Seoul Fire & Disaster Headquarters Operates 'Heatwave Response 119 Rescue and Emergency Room' 24 Hours

'119 Mobile Ambulance Team' to Patrol Vulnerable Residential Areas Until the End of September

On the 21st, the fourth solar term of summer, "Haji," when the length of the day is the longest, heat haze caused by ground heat is rising on Yeouidaero in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, amid hot weather. The Korea Meteorological Administration forecasted in a heatwave advisory that the perceived temperature in eastern Gyeonggi and Yeongseo in Gangwon would rise above 33 degrees Celsius until the 23rd, making it very hot. Additionally, it predicted that until the 23rd, most inland areas would experience perceived temperatures above 31 degrees Celsius, with the possibility of expanding the heatwave advisory to inland central regions and inland Gyeongbuk, where temperatures could exceed 33 degrees Celsius. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced on the 22nd that it will implement emergency rescue and ambulance response measures to prepare for the heatwave until September 30.

This summer's heatwave response activities will be conducted in compliance with government quarantine guidelines such as maintaining a distance of more than 2 meters and wearing masks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) among field personnel.

During this period, the Fire and Disaster Headquarters and each fire station in the city will operate the 'Heatwave Countermeasure 119 Rescue and Ambulance Situation Room' 24 hours a day. In addition, a field-oriented heatwave response '119 Patrol Ambulance Team' will be operated, dispatching 173 ambulances (including 22 motorcycles). After completing their missions, they will patrol vulnerable residential areas such as homeless clusters and jjokbang (small room) districts, providing 119 ambulance services immediately upon discovering heat-related illness patients.

According to data from the Korea Meteorological Administration, the number of days with heatwave warnings issued in the Seoul area over the past three years was 33 days in 2017, 43 days in 2018, and 32 days in 2019. During this period, the 119 Patrol Ambulance Team immediately transported a total of 378 heat-related patients from the field, with 315 of these cases concentrated in 2018 when the heatwave was most severe.

A '119 Safety Support Call Center' for severely disabled individuals living alone who are vulnerable to heatwaves will also be operated. When a heatwave warning or higher alert is issued, fire stations will check the safety of 753 severely disabled individuals living alone under their management via phone calls, and if assistance is requested, they will immediately visit the site to check basic health indicators such as blood pressure.

Additionally, when a heatwave warning is issued, '119 Safety Camps' will be operated in 12 jjokbang village areas, which are vulnerable residential zones, and each fire station will expand the operation of 'Heatwave 119 Rest Areas.'

The Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters will also have 151 ambulance teams and 22 motorcycle ambulance teams on standby 24 hours a day for the emergency transport of heat-related emergency patients, and to prepare for any gaps in heatwave ambulance teams, they will organize and operate pump ambulances (pump truck + ambulance) as reserve dispatch units.

In particular, to respond urgently to incidents such as elevator entrapments caused by power outages due to a sudden surge in electricity usage, four power generator vehicles (two fire department, two Korea Electric Power Corporation) will also be on emergency standby.

Shin Yeol-woo, head of the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said, "This summer, with the continued spread of COVID-19 combined with the heatwave, we will make every effort to ensure there are no gaps in citizen safety management, including damage prevention measures."

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