Lodging facilities that voluntarily install sprinklers without existing systems will receive benefits such as local government tax reductions and fire insurance discounts. This measure follows a fire accident in a Bucheon hotel in Aug., which resulted in seven fatalities, partly attributed to the lack of sprinklers.
The National Fire Agency noted on the 19th that it announced the lodging facility fire safety improvement comprehensive plan at the 51st National Strategic Issues Ministers Meeting.
Sprinklers play a significant role in controlling fires in the early stages. However, older buildings are exempt from mandatory sprinkler installation. Although the sprinkler installation standards were revised in 2018 to make installation mandatory in hotels and inns of six stories or more, the law does not apply retroactively. In the case of the Bucheon hotel, which was completed in 2004 and where seven people died in the Aug. fire, there were no sprinklers in the rooms.
Additionally, the National Fire Agency requires that lodging businesses disclose in their self-inspection records the presence or absence of sprinklers.
In the case of a fire, establishments are required to install escape equipment, such as evacuation slides, according to the room capacity. Typically, a lodging facility room is equipped with either one regular evacuation slide or two disposable simple evacuation slides, but they are now required to match the slides to the actual capacity.
The installation of smoke sealing tape in guest rooms will also be mandatory. This measure aims to help guests block smoke from entering through door gaps during a fire.
Moreover, the National Fire Agency plans to push for attaching fastening hooks that can be connected to external supports on safety mats, in collaboration with firefighting equipment companies. During the Bucheon hotel fire, two guests jumped onto a safety mat, but the mat flipped over, resulting in their deaths.
Heo Seok-gon, the head of the National Fire Agency, said, “We will continue to inspect and complement our measures to strengthen fire safety in lodging facilities, not just ending with this announcement.”