Gyeonggi Fire Department Launches Emergency Full-Scale Fire Safety Inspection of 1,796 High-Rise Buildings

The Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters will conduct an emergency full-scale inspection of 1,796 high-rise and super high-rise buildings in the province. This measure follows a recent high-rise fire in Hong Kong, China, which resulted in injuries to more than 200 people.

The Fire and Disaster Headquarters will divide the inspection into seven key tasks: emergency and comprehensive inspections of buildings, strengthening design standards, expanding inspections at construction sites, checking disaster response systems, managing the status of combustible exterior materials, expanding joint public-private investigations, and establishing expert cooperation systems.

First, the 51 buildings with combustible exterior materials will be prioritized for urgent inspection, while the remaining 1,745 buildings will undergo comprehensive inspections by the first half of next year. The inspections will be carried out by joint teams consisting of local government officials, architectural experts, and fire safety engineers, who will check major items such as the suitability of exterior materials and the operation of fire doors and sprinklers.

Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters is conducting safety inspections of portable fire extinguishing devices in buildings within the province. Provided by Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters

In addition, at the building design stage, the teams will examine structural vulnerabilities such as differences in floor heights, complex evacuation routes, and missing smoke control systems. They will also use simulation verification to check whether any safety equipment has been reduced or omitted.

Furthermore, for construction sites at 70% to 80% completion, joint public-private inspections will be strengthened. To enhance the response capabilities for super high-rise buildings, the placement of equipment at each fire station, procedures for accessing upper floors, and the status of radio communications will also be checked.

An official from the Fire and Disaster Headquarters stated, "A single high-rise fire can lead to a major disaster," adding, "These measures are designed to proactively manage risk factors throughout the entire process, from design to emergency response."