Increase in Cases Minimizing Damage Through Fire Alarm Systems
Applications for Safety Management Package Support Project Begin from the 14th
The Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMAS) has launched an initiative to create fire-safe traditional markets.
On the 16th, SEMAS announced the start of applications and registrations for the ‘2025 Traditional Market Safety Management Package Support Project.’ According to the National Fire Information System, from 2019 to June of this year, there have been a total of 299 fire incidents in traditional markets nationwide over five years, with property damage amounting to 78 billion KRW. Although modernization of traditional markets is underway, aging and deteriorated facilities and densely packed store structures are still cited as causes of fires.
Among these, the ‘Traditional Market Fire Alarm Facilities’ supported by SEMAS since 2018 have contributed to minimizing damage. A representative case is the fire at Pyeongtaek Tongbok Market, which has 584 stores, on January 17 last year. The fire alarm facilities detected the fire early, enabling the local fire station to respond quickly and suppress the fire at an initial stage, preventing major damage.
Other examples include the Hwangji Jayu Market in Taebaek, Gangwon Province, and the Sujeong Traditional Market in Busan, where fire alarm facilities were installed and fires were extinguished early. At Hwangji Jayu Market in Taebaek, a fire broke out in a chicken restaurant on January 16, but the fire was extinguished in about seven minutes. This market was selected for the traditional market fire alarm facility project in 2022 and installed an ‘Internet of Things (IoT) Fire Alarm System.’ This system detects heat and smoke and contacts the fire station to enable an early response. Additionally, a fire at a vegetable store in Sujeong Traditional Market in Busan on May 7 burned internal ventilation fans and freezers but was extinguished within about ten minutes. Sujeong Traditional Market installed fire detection facilities in 2021.
The installation of fire alarm facilities supported by SEMAS for traditional markets nationwide helps detect fires early within the markets and notifies the fire station and merchants (merchant associations), facilitating a rapid response system such as initial fire suppression. Support includes installing fire detection facilities for each store and CCTV for fire monitoring in common areas.
The recently opened application process, starting on the 14th, for the Traditional Market Safety Management Package Support Project has expanded support to four areas by adding gas safety facility installation and other safety facility installations to the existing fire alarm facility installation and old wiring maintenance. Gas safety facilities include outdoor gas facility storage boxes, gas leak detectors, and gas shut-off devices. Other facilities include flood prevention facilities such as flood barriers and maintenance facilities in the electrical and fire safety fields. The application procedure has been simplified to allow markets to select desired areas autonomously and apply at once. Detailed information can be found in the ‘2025 Traditional Market and Shopping District Revitalization Support Project Announcement’ on the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and SEMAS websites.
Park Seong-hyo, Director of SEMAS, stated, “We plan to do our best to create safe traditional markets by strengthening fire safety in traditional markets,” and added, “We ask for the active interest and participation of small business owners in traditional markets in the more effective Traditional Market Safety Management Package Support Project.”
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