Fatalities from Special Building Fires Last Year 1.7 Times the Five-Year Average

Impact of Major Fires at Aricel and Hotel Kobos
Difficulty Finding Emergency Exits and Lack of Escape Devices Led to Mass Casualties

The number of fatalities caused by fires in special buildings last year was found to be 1.7 times higher than the five-year average.

According to the Korea Fire Insurance Association on August 7, the number of deaths due to fires in special buildings last year was 42, which is 1.7 times higher than the five-year average of 24.2. This increase was attributed to large-scale fires such as those at Aricel and Hotel Kobos. By type of facility, the proportion of fatalities was highest in factories at 42.9%, followed by apartments at 28.6%, and then sales facilities, accommodation facilities, buildings with 11 or more floors, and schools, each at 7.1%.

Over the past five years, the causes of death in fires in special buildings were as follows: inability to evacuate due to smoke (flames) at 34.5%, being asleep at 19.0%, mental or physical disabilities at 19.0%, locked exits (including security bars) at 5.2%, and exit congestion at 1.7%.

Fatalities Caused by Fires in Special Buildings Over the Past Five Years (2020?2024). Korea Fire Protection Association

In the case of the Aricel fire, the building was designed with a complex evacuation structure, making it difficult to find exits in an emergency without prior evacuation training. The initial ignition and combustion occurred in lithium batteries stored near the entrance, rendering the evacuation exit unusable.

For the Hotel Kobos fire, although escape devices were required to be installed in all rooms according to evacuation equipment installation standards, about 50%, or 31 rooms, lacked such devices, and 9 rooms had devices that were unusable. In addition, because the building was not required to have sprinklers based on its construction permit date, initial fire suppression also failed.

A representative from the Korea Fire Insurance Association stated, "We will continue to provide full support so that people can prepare for fire risks on their own and help create a safer society."

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