Yeonsu-gu ( Mayor Lee Jae-ho ) held a one-point temporary meeting of the district council to proactively support the relocation of apartment charging facilities to address residents’ safety and anxiety over electric vehicle fires, and secured a related budget along with a revision of the ordinance .

Accordingly, the district is the first local government in Incheon to support a project to relocate electric vehicle charging facilities installed underground in private apartment complexes to above-ground areas using its own financial resources .

At the 267th temporary meeting of the district council , which closed on the 23rd, the district revised the Ordinance on Supporting the Promotion and Use of Environmentally Friendly Automobiles and the Yeonsu-gu Apartment Management Support Ordinance, thereby establishing a legal basis for promoting electric vehicle fire prevention measures .

In addition, KRW 455 million was secured to support the relocation and installation of electric vehicle charging facilities installed in underground parking lots of apartment complexes in the region , including 17 complexes in the downtown area and 9 complexes in Songdo-dong .

However, the district council completely cut the budget for purchasing fire extinguishers for electric vehicle lithium batteries to be provided to 181 private apartment complexes in the area, citing safety concerns and lack of effectiveness .

Accordingly, the district will begin the process of receiving applications from each management entity, reviewing validity, conducting on-site investigations, etc., and then proceeding with the process of implementing construction and providing subsidies for each complex selected by the Apartment Housing Support Review Committee .

[Korean Today] Support for relocation of electric vehicle facilities in private apartment complexes begins] © Reporter Kim Hyun-soo

In addition, for the sake of citizens visiting public buildings such as the district office, community welfare center , and health center, it was judged that it was necessary to quickly relocate the charging facilities above ground, so we have started construction by investing reserve funds and will complete the relocation within this month .

In addition to organizing electric vehicle parking spaces in accordance with the relocation of charging facilities in each public building, we plan to separately purchase fire extinguishers and suffocating fire extinguishers for electric vehicles in each building and place them in each facility .

Earlier this month, Yeonsu-gu established and implemented its own comprehensive electric vehicle fire prevention measures, including revising the support ordinance and securing a support budget, to eliminate residents’ concerns about residential safety and risk factors caused by electric vehicle fires .

First, we distributed an electric vehicle safety manual and implemented a comprehensive plan that included four measures, including a revision of the ordinance to allow for the relocation of apartment complex charging facilities to aboveground areas, along with joint public-private sector training on electric vehicle fire response in Songdo-dong .

The city plans to encourage electric vehicle chargers to be installed above ground in apartment complexes under construction or scheduled for approval in the area, and if they must be installed underground, it will require fire suppression equipment and fire spread prevention facilities .

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