A Study on the Effects of Four Elements of Safety on Fire Accident at Construction Sites

In December 2019, the Occupational Safety and Health Act was comprehensively revised, introducing new provisions for fire watch personnel and strengthening the criteria for appointing safety managers. In December 2022, the Fire Services Act was implemented, dividing fire safety standards into performance-based and technical standards. Since February 2023, finishing materials for buildings must meet at least quasi-fire-resistant performance standards. This prompted the research question of how recent amendments to related laws might impact fire accidents. This study aims to analyze large-scale fire accident cases with three or more fatalities that occurred in the past five years. The study will examine how the ‘four elements of safety’—educational, technical, managerial, and institutional—affect fire accidents on construction sites. A survey was conducted with 235 managers and workers working on domestic construction sites. The survey consisted of 48 questions. The analysis method involved using the Jamovi program to verify the reliability and validity of the survey items, conducting frequency and correlation analyses on the survey data, and testing the research hypotheses through multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that while educational elements did not have a significant impact but technical, managerial, and institutional elements were found to support the hypothesis of reducing fire accident incidents. This study concludes the four elements impact reducing fire accidents on construction sites.