Seoul City Warns of Carbon Dioxide Fire Extinguishing System Gas Leak Accidents... Most Caused by Carelessness

Six Carbon Dioxide Fire Suppression System Gas Release Accidents Occurred from 2018 to March This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced statistics related to recent carbon dioxide (CO₂) fire suppression agent discharge accidents and urged caution to prevent safety accidents on the 31st.

The Fire and Disaster Headquarters reported that from 2018 to March of this year, a total of six carbon dioxide fire suppression agent discharge accidents occurred, resulting in four deaths and 25 injuries. By cause, four cases were due to negligence such as improper operation by personnel during fire suppression system inspections, the highest number, followed by one case of fire detector malfunction and one other case.

Representative cases of carbon dioxide fire suppression agent discharge accidents include the incidents last month at office facilities in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, and a residential-commercial complex building in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu. Carbon dioxide fire suppression systems are installed in places where water-based fire suppression is unsuitable, such as electrical rooms and computer rooms. During a fire, carbon dioxide is released, cooling the interior and lowering oxygen concentration to extinguish the fire.

These agent discharge accidents were found to have occurred when the fire suppression agent was released due to connecting the activation system without sharing the fire signal detected during the inspection of the gas-based fire suppression agent operation system among inspection personnel.

Meanwhile, the Fire and Disaster Headquarters plans to conduct a joint field survey with private experts on 1,144 related facilities by April 15, produce and distribute a safety inspection manual for accident prevention, and request fire safety organizations to disseminate accident cases and conduct training.

Choi Tae-young, head of the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said, “Considering the gaseous nature of carbon dioxide fire suppression agents, special attention and management are required,” adding, “We ask facility personnel to thoroughly manage safety to prevent accidents, and Seoul Fire will also make every effort in preventive measures and response actions in case of emergencies.”

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