Fire Agency Conducts 'Emergency Fire Safety Inspections' at 7 Tunnels Over 2Km... 106 Cases Addressed

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Fire Agency announced on the 13th that from March 15 to March 24, it conducted special fire safety inspections at seven locations, including the Boryeong Undersea Tunnel (Chungnam), Gaduk Undersea Tunnel (Busan), Samsangseon Tunnel and Wirye Tunnel (Gyeonggi), Cheonma Tunnel (Jeonbuk), Junggun Tunnel (Jeonnam), and the Western Arterial Underground Road (Seoul), all of which are long tunnels over 2 km in length, to prevent fires inside these tunnels.

The main inspection items during this special investigation were ▲ closure, blockage, and maintenance status of fire-fighting facilities inside the tunnels ▲ obstacles to evacuation such as connecting passages and evacuation routes in both directions ▲ maintenance and management status of emergency generators ▲ safety management status of electricity, gas, and hazardous materials.

As a result of the investigation, violations related to the maintenance and management of fire-fighting facilities were identified, and a total of 106 measures were taken, including 2 fines, 40 corrective orders, 11 notifications to institutions, 11 on-site corrections, and 42 improvement recommendations (guidance). The Fire Agency stated, that issues that can be immediately remedied were addressed on-site, and matters requiring administrative orders were reported to the relevant fire headquarters for improvement measures.

Hwang Gi-seok, Director of the Fire Prevention Bureau, said, “In the case of long tunnels, if a fire occurs, the access of fire trucks is restricted, so initial fire extinguishing and evacuation of people are most important,” adding, “To ensure constant fire safety, we will conduct facility inspections along with fire safety consulting for tunnel management personnel.”

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