[Exclusive] Fire safety flaws found in Incheon apartments after EV fire

[Anchor]

Following the electric vehicle fire in an underground parking lot in Incheon in August, fire authorities conducted a comprehensive inspection of fire facilities in over 1,700 apartment complexes in Incheon.

As a result, defective firefighting equipment, such as sprinkler malfunctions, were detected in over 140 complexes.

This is a special report by Lee Se-heum.

[Report]

The fire in the underground parking lot of Incheon, caused by an electric vehicle, resulted in over 800 vehicles being burned or scorched.

At that time, a night shift worker turned off the sprinkler, exacerbating the damage.

In response, the Incheon Fire Department conducted a thorough investigation of fire facilities in over 1,700 apartment complexes in Incheon over a period of three months.

[Ahn Seong-ho/Songdo Fire Station Fire Safety Investigation Team: "In the case of the sprinkler system, it is currently set to a standby operation rather than a wet system, right? (Yes, it is in standby operation.)"]

In particular, they focused on inspecting over 880 complexes that have underground parking lots and installed sprinklers.

Among the complexes targeted for intensive inspection, 144, or 16%, were found to have 'defects.'

There were also 70 complexes where the sprinklers were not functioning properly.

The Incheon Fire Department imposed fines of up to 2 million won for 11 cases, including sprinkler malfunctions and forced opening of fire doors.

Additionally, they issued corrective orders for over 230 cases, including malfunctions of detectors and sirens.

[Park Cheon-jun/Songdo Fire Station Fire Safety Investigation Chief: "If the fire facilities are deficient, we will issue corrective orders to address them. Depending on the situation, if the closure or blocking of fire facilities is confirmed, it may lead to criminal charges or fines, and administrative fines may also be imposed."]

On the other hand, in preparation for emergencies following the Incheon underground parking lot fire, some places have prepared suffocation blankets for extinguishing electric vehicles or installed thermal detection CCTV.

["It covers all areas without blind spots, right? (That's right. To monitor electric vehicles.) Did you change this recently? (Yes, we changed it this time.)"]

The National Fire Agency plans to strengthen surprise inspections of fire facilities, targeting underground parking lots in apartments and other areas, until February next year.

KBS News, Lee Se-heum.