Nearly 40% of casualties from apartment fires over the past three years occurred in households where no fire broke out, during the process of evacuating to escape the fire.
The National Fire Agency released these statistics on the 20th. There were a total of about 9,300 apartment fires over the past three years. As a result, 115 people died and 1,148 were injured.
About 39% of the casualties occurred during evacuation. On the 14th, seven people were injured in an apartment fire in Gimje, North Jeolla, and most were residents living on floors above the one where the fire broke out.
The National Fire Agency analyzed that when a fire breaks out, smoke including toxic gases rapidly spreads upward through the stairwell, exposing evacuating residents to smoke and causing harm.
The National Fire Agency first recommended that when a fire breaks out in one's own home, residents should be sure to close the front door to prevent further spread of smoke and use the stairs to move to the ground level or the rooftop.
If evacuation is difficult because the fire started near the entrance, it advised moving immediately to an in-unit evacuation space or through a lightweight partition, and blocking the door gaps with a wet towel to keep smoke out.
Conversely, if a fire breaks out somewhere other than one's own home and flames or smoke are not entering, it may be safer not to evacuate rashly, but to close the windows and wait inside the unit.
If smoke enters one's home, evacuate immediately if there is no smoke in the hallway or stairwell; if evacuation is not possible, likewise block door gaps with a wet towel and wait for rescue.
The National Fire Agency stressed that evacuation environments differ by apartment complex, so it is important to know precisely the locations and types of evacuation facilities in the apartment where one lives.