Fire Agency to Strengthen Fire Safety Management of 'Waste Recycling and Disposal Facilities'

Minimizing Secondary Damage Such as Fire Damage and Carbon Emissions

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The National Fire Agency announced on the 30th that it will implement fire safety measures to prevent the frequent fires occurring at waste-related facilities and to reduce carbon emissions.

In the past five years (2016?2020), there have been 510 fires at waste-related facilities, resulting in 28 casualties (1 death, 27 injuries) and property damage amounting to 64.8 billion KRW.

In December last year, a fire broke out at a waste processing company in Gyeonggi-do while crushing plastic waste containers (suspected to be caused by a vapor explosion), resulting in the death of a worker. On the 13th of this month, a fire of unknown cause occurred at a waste collection site in a resource circulation center in Seoul, causing property damage worth 210 million KRW.

Waste fires require significant manpower, equipment, and time for extinguishing. Due to the variety of waste types and lack of related information on hazards, responders may not recognize the risks and may be exposed to dangers such as explosions or infections during on-site activities.

Moreover, waste fires often threaten public safety through secondary damage caused by pollutants (air pollution, firefighting water) rather than primary damage, necessitating strengthened accountability of business owners.

Accordingly, the National Fire Agency plans to establish and implement prevention and response strategies for eradicating and early extinguishing of fires at waste-related facilities. First, from the 29th to April 29th, a joint survey will be conducted with the Ministry of Environment, local governments, and related agencies on 3,910 waste-related facilities nationwide.

The key survey items include △ types of waste and current status △ storage methods △ safety facilities △ firefighting activity information. Based on the survey results, institutional improvements will be pursued in consultation with relevant ministries. Fire suppression tactics and response manuals reflecting the characteristics of waste fires will be produced and distributed to strengthen on-site response capabilities.

Son Nam-hwa, Director of Fire Policy Bureau, stated, "We will cooperate with the Ministry of Environment and strengthen safety management of waste-related facilities by concentrating firefighting resources in the early stages of fire to promptly extinguish waste fires."

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