Chungnam to Introduce 23 New Negative Pressure Ambulances by September

[Asia Economy (Naepo) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is promoting a project to reinforce 119 ambulances. The core of the project is to newly introduce 23 vehicles, including negative pressure ambulances and ambulances exclusively for pregnant women, by September.

According to the province on the 15th, the Chungnam Fire Headquarters plans to purchase and deploy on-site 2 negative pressure ambulances, 3 large ambulances exclusively for pregnant women, and 18 general ambulances with a total budget of 3.3 billion KRW this year.

In particular, the negative pressure ambulances are an urgent project promoted in response to the recent spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and will be specially equipped on 15-passenger Solati vehicles.

These vehicles will have a sealed patient compartment structure and apply a negative pressure system to perfectly block infection spread to the outside.

Also, to enable rapid response in case of infectious disease outbreaks, negative pressure ambulances will be deployed at Yesan Fire Station located in the central northern part of Chungnam and Buyeo Fire Station located in the central southern part of Chungnam, with operations expected to start as early as June, according to the Fire Headquarters.

The large ambulances exclusively for pregnant women will be specially equipped on large Solati vehicles, adding stretchers exclusively for pregnant women and facilities to maintain newborn body temperature and prevent falls in preparation for emergency childbirth inside the ambulance. These vehicles will be primarily deployed in August at key regional fire stations in Boryeong, Asan, and Seosan, providing reservation and emergency dispatch services regardless of region.

The 119 ambulances include 18 vehicles, consisting of 2 newly deployed and 16 replacement vehicles for aging ones. The new deployments will be at Nonsan Beolgok 119 Regional Unit and Hongseong Janggok 119 Regional Unit. These locations were selected as priority deployment targets this year due to the urgent need for 119 ambulance supply caused by the long distances between fire stations and villages.

Aging vehicles will be replaced in September with 2 each in Boryeong, Nonsan, and Geumsan, and 1 each in Buyeo, Seocheon, Cheongyang, Yesan, and Taean.

The newly introduced ambulances will also be equipped with a system to prevent assaults on paramedics that may occur during patient transport.

A Fire Headquarters official said, “As disasters diversify and the number of residents seeking 119 increases, we will strive to provide the best fire services by securing customized ambulances.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.