Analysis of Property Loss Distribution and Characteristics of High-Loss Fires in Korean Warehouse Facilities

This study analyzed the distribution of property losses and characteristics of high-loss fires in Korean warehouse facilities, based on 6,659 individual fire incidents recorded by the National Fire Agency from 2020 to 2024. The average property loss per fire was approximately KRW 161.47 million, whereas the median was only approximately KRW 2.79 million. The top 1%, 5%, and 10% of fires accounted for approximately 80.4%, 93.1%, and 96.4% of the total property loss, respectively. Fires with property losses of KRW 1 billion or more accounted for only about 1.4% of all incidents but represented approximately 83.6% of the total property loss. Within the high-loss group, the largest single fire accounted for 52.7% of the group's total loss. Adjusting for inflation had little effect on the concentration of property losses. These results indicate that warehouse fire safety management should consider not only fire frequency but also the substantial contribution of a small number of high-loss fires to overall property damage.