Fire Safety Joint On-Site Inspection at Beomeosa Temple in Busan by the National Fire Agency and Cultural Heritage Administration

Buddha's Birthday Event Postponed Due to COVID-19 to Be Held on the 30th

Beomeosa Disaster Prevention Comprehensive Situation Room CCTV screen.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The National Fire Agency and the Cultural Heritage Administration will conduct a joint fire safety inspection on the 25th at Beomeosa, a traditional temple located in Busan.

This is to conduct preliminary safety inspections and management as the 'Buddha's Birthday' event, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled for the 30th, and many people are expected to visit the temple.

Beomeosa houses eight nationally designated cultural properties (treasures), 58 local tangible cultural properties, and one natural monument. Additionally, since wooden structures are densely concentrated, a fire could cause significant damage.

During this inspection, special attention will be paid to whether outdoor fire hydrants, water cannons, flame detectors that can detect fires early, and closed-circuit (CC) TVs installed around the cultural properties are functioning properly, as well as checking the handling of fire near wooden cultural properties.

The National Fire Agency and the Cultural Heritage Administration also plan to seek ways to expand cooperation for fire prevention of cultural heritage, taking lessons from the Naksansa fire in 2005, the Sungnyemun fire in 2008, and last year's Notre-Dame Cathedral fire in France.

Jung Jae-sook, head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, said, "We will continue efforts to establish fire prevention infrastructure such as safety guards and fire prevention facilities at each cultural heritage site, and actively introduce advanced technologies such as IoT and ICT to implement cultural heritage safety policies suitable for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era."

Jeong Mun-ho, head of the National Fire Agency, also stated, "We will make cultural heritage safety management more scientific by maximizing the use of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and the 119 situation information system."

Meanwhile, the National Fire Agency is conducting special fire inspections at 3,162 sites, including wooden cultural properties and traditional temples nationwide, under the jurisdiction of local fire stations in connection with the spring fire prevention measures (March to May). Additionally, from the 29th to the 31st of this month, before and after the Buddha's Birthday celebration, a special alert duty period will be set, and fire forces will be deployed near major event venues.

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