Seoul City Conducts Safety Inspections to Prevent Fire Accidents in Small and Medium-Sized Retail Facilities

Intensive Inspection of Fire-Vulnerable Facilities Such as Firefighting and Electrical Equipment in Underground Parking Lots of Sales Facilities

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 27th that, following the fire accident in the underground parking lot of Daejeon Hyundai Outlet last September which resulted in numerous casualties, it conducted an emergency safety inspection earlier this month targeting small to medium-sized retail facilities in Seoul to prevent fire accidents.

This inspection was carried out as a joint check with private experts in fire and electrical fields, targeting a sample of 12 retail facilities with a total floor area of 15,000㎡ or less that have underground parking lots. For large retail facilities such as outlets with a total floor area exceeding 15,000㎡, totaling 131 locations, the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters is conducting emergency inspections.

The main inspection items included fire safety aspects such as evacuation facilities, fire prevention facilities, fire extinguishing equipment, and alarm system management status within the retail facilities and underground parking lots, as well as the management status of various electrical facilities with a high risk of fire occurrence. The appropriateness of safety management systems and emergency evacuation systems, and the status of safety inspections were also intensively checked.

The inspection results revealed a total of 91 issues, among which 20 cases such as ?obstruction of evacuation stairs and corridors with cargo, ?constant opening of fire doors were immediately corrected. Issues requiring action such as ?lack or improper placement of fire extinguishers, ?replacement and management of aged or damaged equipment were notified to relevant agencies, and continuous follow-up measures will be requested.

Choi Jin-seok, Director of the Seoul City Safety General Office, stated, “Many violations of fire prevention safety rules have been found in small to medium-sized retail facilities used by numerous citizens. We will do our best to prevent fire safety accidents through continuous safety management and thorough safety inspections.”

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