Gyeonggi Fire Department: "Last Winter Fire Incidents Down 18%, Casualties Reduced by 43%"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The number of fire incidents in Gyeonggi Province has decreased, and both human and property damages have significantly declined.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced on the 26th that the number of fire incidents in the province from November last year to February this year was 2,834, resulting in 144 casualties including 16 deaths and property damage amounting to 60.2 billion KRW.

Compared to the previous winter (November 2018 to February 2019), fires decreased by 819 cases (22.4%), human casualties by 67 people (31.8%), and property damage by 7 billion KRW (10.4%).

In particular, due to the fire prevention measures focused on factory facilities promoted by the province since last year, fires in related facilities significantly decreased by 122 cases (31%). Additionally, continuous fire prevention efforts and education and publicity led to a substantial reduction in fires caused by negligence, decreasing by 532 cases (60.4%).

Compared to the average of the past five years (2014?2018), the number of fires decreased by 18.8%, human casualties by 43.8%, and property damage by 22.7%.

The significant reduction in fires last winter is attributed to the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters' expanded winter fire safety measures under the goal of "Realizing a Fire-Safe Gyeonggi Province," which included comprehensive fire prevention publicity, fire safety education, special fire safety inspections, and fire safety patrols.

Furthermore, the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters explained that customized fire prevention measures reflecting local characteristics and unannounced evacuation drills at similar facilities such as nursing hospitals also contributed to the decrease in fires.

Lee Hyung-cheol, head of the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters, emphasized, "Gyeonggi Fire is strengthening preemptive prevention activities to completely block large-scale fires and reduce human casualties, and we are doing our best to establish a proactive disaster response system. We will promote various policies to prevent fires that lead to precious loss of life and property."

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