Management" will be separated and revised into the "Fire Prevention Act" and the "Firefighting Facilities Act."

On November 30, 2021, the related laws were separated and revised by dividing the "fire prevention policy matters" and "matters concerning the installation and management of firefighting facilities," which were regulated together under the current law, and a one-year grace period was set.

The names of the respective laws are the "Act on Fire Prevention and Safety Management (hereinafter referred to as the Fire Prevention Act)" and the "Act on Installation and Management of Firefighting Facilities (hereinafter referred to as the Firefighting Facilities Act)."

As a change, the special fire inspection will be renamed as the fire safety inspection, and to ensure transparency, the inspection results will be disclosed through websites, etc.

The fire boundary zones, which were previously applied to markets and areas densely populated with wooden buildings, have been renamed as fire prevention reinforcement zones to emphasize the importance of fire prevention, and a basis has been established for city and provincial governors to support the installation of firefighting facilities in those areas.

To establish a fire safety management system at construction sites, the appointment of fire safety managers has been made mandatory for construction sites of a certain scale or larger, such as those with a total floor area of 15,000㎡ or more.

Fire drills and education will also be strengthened. Fire headquarters chiefs and station chiefs can conduct surprise drills and education at multi-use facilities (such as medical and elderly care facilities) and evaluate them, and if the evaluation results are excellent, the next fire drill and education may be exempted.

For special grade and first-grade fire facilities that require more intensive fire prevention management, the relevant parties are obligated to conduct fire drills and education and submit the results to the competent fire station within 30 days.

Facilities such as business-use power and communication ducts and industrial complexes, which cause significant socio-economic damage in the event of a disaster, will be designated as special fire safety management facilities, and the relevant parties must regularly undergo fire prevention safety inspections.

Persons responsible for specific firefighting facilities must conduct self-inspections of firefighting facilities, prepare an implementation plan if defects are found, and submit the results to the competent fire station within 10 days after the defects have been addressed.

In addition, the mandatory installation of vehicle fire extinguishers will be expanded from the current requirement for vehicles with seven or more seats to passenger cars with five or more seats.

A representative of the Jeonnam Fire Headquarters said, "With this revision, we will continue to provide guidance on matters related to the lives of residents through websites and other means."