Lee Sang-jong, Team Leader of Gwangsan Fire Station Rescue Team in Gwangju, Selected as 'Hero Firefighter'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Lee Sang-jong, team leader of the rescue team at Gwangsan Fire Station in Gwangju (Chief Im Jong-bok), was honored by being selected as a ‘2020 Hero Firefighter.’

According to Gwangsan Fire Station on the 15th, the Hero Firefighter award is a valuable prize given to eight firefighters nationwide who have shown outstanding performance in life rescue and fire suppression.

This year’s Hero Firefighter award ceremony was held non-face-to-face due to the impact of COVID-19.

Team leader Lee, who joined the fire service in 1993, is a veteran firefighter with experience in rescue, emergency medical services, and fire suppression teams. Over the past three years, he has responded to more than 3,600 disaster scenes and rescued 524 lives.

In May, he persuaded a citizen who was threatening with a knife and attempting self-harm at a villa in Sinchon-dong, Gwangsan-gu, through continuous dialogue. In June, he responded to a fire at an apartment in Sanjeong-dong, Gwangsan-gu, where black smoke and flames were coming out, and safely rescued three people trapped inside the unit.

Additionally, on his days off, he visits social welfare facilities and continuously engages in various volunteer activities and small acts of sharing for socially vulnerable groups, including donation activities and blood donations.

Team leader Lee Sang-jong said, “In urgent disaster scenes, I only did what firefighters should naturally do to protect the lives and property of the people, so I feel sorry to receive the honorable award of Hero Firefighter.” He added, “I will donate the individual prize money to the Corporation for the Memorial of Fallen Firefighters who sacrificed themselves for public safety.”

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