Mandatory Management of Automatic Rooftop Door Openers in Apartments Following Gyeonggi-do's Proposal

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Gyeonggi Province's proposed institutional improvement, which mandates the management of automatic rooftop emergency door openers in apartment complexes for fire response, has been reflected in the government's legislative bill.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 6th that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport publicly notified a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Apartment Housing Management Act containing these details on the 1st.

The main content of this amendment is to add evacuation facilities and equipment, such as automatic rooftop emergency door openers, to the criteria for establishing long-term repair plans for apartment complexes, enabling apartment management entities to systematically manage these devices.

Since the 2016 revision of the "Regulations on Housing Construction Standards," new apartment buildings have been required to install automatic emergency door openers on rooftop access doors of each building, designed to automatically open in connection with the fire safety system during a fire.

However, because the automatic rooftop emergency door opener was not included in the long-term repair plan criteria, there were concerns that neglect in management could lead to malfunctions or failure to link with the fire safety system, causing the doors not to open automatically during a fire, potentially resulting in casualties.

In response, Gyeonggi Province has been proposing related institutional improvements to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport since last year, visiting directly to explain the necessity, and in January this year, also submitted proposals to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as part of the "Aged Apartment Fire Safety Improvement Measures," continuing its efforts.

Gyeonggi Province expects not only regular management of automatic door openers according to long-term repair plans but also the voluntary expansion of installation in existing apartment complexes.

Kim Seong-beom, head of the Apartment Policy Team at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Considering that the nature of apartments, where many households live together, can lead to widespread damage in case of fire, we expect this institutional improvement to create a safer living environment in apartments," and added, "We ask for much interest even from apartments where automatic emergency door openers have not yet been installed."