Suggested citations
AGLC4 | 소방법 2011 [Firefighting Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2011)] [tr Daye Gang].
Bluebook | Sobangbeob 2011 [Firefighting Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2011)] translated in Law and North Korea by Daye Gang, https://www.lawandnorthkorea.com/.
Adopted on February 24, Juche 94 (2005), as Directive No. 964 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on January 25, Juche 100 (2011), as Directive No. 1360 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
CHAPTER I. BASICS OF FIREFIGHTING LAW
Article 1 (Objectives of Firefighting Law)
The Firefighting Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall strictly adopt systems and orders in fire prevention, fire extinguishing and rescue to serve to strengthen firefighting work.
Article 2 (Principle of fire prevention work)
Fire prevention is work for the whole State and the whole of society. The State shall divide fire prevention districts to institutions, enterprises and organizations and shall execute a fire prevention responsibility system.
Article 3 (Principle of fire extinguishing work)
Fire extinguishing is important work to protect property of the State and the life and property of citizens from fire. The State shall correctly adopt a fire reporting system to extinguish a fire that has arisen at the right time.
Article 4 (Modernization of firefighting methods)
The State shall systematically increase investment in the firefighting sector to modernize its material and technical means.
Article 5 (Exchange and cooperation in the firefighting field)
The State shall develop exchange and cooperation in the firefighting field with other countries and international organizations.
Article 6 (Subject of application of firefighting law)
This law shall be applied to institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens. This law shall also be applied to the representative organs of other countries and of international organizations in the territory of our country, foreign country investment enterprises, and foreigners.
CHAPTER II. FIRE PREVENTION
Article 7 (Basic requirements of fire prevention)
Preventing fires is an important condition to assure the work of institutions, enterprises and organizations and the stability of the citizens’ standard of life. People’s safety institutions and institutions, enterprises and organizations must do fire prevention work in a planned way so that it has good prospects.
Article 8 (Division of fire monitoring)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall command fire hazard sites and must divide up their monitoring. An employee who has received a division of the monitoring must properly monitor the fire hazard site.
Article 9 (Eradication of fire hazard sites, maintenance and service on firefighting facilities)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall find fire hazard sites and eradicate them at the right time, and must maintain and service firefighting facilities. In cases where firefighting facilities are sought to be maintaine, serviced or newly installed, there must be agreement with the relevant people’s safety institution.
Article 10 (Eradication of fire hazard sites in the home)
Local political institutions must strengthen education for fire prevention among the citizens and must make them eradicate fire hazard sites in the home.
Article 11 (Drafting and disseminating firefighting rules)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall make firefighting rules in conformity with their own reality and must properly disseminate them to their employees. Newly hired employees, practical training students and temporarily mobilized people must be educated on the firefighting rules and then put to work.
Article 12 (Installation and management of fire hazard facilities and fire alarms)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations must install and manage fire hazard facilities such as electrical and fire handling facilities, fire sensing elements and fire alarms according to the requirements of technical regulations. The installation and management of fire hazard facilities, fire sensing elements and fire alarms must be done by the relevant technical worker.
Article 13 (Firefighting safety manual and markers for fire hazard substances)
Enterprises and organizations that produce fire hazard substances must attach a firefighting safety manual like the flash point and the ignition point on the relevant product or mark it for fire hazard substances. A fire hazard product that does not have an attached firefighting safety manual or a marker for fire hazard substances may not be sold or supplied.
Article 14 (Storage of fire hazard substances)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations must store fire hazard substances in a building or place that has firefighting means and where the safety conditions are guaranteed. In cases where fire hazard substances are inevitably sought to be stored in a designated building or place, this must be agreed with the relevant people’s safety institution. Only residential fuels such as petroleum or propane gas may be stored at home. Ignitable substances may not be stored with other fire hazard substances or flammable substances.
Article 15 (Prohibition on using fire in storage buildings for fire hazard substances or flammable substances)
Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must not do work that can cause a fire in a building or place that stores and uses fire hazard substances or flammable substances. In cases where work that can cause a fire is inevitably sought to be done, firefighting measures must be adopted and agreed with the relevant people’s safety institution or fire department.
Article 16 (Prohibition on installing office, security office, bedroom in warehouses)
Offices, security offices or bedrooms may not be managed and fire use facilities may not be installed in warehouses that store fire hazard substances or flammable substances. Institutions, enterprises and organizations that seek to install electrical facilities in warehouses that store flammable substances must install them by agreement with the relevant people’s safety institution and an inspection must be received.
