Preliminary Investigation Results of Banyan Tree Resort Fire Released
On April 7, the Busan Police Agency and the Busan Employment and Labor Agency held a press briefing to announce the preliminary findings of their investigation into the fire at the Banyan Tree Resort in Gijang-gun, Busan, which resulted in the tragic deaths of six individuals.
The fire, which occurred on February 14 at approximately 10:51 AM, was traced back to a subcontractor's worker who was cutting and welding pipes in the 'PIT room' on the first floor of Building B. Sparks from the welding ignited materials in the area, leading to the blaze.
During the incident, the worker was cutting a 37 cm section of stainless steel piping with a grinder and performing argon welding to connect a valve to the existing pipe. This process lasted about 40 minutes. Investigations revealed that sparks and hot metal debris from the welding process fell through a 10 cm diameter hole in the floor, which led to the ceiling of the water treatment room on the basement level.
The police noted that out of twelve holes behind the PIT room pipes, only two were blocked, while the remaining ten were open, allowing sparks to escape. The sparks that landed on the insulation of the pipes in the water treatment room did not ignite immediately but went through a heat accumulation process before eventually causing the fire.
Authorities estimate that it may have taken around 30 minutes for the fire to ignite due to this heat accumulation and smoldering process. At the time of the incident, safety regulations required that fireproof tarps be placed over these holes, but the workers proceeded without them. Additionally, there was no fire watch present at the site, which is mandatory during hot work operations.
The sprinkler systems installed on the first and basement levels were found to be non-functional, either due to disconnected valves or manual shut-off.
CCTV footage showed that smoke began to emerge from the PIT room around 10:47 AM, with black smoke appearing in the basement water treatment room shortly after. Within five minutes, the smoke had filled both the first and basement levels.
The police indicated that the flames and smoke rapidly spread from the basement to the first floor through ventilation ducts, leading to the unfortunate deaths of the six victims who were attempting to escape the smoke-filled area.
The investigation revealed that negligence in safety management by the construction and subcontracting companies, along with the malfunctioning fire safety equipment, contributed to this tragic incident. As a result, on April 4, authorities arrested six individuals, including representatives from the two construction companies and the subcontractor involved in the welding work, on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
The police are currently investigating the permitting process with the local government and fire department, as there were issues with the installation and operation of fire safety systems despite having received approval for the building's use. A final report on the investigation is expected to be released by the end of the month.
Furthermore, the Busan Employment and Labor Agency conducted safety inspections at the construction sites of the two companies involved and found 55 violations, including the failure to implement measures to prevent sparks from scattering during welding. Ten of these violations have been referred for legal action, while fines totaling over 12 million won have been imposed for the remaining infractions.
