Temporary Fire Safety Facility Non-Installation Construction Site Fine of 3 Million Won... Incheon Fire Department Strengthens Surprise Inspections

Revised Bill Including 'Temporary Firefighting Facility Fines' Passed by National Assembly
188 Construction Site Fires in Incheon Over 5 Years, 3 Deaths

Fire broke out at the in-flight meal manufacturing facility construction site at Incheon Airport in 2018, and firefighters are extinguishing it.
[Photo by Incheon Fire Headquarters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] From now on, safety management of construction sites with frequent fires will be strengthened, including immediate fines imposed on construction sites without temporary fire-fighting facilities.

The Incheon Fire Headquarters announced on the 23rd that the amendment to the "Fire Prevention, Installation and Maintenance of Fire-Fighting Facilities, and Safety Management Act (Fire-Fighting Facilities Act)," which includes regulations on fines for failure to install temporary fire-fighting facilities at construction sites, passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 20th.

Temporary fire-fighting facilities refer to four types: fire extinguishers, simple fire extinguishing devices, emergency alarm devices, and simple evacuation guidance lines. These are fire-fighting facilities that must be equipped at construction sites of a certain scale or larger to reduce fire risks.

Although the current law stipulates that temporary fire-fighting facilities must be installed at construction sites, there were no separate penalties for contractors who violated this. However, penalties could only be imposed if the fire station chief confirmed the violation and issued an installation order that the contractor failed to comply with.

In fact, the recent fire at the Icheon logistics warehouse construction site was subject to the installation of simple evacuation guidance lines to help workers evacuate quickly, but it was confirmed that the construction proceeded without implementing this.

The Fire Headquarters plans to conduct surprise inspections at construction sites once the amended law is enforced, and immediately impose fines of up to 3 million won if failure to install temporary fire-fighting facilities is detected.

Park Seongseok, head of the Prevention and Safety Division at Incheon Fire Headquarters, said, "Once this law is promulgated and enforced soon, it is expected that fire safety will be further strengthened by mandating the installation of temporary fire-fighting facilities at construction sites."

Meanwhile, over the past five years, a total of 188 fires occurred at construction sites in the Incheon area, resulting in 3 deaths and 22 injuries. Property damage was estimated at 6.639 billion won.

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