Gyeonggi Fire Department Reduces Property Damage by 9.8 Trillion Won Over 5 Years Through Automatic Fire Suppression Systems Like Sprinklers

Successful initial fire suppression due to early activation of the sprinkler system. Photo by Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] It has been revealed that early fire suppression by fire facilities such as sprinklers has reduced property damage by 9.8 trillion won over the past five years.

According to the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters on the 6th, from January 2017 to early December this year, among fires that occurred over the past five years, early activation of automatic extinguishing systems such as sprinklers reduced property damage by 9.8 trillion won in a total of 943 fire cases.

The calculation of property damage reduction due to the operation of automatic extinguishing systems was done by estimating the property damage amount if the fire facility had been completely destroyed without the operation of the automatic extinguishing system, and then calculating the difference from the actual property damage amount incurred.

Among automatic extinguishing systems, the initial fire suppression effect of sprinklers stood out prominently.

Sprinklers operated in 921 fire cases over five years, reducing property damage by 9.6 trillion won. This was followed by ▲ foam and powder extinguishers in 9 cases (14.4 billion won) ▲ clean agent and halogen systems in 7 cases (128.9 billion won) ▲ water spray in 3 cases (250 million won) ▲ carbon dioxide and others in 3 cases (5 million won).

In fact, in September last year, a fire broke out at a snack shop in the Siheung Sky Rest Area on the Metropolitan Area 1st Circular Expressway. The fire alarm system was activated, and an emergency evacuation of about 100 users occurred. At that time, sprinklers and fire shutters operated simultaneously, early blocking the spread of flames, which helped reduce large-scale casualties and building damage.

Earlier, in August 2020, a fire inside an experimental reagent storage device at a large pharmaceutical research facility in Yongin was successfully extinguished early due to the early activation of sprinklers.

In particular, automatic extinguishing systems including sprinklers played a significant role in early fire suppression in factories, postpartum care centers, and complex sales facilities.

Jo Sun-ho, head of the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters, said, "The golden time for early fire response is three minutes, and it is crucial to respond within that time to prevent the fire from spreading into a large blaze." He urged, "Please make sure to install automatic extinguishing systems such as sprinklers and manage them thoroughly to safely respond to fires that can occur anytime and anywhere."