Fire Death Rate Reduced by Installing Residential Fire Safety Equipment, Says National Fire Agency

Promotion of Distribution Through Linkage with Corporate Social Contribution Projects

The National Fire Agency announced on the 2nd that it will promote the "2023 Comprehensive Plan for the Promotion of Residential Fire Safety Equipment Installation" to reduce the fire fatality rate in single-family homes and multi-family/row houses.

According to the National Fire Information System of the National Fire Agency, over the past 10 years from 2013 to last year, there were a total of 75,880 residential fires, accounting for 18.4% of all fires (412,570 cases). The number of deaths in residential fires was 1,452, which is 45.8% of all fire deaths (3,169), indicating that residential fires have a higher fatality rate relative to the number of fire incidents.

Accordingly, the National Fire Agency has established the "Comprehensive Plan for the Promotion of Residential Fire Safety Equipment Installation," which includes promotional and preventive activities and support for the distribution of fire extinguishers, with the goal of "promoting the installation of fire extinguishers and fire alarms in every home" to reduce the residential fire fatality rate.

The main contents of this year's comprehensive plan for promoting residential fire safety equipment installation are ▲free distribution to fire safety vulnerable groups ▲spreading a culture of voluntary installation among the public ▲legal amendments and other institutional improvements.

First, starting this year, the target for fire alarm distribution will be significantly expanded from the existing basic livelihood security recipients to include people with disabilities, elderly living alone, and members of multicultural families. In the future, the plan also includes fire alarm distribution projects tailored to the characteristics of the hearing impaired and intellectually disabled.

Additionally, as part of promotional activities to encourage the voluntary installation of residential fire safety equipment, ▲active use of new media and social networking services, ▲development of easily understandable promotional materials (items) for the public, ▲promotion of fire alarms and fire extinguishers linked with fire safety education, ▲inclusion of residential fire safety equipment as return gifts for the "Hometown Love Donation Program" will be pursued.

Furthermore, efforts will be made to revise local government ordinances supporting residential fire safety equipment and to secure budgets to distribute fire extinguishers and other equipment to single-family homes, multi-family, and row houses.

Choi Min-cheol, Director of the Fire Prevention Bureau at the National Fire Agency, stated, "It is very important to evacuate quickly when a fire breaks out," and added, "We will continuously implement fire safety measures to reduce fire fatality rates by installing residential fire safety equipment in every home."

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