"Fire Caution in Dry Spring Weather" ... Enhanced Wildfire Monitoring Activities Until May

Seoul City Implements '2020 Spring Fire Safety Measures'
Managing Fire-Prone Facilities with Contactless Prevention Campaigns and Patrols

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced on the 13th that it has designated the period until May 31, when the dry climate continues, as the 'Spring Fire Safety Measures Implementation' period and will promote comprehensive fire prevention safety measures, including proactive preventive management for disaster-vulnerable targets.

The main measures include ▲ implementation of customized fire prevention measures ▲ strengthening surprise inspections on emergency exit closures ▲ reducing casualties in small-scale lodging facilities ▲ fire safety management at major event venues ▲ establishing wildfire response posture and wildfire prevention publicity during dry seasons ▲ safety management of fire-vulnerable targets such as construction sites, totaling six tasks.

The Fire and Disaster Headquarters will first strengthen fire prevention activities by building a public-private network, sending safety messages every Wednesday to 1,637 stakeholders of five target groups, including traditional markets, jjokbang (small rooms), construction sites, nursing hospitals, and fire alert zones, which are facilities for evacuation-vulnerable people.

An official from the headquarters explained, "This year, due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19, visits and joint training for these fire-vulnerable facilities will be suspended; however, fire safety management guidance and preventive publicity through non-face-to-face SNS with stakeholders at the jurisdictional fire stations, as well as preventive patrols, will proceed as planned."

The period from February 1 to May 15 (104 days), when dry weather continues, is designated as the 'Spring Wildfire Prevention Measures Implementation Period,' during which wildfire prevention patrols and monitoring activities will be strengthened.

Seoul has 14 city mountains such as Bukhansan and 28 city mountains such as Inwangsan, adjacent to evacuation-vulnerable residential facilities like nursing homes. Therefore, if a wildfire occurs, it can lead to building fires, and conversely, building fires can spread to wildfires, requiring caution.

An official from the headquarters said, "To prevent wildfires, citizen cooperation is necessary, such as not throwing cigarette butts out of car windows while driving on forest roads," and urged, "Please report immediately to 119 upon discovering a wildfire for rapid initial response."

Meanwhile, this year, during the spring fire safety measures implementation period, special fire watch duties will also be carried out, including safety inspections of polling and counting stations on April 15 for the National Assembly general election and on-site checks of major temples on April 30 for Buddha's Birthday.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.