The National Fire Agency said on the 1st that it inspected 223 high-rise buildings in Korea and found deficiencies at 32 of them, leading to orders to take corrective action and other measures.
As concerns about major casualties grew following the recent "Hong Kong high-rise apartment fire," the National Fire Agency carried out special fire inspections of 223 high-rise buildings nationwide for two weeks starting on the 1st of last month.
The 223 high-rise buildings inspected comprised 140 super high-rise buildings and 83 quasi-high-rise buildings with combustible exterior materials, out of a total of 6,503 high-rise buildings in Korea.
The inspection found 191 of the 223 sites in good condition, but 57 violations were detected at the remaining 32 sites. The National Fire Agency issued corrective action orders for 56 of them and notified the relevant institution for the remaining one case.
Major violations included: ▲ poor maintenance of fire protection systems such as sprinklers and automatic fire detection equipment ▲ damage to fire doors and fire compartments and poor firestopping ▲ malfunctioning emergency lights and failure to attach signs for emergency elevators.
The National Fire Agency said 43 other minor defects were found and corrected on the spot.
Based on the findings, the National Fire Agency plans to pursue system improvements that reflect the structural characteristics of high-rise buildings. Acting Commissioner Kim Seung-ryong said, "We will establish prevention management and evacuation systems tailored to high-rise buildings, based on the issues identified, to ease the public's anxiety."