Article 17 (Transportation of fire hazard substances)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations that wish to transport fire hazard substances must use dedicated transportation methods. In cases where there are no dedicated transportation methods, the transportations sought to be used must have the required firefighting equipment and an inspection must be received from the relevant people’s safety institution.
Article 18 (Prohibition on blocking the passage of firetrucks and damage to firefighting facilities)
Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must not damage firefighting facilities or block passages between buildings as predicted in the overarching city and village construction plan or the communication means of fire departments. In cases where passages between buildings where firetrucks must drive, or the communication means used by fire departments, are sought to be blocked due to inevitable circumstances, the approval of the relevant municipal administration institution and the firetruck must be received.
Article 19 (Notification of fire hazard sites)
Citizens who have discovered fire hazard sites must inform the relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations at the right time. Institutions, enterprises and organizations that have received notification about a fire hazard must immediately eradicate it.
Article 20 (Firefighting indicators in overarching construction plan)
The State construction supervision institution and relevant authorities must correctly indicate firefighting indicators on the overarching city and village construction plan such as external fire hydrants, fire water, safe distances for fire prevention for buildings, refuge areas, locations of production of fire hazard substances and storage facilities, passages for firetrucks to travel between buildings, and fire department buildings.
Article 21 (Firefighting indicators of construction design)
Construction design institutions must, in their construction design, correctly reflect things reflected in the overarching city and village construction plan like firefighting indicators, the fire resistance rating according to the degree of fire hazard, the placement of fire hazard facilities, fire prevention facilities, internal fire hydrants, fire alarms, and passages and facilities for evacuation or entry. In these cases, they must be agreed with the relevant people’s safety institution.
Article 22 (Location of buildings handling fire hazard substances, flammable substances)
The location of enterprises and organizations that specialize in production, storage and handling of fire hazard substances must be in a safe place distant from the city surrounds or homes, and the location of buildings handling flammable substances such as kilns, heating furnaces, threshing floors, rice mills and food warehouses shall be determined in a place where there is no fire hazard. Properly locating the supply locations and warehouses of fire hazard substances shall be done by agreement with the relevant people’s safety institutions.
Article 23 (Inspection of firefighting facilities)
The commissioner of the construction institution must receive a firefighting facilities inspection from the relevant people’s safety institution when it has finished the construction. Constructions that have not been approved by the firefighting facilities inspection may not be used.
Article 24 (Regular inspections of fire hazard substances storage and handling facilities)
People’s safety institutions must regularly inspect the production, storage and handling facilities of fire hazard substances and their transportation methods. Only institutions, enterprises and organizations that have storage and handling facilities approved at regular inspection may sell or supply fire hazard substances.
Article 25 (Approval for use and inspection of threshing floors, food warehouses, rice mills, drying furnaces)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations that seek to use threshing floors, food warehouses, rice mills and drying furnaces must receive an inspection from the relevant people’s safety institution. Electricity supply institutions may only supply electricity to subjects that have received approval for use.
Article 26 (Firefighting measures during events)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations that host events using things like torches, gun salutes, or electric decorations must adopt fire protection measures and must inform the relevant people’s safety institution. The relevant people’s safety institution must inspect the electric decorations or take measures to prevent fire.
Article 27 (Fire hazard indicators)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations must inscribe drawings or text related to fire prevention on light industry products that can cause a fire.
CHAPTER III. FIRE EXTINGUISHING AND RESCUE
Article 28 (Basic requirements of fire extinguishing and rescue)
Extinguishing at the right time a fire that has arisen and rescuing people and property is a basic way of preventing loss from fire. Fire departments and institutions, enterprises and organizations shall conduct fire extinguishing training in a planned way to assure maneuverability in fire extinguishing and rescue.
Article 29 (Furnishing fire extinguishing equipment)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations must hold designated fire extinguishing equipment and shall maintain and service it. Fire extinguishing equipment may not be used for other purposes.
Article 30 (Notification of fire)
A citizen who has discovered a fire must immediately notify a fire department with jurisdiction or an institution, enterprise or organization. Communications institutions must install, properly inspect, and maintain communications facilities required for fire notification.
Article 31 (Fire extinguishing work of the mass defense fire department)
A mass defense fire department that has discovered a fire must extinguish the fire and rescue people and property in danger until the people’s safety fire department or industrial fire department arrives. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens close to the scene of the fire must actively participate in fire extinguishing and rescue.
