Fatal Fire on 2nd Floor of 5 Story Building Kills 10

[jar546]

This would have more than likely been a B in the US

SKorea investigates cause of shooting range fire

By HYUNG-JIN KIM (AP) – 6 hours ago

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean police and fire officers Sunday investigated what caused a blaze that raced through an indoor shooting gallery killing 10 people, including eight Japanese tourists.

The fire Saturday occurred in a five-story building in the southeastern city of Busan, where a group of Japanese tourists visited as part of their tour of the port city, about 200 miles (325 kilometers) from Seoul.

The 10 dead included eight Japanese tourists and their South Korean tour guide, the Busan Fire Department said in a statement. The 10th victim was believed to be a South Korean employee at the shooting range. Six people were also seriously injured.

Department spokesman Lee Young-chul said all 10 bodies were severely burned.

South Korea's tourism minister offered an apology to the Japanese victims and their family members. "I'm offering my words of sincere condolence," said Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Yu In-chon in a statement.

Police and fire officers examined the site Sunday with National Institute of Science Investigation officials, local fire officer Lee Jung-min said.

Yonhap news agency said police focused on restoring footage recorded by seven CCTV cameras inside the building, hoping it would give clues as to what caused the blaze.

South Korean and Japanese media reports said the Japanese victims were former junior high classmates, now in their 30s, who live in Nagasaki prefecture.

They took a ferry to come to Busan on Saturday for a two-day visit, the reports said.

Family members of the deceased Japanese arrived in Busan on Sunday, officials said.

Associated Press writer Jay Alabaster in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

[mjesse]

Re: Fatal Fire on 2nd Floor of 5 Story Building Kills 10

And the fire service would have you believe SFR sprinklers could have prevented this

 

[TJacobs]

Re: Fatal Fire on 2nd Floor of 5 Story Building Kills 10

I'm going out on a limb and guessing highly combustible insulation and wall finish for sound control.

I will not respond to the ridiculous uninformed previous posting.

 

[mjesse]

Re: Fatal Fire on 2nd Floor of 5 Story Building Kills 10

Aww, c'mon TJ.

Uninformed perhaps..ridiculous? Have you been to a Fire Sprinkler Initiative meeting?

mj

 

[Gene Boecker]

Re: Fatal Fire on 2nd Floor of 5 Story Building Kills 10

There is a lot of lacking information:

• What was the type of construction?
  Were any fire detection devices or alarm systems present?
  Was the shooting gallery located on the ground floor or on an upper level (second floor on a sloped site?)?
  What were the uses in the rest of the five-story building?
  Were exits marked and what types of exits were provided?
  What was the source of the fire?
  How was the fire service notified?

My guess is that the facility would be far below what we would have had constructed in any code here from the past 30-40 years.

 

[TJacobs]

Re: Fatal Fire on 2nd Floor of 5 Story Building Kills 10

Aww, c'mon TJ.Uninformed perhaps..ridiculous? Have you been to a Fire Sprinkler Initiative meeting?

mj

A properly designed and installed sprinkler system...yes. SFR sprinklers...not in commercial.

Since SFR sprinklers are designed to prevent flashover, they may have prevented:

Department spokesman Lee Young-chul said all 10 bodies were severely burned.