Gyeonggi Province conducted a special safety and fire inspection audit on 40 chemical industry workplaces from the 8th to the 19th of last month, following a fire accident at a primary battery factory in Hwaseong, and identified 147 issues across 37 workplaces.
This inspection was carried out by the Gyeonggi Provincial Audit Office and the Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters, together with experts and citizen auditors, targeting 40 chemical, rubber, and plastic manufacturing factories in Siheung and Pyeongtaek cities. The selected workplaces had fewer than 300 employees, were classified as Grade 2 specific fire safety objects, and had not undergone fire inspections within the past year.
The audit mainly pointed out issues such as the mixed storage of fire hazardous materials inside indoor storage facilities, closure of fire extinguishing agent tank valves, installation of unregistered temporary structures (tents) next to liquid nitrogen storage towers, and illegal extensions that rendered outdoor fire hydrants unusable.
Among the detected issues, 50 cases requiring corrective action were requested to be addressed by the relevant fire stations and local governments. Additionally, items obstructing the lowering of fire shutters, indoor fire hydrants, and emergency evacuation exits were immediately corrected on-site. Furthermore, recommendations were made to install additional safety features such as guide lights from a consulting perspective to enhance safety effectiveness.
Choi Eun-soon, Auditor of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "This special audit was conducted in a consulting format to inspect fire and safety facilities and to raise awareness about safety complacency, aiming to achieve practical improvements on-site. We will continue to carry out special audits for the safety of residents to create a safer Gyeonggi Province."
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