Gyeonggi-do, Yongin and 3 Other Locations to Establish 'Wildfire Prevention Support Centers' with 1.6 Billion Won Investment

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province is investing 1.6 billion KRW to build 'Wildfire Prevention Support Centers' in four cities and counties within the province, including Yongin.

The Wildfire Prevention Support Center construction project is part of the '2020 Comprehensive Wildfire Prevention Plan,' which aims to reduce wildfire occurrences by 30% compared to the previous year. The support centers will serve as bases where wildfire suppression personnel can wait and store firefighting equipment.

Currently, the province operates about 1,700 wildfire suppression personnel, but waiting areas and equipment storage warehouses are aging, and there is a lack of space for personnel to wait and prepare during nighttime wildfires or prolonged firefighting operations.

The centers to be built will include various convenience facilities to improve working conditions, such as waiting areas and shower rooms for wildfire suppression personnel, as well as garages for firefighting vehicles and storage for firefighting equipment.

The centers will be established in one location each in Yongin, Osan, Paju, and Gapyeong County. The province plans to complete construction by October after finishing design and administrative procedures.

A provincial official stated, "The establishment of support centers will boost the morale of wildfire suppression personnel and significantly enhance wildfire disaster response capabilities. We will continue to accelerate improvements in working conditions and equipment management for wildfire suppression personnel."

This year, the province is investing a total budget of 27.2 billion KRW in wildfire prevention, including leasing and operating 20 wildfire suppression helicopters.

In particular, to ensure rapid initial firefighting, wildfire suppression personnel are promptly deployed when a wildfire occurs, and a 'Golden Time System' is operated to ensure firefighting helicopters arrive at the scene within 30 minutes after receiving a report.

Additionally, to reduce the main cause of wildfires?burning fires?the province is promoting the 'Green Village Campaign Without Burning Fires' to raise awareness and plans to strictly enforce penalties such as fines for illegal activities.

Meanwhile, from January to the end of March this year, there were 89 wildfire occurrences in the province, accounting for 36% of all wildfires nationwide.

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