Gyeonggi Fire Department Aims to Reduce Factory Fire Death Rate by 30% by 2026

A fire broke out at a construction site, and firefighters are extinguishing the fire. Photo by Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters has set a goal to reduce the factory fire fatality rate by 30% by 2026 and has prepared and is promoting the "THE Safer Gyeonggi Workplace 10 Major Action Tasks."

According to the Fire and Disaster Headquarters on the 1st, a total of 4,716 factory fires occurred in Gyeonggi-do over the past five years (2017-2021), of which 3,210 cases, accounting for 68%, occurred in small-scale factories with a total floor area of 5,000㎡ or less. During this period, a total of 21 people died due to factory fires. Among the deceased, six were foreigners. All of these deceased were workers at factories with a total floor area of 5,000㎡ or less.

Looking at the industrial accident fatality status in Gyeonggi-do over the past five years, 76.7% of fatal accidents occurred at small-scale workplaces with fewer than 50 employees.

The Fire and Disaster Headquarters believes that the high incidence of fire fatalities in small and micro businesses is due to low safety awareness among business owners and workers, aging facilities, poor safety management, and safety negligence. Additionally, the poor working and living conditions of foreign workers are also considered a contributing factor.

Accordingly, the Fire and Disaster Headquarters has decided to reduce the fatality rate caused by factory fires in the province by 30% by 2026 and has prepared and is promoting the "THE Safer Gyeonggi Workplace 10 Major Action Tasks."

First, to create a safe workplace, the Fire and Disaster Headquarters will carry out the "Fire Safety THE 3 Major Campaigns," which include ▲ THE Clean Workplace ▲ THE Safe Lodging ▲ THE Safer Awareness.

In addition, regular safety education will be conducted for employees of micro-businesses, including foreign workers, and safety inspections for small-scale factories will be conducted focusing on consulting, strengthening support for "fire safety services" targeting fire-vulnerable micro-businesses.

Furthermore, to ensure the safety of foreign workers, the collaboration system among frontline fire stations, foreign worker support centers, and foreign welfare centers will be expanded, and fire safety education such as CPR and first aid will be conducted.

In particular, multilingual fire safety promotional materials will be produced to provide detailed guidance on fire evacuation methods and how to use fire extinguishers.

Cho Sun-ho, head of the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said, "We have carefully analyzed fires that occurred in small and micro businesses over the past five years and prepared the 10 major action tasks for a safe Gyeonggi workplace." He emphasized, "We will do our best to protect workers' lives by promoting proactive fire policies that Gyeonggi residents can feel firsthand."

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