Article 32 (Fire extinguishing work of people’s safety fire departments and industrial fire departments)
A people’s safety fire department or industrial department that has received a fire notification shall take fire extinguishing equipment and go to the site at the right time to extinguish the fire by first rescuing people and important property. A people’s safety fire department or industrial department may request fire extinguishing support from the people’s safety fire department or industrial fire department close to the site of the fire. The people’s safety fire department or industrial fire department that have been requested for support must compulsorily be mobilized to extinguish the fire.
Article 33 (Passage of firetruck)
A firetruck that is going to the site of a fire shall not be restricted in the regulated driving speed or driving direction under conditions where traffic safety is guaranteed. In these cases, the traffic official shall conduct traffic so the firetruck can drive without stopping. As necessary, firetrucks may pass through streets where passage is restricted or places that are not streets, or may make a warning sign with sound or light.
Article 34 (Guarantee of passage of firetruck)
Cars and pedestrians passing by road must preferentially assure the passage of firetrucks. A passing car may not cut into the way of a firetruck.
Article 35 (Conduct of fire extinguishing)
Conducting fire extinguishing shall be done by a people’s safety fire department worker. Fire departments who have been requested for support and mobilized for fire extinguishing must receive the conduct of a worker from the people’s safety fire department with jurisdiction.
Article 36 (Authority of fire extinguishing conduct worker)
The authority of a fire extinguishing conduct worker is as follows:
1. He or she may determine the boundary area of a fire and may send unnecessary people out of the site of the fire or organize to block traffic.
2. He or she may block the transportation of fire hazard substances and flammable substances from the boundary area of a fire or suspend the electricity supply.
3. He or she may mobilize required institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens for fire extinguishing, and emergency treatment and evacuation of the injured.
4. He or she may use water supplies, buildings and facilities required for fire extinguishing.
5. He or she may damage a part or the whole of a building or facilities to prevent a fire from spreading.
Article 37 (Preservation and investigation of the site of a fire accident)
The people’s safety institution and the relevant authorities must investigate and confirm the fire accident after the fire has been extinguished. The relevant institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must preserve the site until the investigation of the fire accident is started.
Article 38 (Entry into site of a fire accident)
Only relevant workers may enter into the site of a fire accident. Relevant institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must clean up the site and property after the investigation of the fire accident has finished.
Article 39 (Authority of fire accident investigation worker)
A fire accident investigation worker may look at the materials of institutions, enterprises and organizations related to the fire accident or listen to the statements of citizens. Relevant institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must follow the request of the fire accident investigation worker.
Article 40 (Firefighting service charge)
In cases where a fire arising in the buildings, facilities or transportation methods of other countries, of international organizations or of a foreigner in the areas of the Republic has been extinguished, the relevant service charge shall be received. The work of determining the service charge shall be done by the central price determining institution.
CHAPTER IV. FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT
Article 41 (Basic requirements of fire department organization)
Correctly organizing firefighting equipment is the basic security that allows firefighting work to be smoothly conducted. People’s safety institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must rationally organize, manage and operate fire departments.
Article 42 (Classification of fire department)
Fire departments shall be divided into people’s safety fire departments and defense fire departments according to the firefighting jurisdiction. The defense fire department shall be divided into industrial fire departments specializing in firefighting work and the mass defense fire department that participates in fire extinguishing while working. The people’s safety fire department is included in the city (district), county people’s institution, and the defense fire department is included in the relevant institution, enterprise or organization.
Article 43 (Organization of people’s safety fire departments and industrial fire departments)
In the city (district) or county shall be a people’s safety fire department, and in enterprises where the scale is especially large and the fire hazard is great shall be organized a people’s safety fire department or an industrial fire department. The approval to organize a people’s safety fire department or an industrial fire department shall be done by the equipment organization institution.
Article 44 (Organization of mass defense fire department)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations must organize a mass defense fire department in conformity with their own reality. Mass defense fire departments may be organized by village as necessary.
Article 45 (Duty of people’s safety fire department)
The people’s safety fire department shall rescue people and property in danger from fires that have arisen in its jurisdictional area, and extinguish the fire. It may also do rescue work for things like earthquake damage.
Article 46 (Duty of defense fire department)
Defense fire departments shall do the fire prevention work for relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations, rescue people and property in danger because of fire, and extinguish fires. However, industrial fire departments shall also do the fire extinguishing for other institutions, enterprises and organizations according to what has been determined.
Article 47 (Agreement to organize or dissolve a fire department)
In cases where institutions, enterprises and organizations seek to newly organize or eliminate a defense fire department, they must agree with the relevant people’s safety institution.
