Considering the age and longer service time of firefighters who have a substantial amount of field activities, they are exposed to chemical and biological risk factors, physical and mental stress, diverse and complex work environments, and repetitive motions, which may increase the rates of gastrointestinal disorders, musculoskeletal diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, based on the regular specific health examination results for 215 firefighters who were working in the N fire department located in B metropolitan city, an analysis of occupational diseases was performed, which showed that the most common chronic disease was diabetes mellitus (28.8%), followed by hyperlipidemia (27.9%) and thoracic diseases (19.5%). This trend appears to be consistent with the incidence rates reported in a representative study of adult diseases in Korea. In addition, it was found that 82 officers maintained healthy states, while those who needed further medical inspection and those with clinical symptoms were more frequently exposed to disease when they were older and had longer service time; moreover, the fire captain and lieutenant had higher rates of disease.

With the recent enlargement and complication of buildings, damage caused by the incidents of fires breaking out are escalating. Consequently, the use of sprinkler facilities is increasing among water-based fire extinguishing systems. Piping materials used in fire prevention systems include carbon steel (for general or pressure pipeline), CPVC, copper, and stainless-steel. Among these, the steel and CPVC pipes, which are commonly employed in fire prevention, were considered for testing the reliability of the water-based systems. This analysis was performed using the PIPENET software to perform hydraulic calculations in order to examine the flow and pressure at the terminal head when the corrosion coefficient was applied; this coefficient was applied considering the aging of pipes. Assuming a uniform pipe diameter in the steel pipes, the rated flow in the pump installed on the first floor of the basement was reduced by over 10% after 20 years had passed (C value of 90); moreover, the reduction in pressure and flow at its terminal head exceeded 30% and 16.5%, respectively. The results indicate that it is difficult to ensure the reliability of these fire prevention facilities. Furthermore, according to our estimation, considering 30 years had passed (C value of 80), the rated flow of the pump was reduced by over 15%, and the corresponding reduction in pressure and flow at its terminal head exceeded 42% and 24%, respectively.