Have you inspected your home’s fire protection system? – Policies spoken by the people | news

A few days ago, I received a call from my husband at work. A firefighting facility inspection text message was received from the management office through the apartment management platform. At the same time, residents are asking a lot of questions such as since when have fire inspections been conducted and how do they do this? How do they know anything? I did a quick search and found that not only apartment managers but also residents have a duty to conduct fire inspections. But why was it that in my memory, fire inspection was the only thing that was done collectively by the management office?

I first called the management office. The management office said that after signing up for the apartment management platform, you can check each item one by one or visit the management office to receive a checklist and fill it out. At the same time, he urged everyone to participate, saying that it is a large apartment complex with over 2,000 households and that everyone must be careful about fire.

Actually, there was a fire in the apartment about two years ago. I still feel dizzy when I think about that time. One day, which I remember as an early summer weekend, I went outside to hear the sound of 119 fire trucks and people shouting loudly. Residents said that there was a fire on the top floor of several buildings, and it was because their son had gone to play in that building. Fortunately, the fire did not spread significantly and was quickly brought to an end. According to the story, the grandmother fell asleep while cooking meat on a gas burner on the veranda, and children playing in the playground saw smoke coming from the veranda and called 119.

In fact, this can happen anytime, anywhere. If the children had not reported it, it could have resulted in a really serious accident. As a result of an incident two years ago, I have a fire extinguisher at home. And at my parents’ house, who still insists on using a gas stove, we installed a gas shutoff timer.

The risk of fire is always lurking in our lives. Therefore, perhaps it is natural for us to conduct fire inspections ourselves. At this point, I installed the apartment management app and started checking according to the instructions. First, items related to fire extinguishing equipment were inspected. We checked whether there was a fire extinguisher and whether there was any corrosion. Afterwards, we checked whether the fire extinguishing system and sprinklers installed in the boiler room and kitchen were normal.

The following is an inspection of evacuation equipment and evacuation spaces located on the 3rd to 10th floors of apartment complexes. Most homes often pile items here, so this must be checked.

All households living in apartment complexes have been subject to mandatory inspection of firefighting facilities since the Firefighting Facilities Act was revised on December 1, 2022. Just like the fire I experienced, an apartment complex is a living space for all of us, so if each household is not careful, everyone can suffer great harm. As the dry weather continues recently, local fire departments and management offices seem to be making every effort to prevent fires. The apartment I live in has evacuation information posted not only in front of the fire door but also at the entrance of each unit.

There is constant news of fires in disaster texts and news. These days, when the dry weather continues, inspecting firefighting facilities is a natural duty and consideration for not only our family, but also the people living with us, and even the earth! Don’t forget to do it actively.

Republic of Korea Policy Reporter Kim Myeong-jin [email protected]