Article 48 (Authority of fire department)
The people’s safety fire department and industry fire department must properly discover things like firefighting subjects, the passage of firetrucks, firefighting water and fire handling in the jurisdictional area, and must eradicate unsuitable sites. The relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must assure firefighting work conditions.
Article 49 (Firefighting worker as an additional job and person responsible for fire prevention)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations must make as additional jobs firefighting workers and a person responsible for fire prevention. The people working additional jobs as a firefighting worker and the person responsible for fire prevention must be in charge of the fire prevention work of the relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations.
Article 50 (Prohibition on mobilization for other work of fire department and firefighting workers as an additional job)
People’s safety fire departments, industrial fire departments and firefighting workers as an additional job may not be mobilized for work not related to fire extinguishing, rescue, and fire prevention.
CHAPTER V. GUIDANCE AND CONTROL OVER FIREFIGHTING WORK
Article 51 (Basic requirements of guidance and control over firefighting work)
Strengthening guidance and control over firefighting work is an important guarantee to correctly implement the firefighting policy of the State. The State shall correctly adopt a guidance system for firefighting work in conformity with the requirements of actual development, and strengthen control over it.
Article 52 (Guidance for firefighting work)
Guidance for firefighting work shall be done by the central people’s safety guidance institution and the relevant institution under the standardized guidance of Cabinet. The central people’s safety guidance institution and relevant authorities must properly discover, command and guide firefighting work.
Article 53 (Guidance for defense fire department)
The people’s safety institution shall guide the fire extinguishing training of the industrial fire department and the mass defense fire department in its jurisdictional area in a planned way. The industrial fire department and the mass defense fire department must properly report practical affairs and issues raised in the fire extinguishing training to the relevant people’s safety institution.
Article 54 (Modernization of firefighting means, conducting means)
People’s safety institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall actively accept the results of advanced scientific techniques in the firefighting sector to modernize firefighting means, and must make fire extinguishing work and conducting wireless and computerize it.
Article 55 (Guarantee of facilities, resources, funds)
State planning institutions, resource supply institutions, and financial banking institutions must smoothly assure the facilities, resources and funds required for firefighting work.
Article 56 (Production of firefighting products)
Enterprises and organizations producing firefighting means must assure production according to specifications. In cases where firefighting means are sought to be produced according to new specifications, the agreement of the central people’s safety guidance institution must be received.
Article 57 (Training of firefighting experts and strengthening firefighting scientific research)
The central people’s safety guidance institution, relevant education institutions and scientific research institutions shall train professionals required in the firefighting sector in a planned way and must strengthen scientific research to resolve scientific and technical issues arising in firefighting work.
Article 58 (Supervision and control over firefighting work)
Supervision and control over firefighting work shall be done by the people’s safety institution and the relevant supervision and control institution. The people’s safety institution and the relevant supervision and control institution must strictly supervise and control the guarantee of conditions over fire prevention, fire extinguishing and rescue, and firefighting work.
Article 59 (Levy of penalty)
Cases where penalties are levied are as follows:
1. In cases where fire handling has not been done according to the regulations;
2. In cases where the order of production, storage or transportation of fire hazard substances has been violated;
3. In cases where the order of electric or fire handling facility use has been violated;
4. In cases where fire extinguishing equipment is not held as designated;
5. In cases where production, storage and handling facilities of fire hazard substances have been used without receiving an inspection.
Article 60 (Suspension)
Cases where the construction and use of buildings or facilities is suspended are as follows:
1. In cases where construction is done with a design not agreed with the relevant people’s safety institution;
2. In cases where construction that has not been inspected for its firefighting facilities has been used;
3. In cases where firefighting facilities are not held or have not been serviced;
4. In cases where electrical or fire handling facilities have not been installed according to regulations.
Article 61 (Confiscation)
In cases where a fire hazard has been created, or facilities and products which use has been suspended because of fire hazard have been used without the approval of the relevant authorities, by violating the order of storage and handling of fire hazard substances, the relevant facilities and products shall be confiscated.
Article 62 (Restitution and damage compensation)
In cases where firefighting facilities and equipment have been damaged, restitution shall be made or the relevant damage shall be compensated.
Article 63 (Administrative or criminal liability)
Responsible workers of institutions, enterprises and organizations or individual citizens who cause grave consequences to firefighting work by violating this law shall have administrative or criminal liability imposed depending on the gravity.
Last updated 3 August 2020