‘Apartment Smoke Control System Poor Construction Yet Completion Approved’ … Daegu Ansillyeon Urges Action

Daegu Safe Living Practice Citizens' Coalition (hereinafter, Daegu Ansillyeon) raised suspicions of poor construction and defects in the newly built apartment complex in Suseong-gu, Daegu, constructed by construction company D, which is nearing completion on the 20th, after receiving reports from prospective residents. Upon on-site inspection, they found that smoke control facilities designed to prevent suffocation from smoke in case of fire were poorly constructed.

Daegu Ansillyeon stated that the smoke control facilities, which prevent suffocation accidents caused by smoke during fires, are practically useless despite being installed. However, the local Suseong Fire Station approved the fire completion based solely on the inspection report submitted by the fire supervision company. It was revealed that the smoke control facilities in all four buildings of the apartment complex do not operate.

Due to faulty fire protection equipment, the door does not open, making it impossible for residents to evacuate in case of fire.

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About 70% of casualties in fires are due to suffocation from toxic gases in smoke. In the event of a fire, more people suffocate from smoke than from flames or heat. Smoke control facilities detect smoke generated in the early stages of a building fire and limit the movement and spread of smoke.

These fire safety facilities use blowers to pressurize auxiliary rooms to prevent smoke from entering and exhausters to release pressurized air from the fire room corridor, preventing smoke from spreading to the stairwell, which serves as an evacuation route.

Although there is a growing need to strengthen the installation standards for smoke control facilities due to frequent casualties caused by suffocation from smoke during fires, the bigger problem is that the currently installed smoke control facilities are not functioning properly.

According to Daegu Ansillyeon's on-site inspection, when checking the performance of the smoke control facilities, excessive pressure was generated at the exit door leading from the basement to the parking lot, making it impossible to open the door. In particular, a prospective resident who participated in the inspection tried to open the door but could not.

However, the company responsible for fire supervision explained that there was no problem at that time. At the lower floors near the blower, the auxiliary room doors that block smoke did not close properly due to excessive pressure and airflow, failing to seal, and the doors were so tightly pressurized that they could not be easily opened for evacuation.

On the upper floors, the airflow (smoke control velocity) that prevents smoke inflow into the auxiliary rooms was almost nonexistent. Despite the smoke control facilities in all four buildings being virtually useless, the fire supervision company submitted a false inspection report, resulting in fire completion approval.

Upon the request of Daegu Ansillyeon and prospective residents, a re-inspection was conducted in the presence of officials from the local fire station, confirming that all four buildings in the apartment complex had false fire supervision. However, since the fire completion process was already finalized on March 6, they received a response that administrative action could not be taken.

Daegu Safe Living Practice Citizens' Alliance.

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Daegu Ansillyeon urged, “Administrative agencies responsible for citizen safety and lives (Suseong-gu Office, Suseong Fire Station) must fundamentally prevent serious poor construction and false supervision by establishing countermeasures, thoroughly verifying and inspecting from the permitting stage, and strictly enforcing administrative measures against companies involved in poor construction and false supervision.”

In response, a representative from the Daegu Suseong Fire Station said, “Following objections from Daegu Ansillyeon and residents, an on-site inspection of the smoke control facilities was conducted, revealing issues. We have instructed the supervision company to complete reinforcement work, and a final inspection involving residents, Ansillyeon, fire station officials, and the supervision company will be held soon.”

The official added, “According to relevant regulations, fire completion approval can only be granted after reviewing documents submitted by the fire supervision company. However, if problems arise, on-site inspections are possible. Appropriate measures will be taken against companies responsible for poor construction.”

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