The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters is strengthening fire safety management for 'seasonal agricultural workers' by conducting safety consultations for foreign worker accommodations as the number of workplaces employing foreign workers increases.
The Fire and Disaster Headquarters plans to check by next month whether basic fire safety facilities such as fire extinguishers and residential fire alarms are installed in containers and prefabricated panel accommodations mainly used as foreign worker housing. Fire station chiefs and department heads in charge will visit the sites in person for this inspection.
In addition, fire safety education will be provided to employers and workers employing foreign laborers, covering fire cases, initial evacuation procedures at fire scenes, and awareness improvement for fire prevention.
Furthermore, they plan to frequently check access routes using online maps and satellite images to enable immediate dispatch to the scene.
Jo Sun-ho, head of the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters, emphasized, "By strengthening fire safety management for foreign workers during the busy farming season, we will drastically reduce fire damage among foreign workers."
Meanwhile, there are 2,043 foreign seasonal workers in the province, who mainly live in residential vinyl greenhouses and containers. The problem is that the fatality rate from fires in residential vinyl greenhouses and containers is high.
From 2019 to 2023, there were 371 fires in residential vinyl greenhouses and containers in the province, resulting in 26 deaths. The fatality rate from vinyl greenhouse and container fires is 7%, which is 8.8 times higher than the overall fire fatality rate (0.8%) during the same period.
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