Fire zones ignored

[Anchor]

In order to respond quickly when a fire breaks out, fire truck exclusive zones are designated in every apartment complex.

Parking is prohibited in these zones, but it is reported that most apartment complexes cannot enforce regulations even if vehicles are parked there.

Why is that? Reporter Park Jin-young has investigated.

[Report]

In an apartment complex in Daegu, vehicles are parked in the fire truck exclusive zone marked by yellow lines.

Some vehicles are blocking the fire truck access itself.

One van is obstructing the entrance, leaving no space for a fire truck to pass through.

[Park So-young/Apartment Resident: "Right in front is a daycare center, and right next to it is a playground. I wonder why people continue to do this knowing that a fire could break out..."]

Parking in the fire truck exclusive zone is a violation of the Fire Services Act and can result in a fine of up to 1 million won.

However, fines cannot be imposed in this apartment complex.

Only apartments that received building permits after Aug. 2018 are subject to the relevant law, and this apartment was permitted in 2015, before the law took effect.

As a result, among over 20,000 apartment complexes with more than 100 households nationwide, only about 1,170 can enforce regulations against violations in fire truck exclusive zones, which is just 5%.

The problem is that if a fire occurs in an apartment, the delay in fire truck access could cause them to miss the golden time.

[Gong Ha-sung/Professor of Fire and Disaster Management, Woosuk University: "(Apartments) tend to have a faster fire spread rate than other buildings. The likelihood of property damage or casualties increases significantly with illegal parking."]

To address this issue, a legislative amendment was proposed in the National Assembly in 2018, but it did not pass the plenary session, and discussions for further amendments have effectively disappeared since then.

KBS News, Park Jin-young.