The recent fire at a Daejeon factory, which resulted in multiple casualties, was exacerbated by the presence of illegal facilities not included in the original building design.
On the 20th, a fire erupted in the Daejeon safety industrial complex, leading to the discovery of numerous casualties in a gym and break room that were found to be unapproved facilities not originally part of the design. The illegal division of floors created a second and third-floor employee break area without proper ventilation, trapping smoke and creating hazardous conditions during the fire. All nine deceased individuals from the gym were located near the only available window, which was insufficient for proper airflow during the emergency.
Daejeon firefighting authorities reported on the 21st that they had found 11 out of 14 missing persons during rescue operations, with many fatalities occurring on the second floor of the illegally modified area. Officials highlighted the absence of windows on the second floor's front, making ventilation difficult, and noted that the smoke remained trapped inside, worsening the impact of the fire. It was determined that the fire started on the first floor of the building.
A representative from Daejeon's Daedeok District commented that the factory had created a mezzanine floor without proper approval from the local government, which had been unaware of these modifications before the incident. Originally built in 1996, the factory underwent several expansions, with the most recent modification being the unauthorized construction of additional floors for gym and break room spaces, signaling a breach of safety regulations that may have contributed to the tragic outcomes of the event.
