Firefighter Lee Hyeong-seok (clockwise from left), Park Soo-dong Fire Department, and Jo Woo-chan Fire Department, who died while fighting a fire at the construction site of a new construction site for a new freezing warehouse in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. provided by readers
① The rescue team was re-introduced to the fire scene without careful review.
②Equipment (light line) to track the movement in case of emergency was not provided.
③ The status check for shifts, such as the remaining amount of oxygen, was not performed.
On the 6th, firefighter Lee Hyung-seok (50), firefighter Park Soo-dong (31), and firefighter Jo Woo-chan (25), who died following being put to work at the fire site of a new construction site for a new frozen warehouse in Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 6th, were the causes of the accident. It is close to human resources in that it hastily issued an order to search for lives at the scene of a fire that might pose a fatal risk at any time without objective inspection (①), and the elaborate manual that puts firefighter safety first did not work (②, ③) The tragedy is the position of the bereaved family.
There was nothing special… Re-search in a word
According to the fire department and the families of the victims on the 9th, fire officials including the chief of the Songtan Fire Department on the 7th, the day following the disaster, conducted an on-site investigation of the fire in the presence of the bereaved families. On the 10th, Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency, Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters, and the National Institute of Scientific Investigation will conduct on-the-spot forensics. The investigation, which started at 10:20 am and lasted for regarding 2 hours and 30 minutes, was conducted in a way that officials guided around the site, explaining the circumstances and cause of the accident, and answering questions and opinions of the bereaved family.
On this day, the Hankook Ilbo obtained a recording file containing the participant’s remarks from the beginning of the investigation to the end of the investigation from the bereaved family. As a result of analyzing the recordings, the bereaved family focused on the shortcomings in the operation of on-site personnel revealed during the accident with the fire department.
According to the description of the fire department in the recording, the rescue team, including the victims, had already completed three searches before being reintroduced to the scene at 8 am on the 6th. It was because of the testimony of a construction worker that “there were 3 people left on the 5th floor”, but all three searches ended with ‘nothing special’. However, when the worker described the impressions in detail and claimed that there were isolated people, the rescue team launched a fourth search with suspicion. Eventually, the fire spread once more at 9:12 a.m. during the search, and only two out of five rescuers managed to escape. Contrary to the claim of the workers, there were no additional deaths inside the construction site.
“Do you know how scary it is to say that there are people inside (to the firefighters),” said Jo Woo-chan, a surviving family member of the Fire Department.
An official from the fire department explained to the Hankook Ilbo on the same day, “There are so many workers at the construction site, such as non-regular workers and daily workers, that safety managers are not aware of, so additional searches are often carried out 10 more times.” In response, Mr. Lee argued, “If the safety manager is given responsibility for judgment and the manager has confirmed the evacuation of all personnel by himself, the fire department should be enacted so that the search can be stopped.”
Securing an escape route If there was a ‘light line’
The bereaved family also pointed out that there was no light line at the site at the time of the fourth search during the on-site investigation. The light line is a light-emitting cable that is issued when firefighters are put into a complex or smokey site like a maze. An official from the fire department explained, “The water pipe that the crews bring in plays a similar role,” but the bereaved family said, “If you miss the water pipe (the crew inside), it’s over, but the light line automatically marks the movement and you just follow the line from the outside to save it. can,” he replied.
A firefighter official said to the Hankook Ilbo, “Currently, the installation of light lines is not compulsory at all sites as it is a guideline.” In response, Mr. Lee said, “It was only 1.5 m from the place where the three (dead) were found to the stairway entrance. Apart from the problem of finding the (three) bodies quickly, I think we were really able to save all of them.” As there is a risk of re-ignition, the installation of light lines should be made compulsory.”
At the time of the on-site investigation, rescuers brought two oxygen bottles for 40 minutes, but it was also pointed out that the problem was that the crew did not change until the oxygen was exhausted. Lee told the firefighters, “We went in at 8 am (the team involved with us evacuated by themselves), so by 9:10, it was 10 minutes before all the oxygen ran out.” We should have checked whether there was a radio history of “From now on, no matter who enters, we need a manual that checks the situation every 30 minutes and replaces it,” he said.
Request for improvement of “learn from sacrifice” problem
Despite the grief of losing a family member, the bereaved families gathered for the on-site investigation repeatedly asked for ‘improvement of the structural problem’, and officials repeatedly apologized, saying “I’m sorry”. A bereaved family also pointed out, “The essential responsibility lies with the politicians who postponed the enactment of the manual.” The crew members who lost their colleagues comforted the bereaved by saying, “I feel like I want to beat my heart.”
In the recording file, Mr. Lee said, “Coming today (on the field), I can see why Chan Woo had such pride. I wouldn’t have been able to enter, but the crew is respectful and grateful.” Please make sure to reflect these things legally.” According to the bereaved family, the fire department said that it would review and supplement the request of the family related to the light line and oxygen cylinder replacement manual.
Lee Jung-won reporter [email protected]
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