"To Prevent Deaths from Semi-basement Security Bars"... Seodaemun-gu Supports Installation of Openable Bars

Fixed Security Window Blocks Escape During Flooding and Fire

Seodaemun-gu installed 'openable security windows' in semi-basement houses within the district (Photo by Seodaemun-gu Office)

Seodaemun-gu District Office (Mayor Lee Seongheon) in Seoul is promoting a project to replace fixed security bars on semi-basement houses, which block escape during flooding or fires caused by heavy rain and threaten residents' lives, with operable security bars.

Seodaemun-gu announced on the 23rd that it has been promoting the project to replace fixed security bars installed in semi-basement houses within the district with operable ones since the first half of this year, and recently completed the installation of operable security bars in an additional 88 households.

The need for operable security bars is to allow residents to open them from the inside and evacuate when the entrance is blocked due to flooding or fire. The district selected support targets based on investigations by architectural experts and assessments of flood risk. In May, the district completed a pilot installation in 11 semi-basement houses inhabited by people with disabilities and the elderly, and subsequently completed the installation of operable security bars in 88 households in connection with the ‘Seoul Hope House Repair Project’.

The district plans to actively promote and provide guidance so that owners and residents who have not submitted consent forms among semi-basement houses classified as having a ‘very’ high necessity for installation can also receive support.

Lee Seongheon, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, said, “We will strengthen safety measures such as pre-inspections to protect residents from flooding caused by heavy rain, and promote multifaceted support projects such as installing flood prevention facilities in semi-basement houses.”

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