January 26, South Korea's South Gyeongsang Province, Milyang City, Sejong Hospital burst into flames, so far, the fire has caused 37 people killed 143 people were injured, the largest number of casualties in South Korea in the past 10 years of the fire, the South Korean media called the "most tragic events.
In May 2014, a fire broke out at a convalescent hospital in South Korea's Jeolla Province, killing 22 people. Only four years after the incident, tragedy struck again, which, according to Yonhap News Agency, revealed that South Korea's hospital fire response system has not been improved.
South Korean experts believe that hospitals, unlike other large public **** places, have a large number of patients with limited mobility, more flammable chemicals, bedding and other cotton products, and small fires can cause large-scale casualties, so a strong response system is needed.
South Korean media, public analysis, hospitals, critically ill patients, many elderly patients, unable to escape on their own; medical institutions, safety awareness is weak, fire equipment is not equipped with adequate; South Korean government response is poor, there are loopholes in the relevant laws, and other reasons for the frequent occurrence of hospital fire tragedy.
Patient mobility hospitals lack of fire response drills
Korea's fire department said the fire, hospitals in the movement of critically ill patients difficult to avoid, belonging to the "hospital fire," a typical case.
Yonhap News Agency believes that one of the reasons why the fire at the Sejong Hospital in Miryang caused so many casualties was that many patients were unable to escape from the scene, especially critically ill patients who relied on ventilators and other devices to keep them alive. In order to move these patients, family members and healthcare workers also faced serious threats to their lives. According to Yonhap News Agency, most of those killed inhaled large amounts of toxic gases and died during the transfer to other hospitals.
Also, hospital sources analyzed that even though the hospital had conducted fire drills, it was difficult for those in the presence of the fire to effectively rescue patients who could not take care of themselves in the face of the sudden blaze.
Weak safety awareness, hospitals are not equipped with enough fire fighting equipment
There is a view that, despite the inevitable factors mentioned above, the weak safety awareness on the part of the hospitals is a more serious reason.
South Korean experts pointed out that hospitals should install fire-fighting equipment such as sprinklers if they accommodate patients who are unable to move on their own or equip fireproof areas such as fire doors.
The South Korean government has increased the requirement for hospitals to install sprinklers after a hospital fire in Jeollanam-do province in 2014, but Sejong Hospital, where the fire took place, did not install them.
Choi Yeong-sang (ph), a professor of fire safety management at Daegu Health University, argued that even with all the usual drills, escaping in the event of a fire is not easy, so basic firefighting facilities are a must.
Accident after accident, Korean media questioned the government's poor response to loopholes in the law
South Korean hospitals lacked a plan to transfer patients and respond to crises, according to the results of a safety audit of 17 public-private medical institutions that was submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee in 2014.
The findings showed that the sampled hospitals were generally unable to ensure that emergency routes were clear, and lacked escape facilities and signaling lights, among other things. In addition, the frequent turnover of healthcare workers and the fact that some staff members have not received appropriate firefighting knowledge and safety education, and are at a loss as to what to do in the event of a disaster, have also reduced their ability to cope with the situation.
However, a few years have passed, and the above problems still have not been effectively solved. Yonhap News Agency said South Korea's Ministry of Administration and Security conducts annual spot checks on medical institutions that are weak in terms of safety. But despite the inspections of the facilities, they are still unable to respond effectively after a disaster occurs.
Sejong Hospital in Miryang, where the current fire broke out, conducted an inspection of its firefighting facilities six months before the incident, saying no problems were found, according to the South Korean report. According to the report, the hospital did not commission a qualified firefighting organization, but conducted a "self-inspection".
According to current South Korean law, medical institutions with an area of more than 5,000 square meters must be inspected by firefighting agencies, but those with an area of less than 5,000 square meters are free to choose between commissioning firefighting agencies or conducting their own inspections. As a result, some South Korean netizens have questioned the law, saying it is not that medical institutions do not abide by the law, but that there are loopholes in the law.
The hospital's failure to install sprinklers, which was the biggest concern for South Korean society during the fire, is a similar situation. South Korea said, according to the Korean Fire Services Act, medical institutions and other general building more than four floors, covers an area of more than 1,000 square meters must be installed sprinkler systems, while the hospital area of 394.78 square meters, does not belong to the list of must be installed. Some Korean people angrily questioned, "Can a life of no more than 1,000 square meters be left alone?" , calling for immediate changes to the relevant laws.