Analysis and Implications of FIRE Vulnerability in Traditional Markets in Republic of KOREA

When a fire breaks out in traditional markets, it is difficult for firefighters to put out early and thus causes bigger damage. This study set out to examine the fire vulnerability of traditional markets and the reasons for difficult fire suppression there and propose improvement measures to prevent a fire in traditional markets at a preliminary level. First, traditional markets are vulnerable to fires for the following reasons: property damage is a big charac-teristic in traditional market fires due to the goods stored in each store. There are many cases of using an elec-tric heating appliance among the stores in traditional markets, which heightens the probability that a fire will spread and become a bigger one. In addition, traditional markets have existed for more than 20 years literally, being subjected to the greater risk of damage due to the deteriorated buildings and high density of stores and to the higher possibility of spreading fires due to the fire vulnerability of goods. Second, it is difficult to take firefighting measures in case of fire in traditional markets despite their fire vul-nerability for the following reasons: it is an often case that fire trucks have a difficult time getting to the fire due to chaotic street vendors around the market, narrow paths, and vehicles that are illegally parked or stopped near the access road, fail to suppress the fire early, and witness the fire spread into a great one when a fire breaks out in a traditional market. There are many overhead arcades installed to block rain and sunlight in traditional markets, where the roads and paths are narrow and complex. Helicopters thus face limits with fire suppression by sprinkling water. Finally, most of merchants in traditional markets are in their fifties or sixties and have a difficult time using a firefighting facility themselves. Third, the concerned authorities need to do active inspection activities beforehand in fire hazard districts in order to manage traditional markets. The local governments often fail to designate and manage fire hazard districts and engage in fire prevention activities or special activities, thus exposing their vulnerability to fires. Furthermore, the education and training sessions are formally provided to the merchants in many cases, and many of them are old and have limits with using a firefighting equipment themselves in traditional markets. Fourth, store owners also experience difficulties with recovering damage through insurance after a fire breaks out in traditional markets: first, most of store owners are small business owners in traditional markets and have a difficult time with receiving fire insurance benefits in case of a fire, which is partly because the in-surance companies tend to avoid the undertaking of fire insurance for traditional markets with a high risk and partly because the small businessmen have a burden with purchasing insurance themselves. As a result, the fire insurance coverage is small in traditional markets, and the merchants face difficulties with minimizing their property damage in the recovery process after a fire break out. Based on those findings, the study proposed a couple of measures to prepare for the fire vulnerability of tra-ditional markets: first, fire prevention education should be provided to the merchants to alert them to a fire and help them develop response capabilities. Secondly, the local governments and firefighting authorities should reinforce the designation and management of fire hazard districts, provide training in which the merchants participate themselves in winter when the frequency of fire is high, and strengthen the special management for firefighting purposes.