What If There Is a Fire at DDP?… Seoul City Conducts Large-Scale Fire Response Drill for High-Density Facilities

'2024 Disaster Response Safe Korea Drill' Held at DDP
Participation of 27 Related Organizations, Groups, and Over 600 Citizens
Mayor Oh Oversees Damage Situation and Commands on Site

What if a fire breaks out at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), a representative multi-use dense facility in Seoul?

Seoul City will conduct the "2024 Seoul Disaster Response Safety Korea Drill" on the 30th, assuming a large fire occurs in a multi-use dense facility. The "Disaster Response Safety Korea Drill" has been conducted nationwide since 2005 to establish a disaster response system, with central government ministries, local governments, and public institutions selecting the timing and themes of drills by training institutions.

This year, the drill will be held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. This place is a super-large complex cultural space with three basement floors and four above-ground floors, visited by about 30,000 people daily on average. Seoul City plans to enhance practical response capabilities in disaster situations and verify cooperation systems with related organizations through this drill, which assumes a large fire has occurred.

Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Jung-gu, Seoul on the 23rd./Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The drill assumes a situation where a fire breaks out during a fashion show at Exhibition Hall 1 of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza Museum, causing many casualties as event staff and visitors fail to evacuate due to smoke and power outage. In addition to Seoul City, 27 related organizations including Jung-gu Office, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Jungbu Fire Station, and Seoul Design Foundation, as well as about 600 citizens and 1,100 people including foreigners, will participate.

To make the drill as realistic as possible, about 60 pieces of equipment including the Seoul City Disaster Safety Field Situation Room (bus), Fire Disaster Headquarters command bus, fire trucks, patrol cars, communication recovery vehicles, drones, and rescue dogs will be deployed on site. In particular, this drill will focus on ▲initial disaster situation reception and dissemination ▲rapid response by first responders such as fire, police, and Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) ▲activation of Seoul City and Jung-gu Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and Integrated Support Headquarters.

On site, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will take overall command. After receiving a report of a large-scale casualty incident at Dongdaemun Design Plaza and ordering the activation of the Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, he will visit the site to check the damage situation and inspect the cooperation system with related organizations. Mayor Oh will go up to the disaster safety field situation room on site and connect a video conference remotely with the Seoul City Hall Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters situation room. They will discuss recovery measures in real time, communicate with the disaster site, and focus on practical training to quickly solve problems.

In addition, Seoul City will convene a situation assessment meeting immediately upon receiving the accident report to analyze the disaster situation identified so far and activate 13 working teams of the Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. Subsequently, specific disaster emergency medical measures, emergency patient identification, emergency measures for public transportation such as subway and bus, and disaster mental health services will be supported. Kim Seong-bo, Director of Disaster Safety Office, said, "Through this drill involving various organizations and citizens, we will comprehensively check Seoul City's disaster safety management system and further enhance practical response capabilities," adding, "If it is directly related to citizens' safety, we will not compromise even on the smallest matters, find and improve deficiencies, and always create a 'Safe City Seoul' strong against disasters and calamities."

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