Fire Agency: "Strengthening Fire Safety Nets for Elderly Households"

40,114 Fires Occurred Last Year
56% of Deaths Were Aged 60 and Over

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The National Fire Agency announced on the 30th that it will further strengthen the fire safety network for elderly households based on the analysis of the 2022 fire occurrence status.

According to statistics from the National Fire Information System of the National Fire Agency, a total of 40,114 fires occurred last year, resulting in 2,662 casualties (341 deaths, 2,321 injuries) and property damage worth 1.204 trillion KRW.

This represents an increase of 10.6% (3,847 cases) in the number of fires, 24.9% (479 people) in casualties, and 9.5% (104.9 billion KRW) in property damage compared to the previous year.

The increase in fire incidents is analyzed to be due to prolonged drought in the southern regions and continued abnormal climate with dry weather last year, and it appears that the relaxation of COVID-19 social distancing guidelines leading to increased outdoor and leisure activities also had an impact.

By location of fire occurrence, non-residential facilities accounted for 14,929 cases (37.2%), residential facilities 10,497 cases (26.1%), and vehicles 4,669 cases (11.6%), in that order.

Notably, regarding fire fatalities, although the overall number of fires was higher in non-residential facilities due to increased outdoor activities, most fire deaths occurred in residential facilities.

Among these, the elderly death rate was high in the order of 105 people (30.8%) aged 70 and above, 86 people (25.2%) aged 60?69, and 76 people (22.3%) aged 50?59, with a high risk of death due to inhalation of toxic gases and burns.

Many deaths occurred while victims were sleeping or under the influence of alcohol, and difficulties in evacuation due to smoke (flames) or locked exits were also common causes of death.

Accordingly, the National Fire Agency plans to strengthen response and prevention measures by accurately identifying and analyzing fire causes through scientific fire investigation and appraisal. Furthermore, as fire risk exposure and casualties among vulnerable groups such as the elderly continue to increase, the agency will focus on establishing a customized fire safety education system for vulnerable groups, expanding free distribution of residential fire safety equipment, and promoting a culture of voluntary installation, implementing various policies to develop tailored response strategies for evacuation-vulnerable groups including the elderly.

Lee Il, Director of the 119 Response Bureau at the National Fire Agency, stated, “As the number of elderly households living alone increases and social environmental changes occur, fire patterns and damage trends are also changing. We will do our best to reduce fire occurrences and damages through systematic and scientific fire statistics analysis-based proactive fire prevention measures and implementation, enabling agile and flexible responses to rapidly changing social and natural environments.”