Nearly 50% of Clinic and Hospital Buildings in Gangwon Region Violate Fire Safety Regulations

28 Out of 66 Hemodialysis Specialty Hospitals, Postpartum Care Centers, and Nursing Facilities Caught

Special Fire Safety Inspection of Hospital and Clinic Buildings in Gangwon Province [Gangwon Provincial Fire Department]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] It has been revealed that fire safety management in buildings housing hospitals and clinics in Gangwon Province is very inadequate.

In particular, numerous cases of malfunctioning fire facilities and unauthorized alterations of evacuation fire protection facilities were detected in specialized blood dialysis hospitals, postpartum care centers, and nursing facilities, raising serious concerns about potential casualties in the event of a fire.

According to the Gangwon Provincial Fire Headquarters, a special inspection conducted over the past four weeks (August 16 to September 8) on 66 buildings housing hospitals and clinics in the province found a total of 73 violations in 28 locations.

The Fire Headquarters reported that they identified one case of damage and unauthorized alteration of fire doors on evacuation staircases (resulting in a fine), 69 cases of violations related to the maintenance and management of fire and fire protection facilities (resulting in corrective orders), and three suspected violations of the Building Act (reported to relevant authorities).

Examples of suspected Building Act violations include the installation of storage rooms on evacuation staircases, installation of door stoppers on fire doors that disable their function, and poor lighting conditions of emergency lights, revealing overall problems in fire facility management.

The Fire Headquarters issued corrective orders and fines for the violations through the local fire stations and ordered restoration to original conditions within a specified period.

Yong Seok-jin, Director of the Prevention and Safety Division, stated, "We will thoroughly manage future violations and continuously encourage interest in buildings housing hospitals and clinics to do our best to prevent damage."

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