Seoul City Announces Fire Safety Measures for Seollal Holiday

Fire Safety Inspection of Over 270 Vulnerable Facilities

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters announced on the 19th that it will implement fire safety measures, including special alert duty, to ensure citizens have a safe and warm Lunar New Year holiday.

This plan focuses on protecting citizens' lives and safety from fires and maintaining a seamless disaster response system. Key initiatives include on-site inspections of fire-vulnerable facilities, strengthening fire safety led by fire station chiefs, and maintaining an emergency duty system to prepare for disaster situations.

On-site inspections of fire-vulnerable facilities will be conducted focusing on transportation facilities such as stations and terminals, where large crowds are expected, as well as other facilities requiring special safety management. Targets include 11 transportation facilities, 50 large retail facilities, 69 traditional markets, and 50 small lodging facilities.

In particular, fire station chiefs and others will visit 389 safety-vulnerable facilities such as jjokbangchon (small room villages) and traditional markets to verify fire safety management systems and strengthen fire prevention conditions through safety consulting. Additionally, 100 firefighters will form 50 inspection teams to intensively crack down on illegal acts such as blocking emergency exits in multi-use facilities. The Fire & Disaster Headquarters plans to promote these fire prevention measures intensively through media outlets and social networks to embed them into citizens' daily lives.

Furthermore, to proactively respond to large-scale fires, the Fire & Disaster Headquarters will conduct a 'special alert duty' from 6 p.m. on the 20th, the day before the Lunar New Year holiday, until 9 a.m. on the 25th.

During the holiday period, firefighting equipment will be operated at 100% capacity to maintain firefighting capabilities without interruption. In the event of a major accident, fire station chiefs will quickly activate the emergency rescue control team and command the scene through an emergency communication system.

During the Lunar New Year holiday, each fire station in Seoul will conduct preventive patrols in fire-vulnerable areas and regions at risk of forest fires to secure emergency routes for fire trucks and continuously provide advance guidance on risk factors. Preventive patrols will use fire pump trucks and include patrol routes covering COVID-19 related facilities, traditional markets, and large marts, with patrols conducted at least twice daily, day and night.

The Seoul Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Center, which receives 119 emergency calls, will deploy 26 personnel during the holiday period, adding 5 more staff to handle hospital, clinic, and pharmacy guidance as well as medical consultations.

Choi Taeyoung, head of the Seoul Fire & Disaster Headquarters, stated, “We are implementing proactive fire safety measures for fire-vulnerable targets to ensure a safe Lunar New Year holiday,” and added, “We will respond swiftly to any unexpected disaster situations.”