Sprinkler Installation Rate at Special Schools in Gwangju Area Remains at 17%

Installation rate in general school dormitories is only 8%... "Unprotected in case of fire"

Assemblyman Yoon Young-deok: "Even if related laws do not apply, installation rate must be increased for safety"

Assemblyman Yoon Young-duk (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Dong-gu and Nam-gu Gap)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Cho Hyung-joo] The installation rate of sprinklers in schools in the Gwangju area has been found to be significantly low.

According to the data on the ‘Installation Status of Sprinklers in Special Schools and School Dormitories’ submitted by 17 city and provincial offices of education nationwide to National Assembly member Yoon Young-deok (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Dongnam-gap) on the 14th, the sprinkler installation rate in special schools in Gwangju is 17.65%, and the installation rate in general school dormitories is only 8%.

This means that schools are left defenseless in the event of a fire on campus.

Among the 17 special schools in the Gwangju area, only 3 had sprinklers installed, and among 25 general school dormitories, only 2 had sprinklers.

Looking nationwide, the installation rate is also low. Out of 446 special school buildings nationwide, only 133 had sprinklers installed, and for school dormitory buildings, only 416 out of 1680 had sprinklers installed.

By city and province, the non-installation rate of sprinklers in special school buildings was highest in Gangwon-do at 92%, and lowest in Sejong City at 0%. For school dormitory buildings, Jeju City had the highest non-installation rate at 100%, and Ulsan City had the lowest at 0%.

The partial installation rate for special school buildings and school dormitory buildings was about 7.2% overall. Among the schools with partial installation, 58% installed the equipment according to fire safety laws, and 41% voluntarily installed it for prevention despite not being subject to the law.

According to the current Enforcement Decree of the ‘Act on Fire Prevention, Installation and Maintenance of Firefighting Facilities, and Safety Management,’ sprinklers must be installed on all floors if ▲ the floor is the 4th floor or higher with a floor area of 1000㎡ or more, or ▲ the total floor area of the dormitory is 5000㎡ or more. Buildings with 3 floors or fewer are exempt from sprinkler installation because evacuation is considered easier.

At the city and provincial offices of education audit on the 12th, Assembly member Yoon pointed out, “Sprinkler installation in special schools and dormitories, which are relatively vulnerable to fire, is very important, and active interest from superintendents of education is necessary.”

Yoon emphasized, “Although there are installation standards under current law, only a very small number of schools meet these criteria,” and “Even if schools do not meet the legal installation standards, sprinkler installation should be expanded to ensure the minimum safety of students.”

He added, “Initial response is very important for special schools with disabled students vulnerable to disasters and dormitories where students live,” and “Superintendents of education in regions with extremely low installation rates need to take active measures for the safety of students.”

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