Gyeonggi Province Education Superintendent Lim Tae-hee: "Install Sprinklers in All Temporary School Buildings"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education has decided to install sprinklers in all temporary school buildings (modular classrooms) in the province by the first half of next year.

On the 9th, Education Superintendent Lim Tae-hee visited Namyang High School in Hwaseong to inspect fire and safety facilities and instructed, "Promptly proceed with installing sprinklers in all temporary school buildings in the province so there are no blind spots in student safety."

Namyang High School in Hwaseong is Gyeonggi Province's first school to install temporary school buildings and currently operates two buildings, one of which—installed on September 1st—is equipped with sprinklers.

However, since temporary school buildings are temporary structures not subject to the same fire safety installation standards as regular schools, there has been significant concern and anxiety among students and parents living in these buildings regarding safety accidents.

Accordingly, the Provincial Office of Education plans to invest 3.1 billion won to prevent student safety accidents and alleviate concerns among students and parents, with plans to complete sprinkler installation in all temporary school buildings in the province by the first half of next year.

The temporary school buildings targeted for installation total 24 buildings (13 elementary, 9 middle, 2 high schools), accounting for all temporary school buildings except for 2 that already have sprinklers installed and 3 scheduled to end their lease.

On this day, Superintendent Lim inspected the sprinklers installed at Namyang High School's temporary buildings, seismic and fire-resistant insulation performance, fire-resistant doors, and evacuation routes in case of fire. He also met with school staff and related personnel to listen to on-site opinions and engage in dialogue.

At this meeting, Superintendent Lim stated, "Measures related to student safety must be taken to the point of seeming excessive in order to prevent accidents," and added, "So that students can feel assured and go about their school life with peace of mind, we will thoroughly inspect the safety conditions of temporary school buildings and reflect and supplement on-site opinions."