Illegal Parking Around Fire Hydrants in Gwangju Area Surges 11-Fold in 4 Years

The number of illegal parking violations around fire hydrants in the Gwangju area has surged 11-fold over the past four years.

According to the Gwangju Metropolitan Fire Safety Headquarters on the 19th, the number of fines issued for illegal parking around fire hydrants in Gwangju was recorded as 1,118 cases in 2019, 3,207 cases in 2020, 6,312 cases in 2021, and 12,559 cases in 2022.

In response, the Gwangju Fire Department has urged the public to refrain from parking or stopping near fire hydrants to ensure rapid firefighting activities during fire or disaster situations.

Fire hydrants are facilities that supply firefighting water to fire trucks to prevent water shortages during fires, enabling smooth fire suppression. Emergency fire extinguishing devices are facilities that nearby residents can use for initial fire suppression until fire trucks arrive.

According to Article 32 (Prohibition of Stopping and Parking) of the Road Traffic Act, when a vehicle stops or parks within 5 meters of a firefighting water facility or emergency fire extinguishing device, a fine of 80,000 KRW for passenger cars and 90,000 KRW for vans is imposed if there is a safety sign marked in red on the curb. If there is no sign, fines of 40,000 KRW and 50,000 KRW are imposed respectively.

Anyone can report illegally parked vehicles through the ‘Safe Report’ app by accessing the ‘Illegal Parking Report’ section and attaching two photos taken at intervals of at least one minute. If the conditions are met and the violation is confirmed, a fine will be imposed.

Kim Jong-ryul, Director of the Prevention and Protection Division, said, “Securing the golden time to protect precious lives and property is very important for rapid arrival at the scene and securing fire hydrants,” and urged citizens to actively cooperate by keeping a 5-meter distance around fire hydrants.

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