Sejong Badminton Center Fire: Sports Facility Fire Safety Lessons

[대전인터넷신문=세종/최대열기자] On the 7th, a fire at the Badminton Center in Geumnam-myeon, Sejong City was presumed to have been ignited by a cigarette butt discarded by a center employee, based on CCTV footage from a nearby ready-mix concrete factory. As a result, the blind spot in the structural safety of the sports facility, which was classified as a neighborhood living facility and excluded from fire inspection, came to the fore.

The badminton center was swept away by fire. [사진-대전인터넷신문]

Around the badminton center that was swept away by the fire, employees at a nearby repair shop are explaining the urgent situation at the time with the fire extinguisher they used to extinguish the fire. [사진-대전인터넷신문]

According to Sejong City and the fire department, regarding the fire that broke out at the badminton center located in Gugok-ri, Geumnam-myeon around noon on the 7th, as a result of analyzing CCTV footage installed at the entrance of a nearby ready-mix concrete factory, it was discovered that embers were caught from a cigarette butt thrown near the building by a center official. The fire spread rapidly throughout the building, and with smoke rising, an employee at a nearby auto repair shop was the first to see the fire and report it to 119.

There was also a rapid response from citizens at the scene. Upon reporting the incident, maintenance shop employees rushed to the scene of the fire with about 10 fire extinguishers provided at the maintenance shop and attempted to extinguish the fire in the early stages. Despite the smoke, they took turns spraying fire extinguishers to extinguish the flames, but it was not enough to stop the fire that had already spread through rooftop structures and facilities. One employee said, “The fire spread so quickly that we couldn’t do anything, but we couldn’t just retreat for fear of casualties.”

Meanwhile, after this accident, the Southern Fire Department decided to officially honor the work of the repair shop employees who took risks and took action to extinguish the fire in the early stage. The fire department plans to replace all fire extinguishers used at the time of the fire with new products and deliver a certificate of appreciation to the maintenance shop in celebration of the upcoming Fire Day. An official from the Nambu Fire Station said, “The citizens’ quick response contributed to preventing major damage,” and added, “We want to publicize it as an example that contributed to the safety of the community.”

The reason why this fire is causing greater controversy is that, although the facility in question is a sports space used by many citizens, the building’s use was classified as a ‘neighborhood living facility’ and it was excluded from regular fire inspections. The badminton center is officially registered and operated as a sports facility in Sejong City, but has been managed as a neighborhood facility under fire-related laws and regulations. The fact that the safety management system varies depending on the purpose of the building, regardless of whether it is registered as a sports facility, was clearly revealed through this accident.

The current firefighting law system involves special firefighting investigations and regular inspections focusing on specific firefighting objects. However, there are many cases where facilities are excluded from inspection simply because they are legally classified as neighborhood living facilities, even though the actual use type is a sports facility. This is why it is pointed out that it is a structural limitation caused by the gap between the reality of a multi-use facility and the law and system.

There are a number of registered sports facilities in Sejong City, including privately operated sports centers and recreational sports facilities, and many of them are licensed and operated as neighborhood living facilities. As a result, even though it is a space where many people gather on a regular basis, there are repeated cases where regular inspection of fire vulnerability factors and safety education are not institutionally guaranteed. This fire is also evaluated as an example of a gap in institutional management in a situation where small carelessness could have led to a major accident.

Experts point out that “the safety management system should be designed based on the actual function and usage characteristics rather than the legal name of the facility,” and “there is a need to improve the system to include spaces that are constantly used by multiple people, such as sports facilities, in the subject of special firefighting inspections and regular inspections, regardless of the use of the building.” In particular, the opinion that a regular inspection system should be established for fire-vulnerable elements such as electrical equipment, solar power equipment, and management of indoor combustibles is gaining ground.

In the local community, voices calling for a preemptive response at the Sejong City level are growing in the wake of this accident. Regardless of whether they are subject to statutory inspection by the fire department, the argument is that the city should conduct an overall safety survey and joint on-site inspection focusing on registered sports facilities to eliminate risk factors in advance. It is pointed out that although it is a facility used by many people, blind spots in management that have arisen due to the structural limitations of ‘neighborhood’ should no longer be neglected.

The Geumnam Badminton Center fire showed how much danger can spread when a trivial carelessness, such as a cigarette butt, is combined with an institutional vacuum. Although there was a courageous initial response from citizens, safety cannot be left to the dedication of individuals. With this incident as an opportunity, reorganizing the safety and fire inspection system for all registered sports facilities in Sejong City and improving the system by converting to function-oriented safety standards are emerging as tasks that can no longer be postponed.