A fire broke out in an apartment in the Mapo district of Seoul on the 17th, resulting in the deaths of 2 out of 3 family members. Another 13 residents were also injured. There are indications that the damage from the fire was substantial because the apartment did not have sprinklers installed, which automatically spray water when a fire occurs.
Two out of three multi-family homes in the country lack sprinklers. In the past, there was no obligation to install them, and even now, many are reluctant to install them due to the cost burden. Legislation to allow the government or local authorities to subsidize the expense of sprinkler installation has been proposed, but it has not passed in the National Assembly.
◇Only 35% of multi-family homes have sprinklers… elderly apartments face increasing casualties
The apartment where the recent fire occurred has 1 basement floor and 20 above ground, with the affected unit located on the 14th floor. This apartment was completed in 1998, when it was not required to install sprinklers.
At that time, the Fire Facility Act required sprinklers to be installed only in buildings with 16 or more floors. Since 2005, apartments with more than 11 floors have been required to have them on all floors, and from 2018, the requirement applies to buildings with more than 6 floors.
However, the law was not applied retroactively to apartments built before the amendment. As of January of last year, out of a total of 44,208 multi-family complexes, only 15,388 (35%) had sprinklers installed.
When a fire occurs in an old apartment, casualties are common. On the 10th, a fire believed to be caused by arson broke out on the 11th floor of a 17-story apartment in Sincheondong, Dong-gu, Daegu, claiming the lives of three family members, including a teenage brother and sister and their mother. This apartment was built in the 1990s and was not subject to the obligation to install sprinklers.
On the 13th of last month, a fire broke out on the 2nd floor of a 15-story apartment in Mandeok-dong, Buk-gu, Busan, resulting in the deaths of 2 out of 3 family members inside the home. This apartment was completed in 2006 but did not have sprinklers installed as it received building permission in February 2003.
Additionally, in Busan, fires broke out in apartments on the 2nd and June 24th, resulting in the deaths of 8-year-old and 6-year-old sisters and 10-year-old and 7-year-old sisters. All were in apartments without sprinklers.
◇"Having sprinklers during a fire could reduce fatalities by one-tenth"
When sprinklers are activated during a fire, they can help extinguish it in the early stages and reduce smoke, preventing asphyxiation. An analysis of materials submitted by the Fire Agency during a National Assembly government audit in 2021 by then-People Power Party member Lee Myung-soo found that from 2018 to 2020, in buildings with sprinklers installed, there was an average of 0.5 fatalities and 7.4 injuries for every 100 fires in multi-family homes. In buildings without sprinklers, there were an average of 4.9 fatalities and 20.8 injuries. This indicates that sprinklers can reduce fatalities by one-tenth and injuries by one-third.
The effectiveness of installing sprinklers is particularly evident in goshiwons, which are structurally vulnerable to fires. On November 9, 2018, a fire in a goshiwon in Gwan-su-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, led to the deaths of 7 people and injuries to 11 others. This goshiwon was located in a building completed in 1983 and was not required to have sprinklers installed.
This incident prompted the requirement for installing sprinklers in goshiwons. A law was amended to mandate the installation of simplified sprinklers in goshiwons by June 30, 2022. The government and local authorities also provided funding for the expense of installing simplified sprinklers in small and old goshiwons.
Shortly thereafter, on July 20, 2021, a fire broke out at a goshiwon in Jeungsan-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, but it was extinguished without casualties due to the effective operation of the sprinkler system that had been installed through a government support program.
◇Expenses for sprinkler installation are supported for goshiwons… but not for general apartments
However, the government and local authorities do not provide support for the expense of sprinkler installation in general apartments. In 2019, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport announced a program to lend 40 million won at low interest for the installation of fire prevention facilities, including sprinklers.
For apartment residents, the burden of installing sprinklers at their own expense is considerable. The expense for a simplified sprinkler system is around 3 million won. Additionally, they need to purchase sprinkler heads and piping, and because installation involves breaking through the ceiling, costs for wallpaper, labor, and other fees are incurred. In older apartments, there are cases where new piping needs to be installed, which can lead to a total cost exceeding 10 million won per unit based on an exclusive area of 84㎡. New apartments, which can receive large contracts, are reported to be installed at a cost of around 5 to 6 million won per unit.
In contrast, the government and local authorities support expenses for replacing individual household facilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Seoul City provides 5 million won for replacing old housing windows with energy-efficient frames for single-family and multi-family homes, and 600,000 won for replacing old boilers with high-efficiency condensing boilers.
Consequently, there are calls for the government to support expenses for installing sprinklers, which can reduce casualties from fires. In the National Assembly, People Power Party member Kim Mi-ae proposed an amendment to the Fire Facility Act last month, which would mandate the installation of sprinklers on all floors of currently constructed multi-family homes and allow for government or local authority support for installation expenses.
Meanwhile, the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) announced in April that it would promote the installation of simplified sprinklers in 97 complexes of old permanent rental apartments, covering 50% of the project cost with government funds.