119 Calls Decrease Due to COVID-19... Requests for Public Assistance Increase During Monsoon Season

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) led to a decrease in outdoor activities among citizens, the number of fire, rescue, and emergency dispatch calls received by 119 nationwide last year also declined.

According to the National Fire Agency on the 7th, the total number of calls received by 119 last year was 11,274,559, which is a 2.5% (292,614 calls) decrease compared to 11,567,173 calls in 2019.

This averages to about 30,888 calls per day, or roughly 22 calls per minute, meaning that more than one in five people in the country reported to 119 over the course of the year.

Looking at the call status, on-site dispatch calls such as fire, rescue, emergency, and daily safety accounted for 37% (4,234,670 calls), medical guidance and civil complaints made up 30% (3,359,638 calls), and no-response or misconnection calls were 33% (3,680,251 calls).

Among these, on-site dispatch calls decreased by 3.2% (140,655 calls) compared to the previous year; fire, rescue, and emergency-related dispatch calls decreased by 6.1% (225,172 calls), while daily safety dispatch calls increased by 11.8% (84,517 calls).

The National Fire Agency analyzed that the decrease in fire, rescue, and emergency dispatch calls is likely related to the tendency to refrain from outdoor activities due to the spread of COVID-19. The increase in daily safety dispatch calls is attributed to more requests for beehive removal, drainage support due to prolonged monsoon rains, and public assistance requests such as road collapses.

Examining the call details by city and province nationwide, Gyeonggi-do had the highest number with 2,199,572 calls, followed by Seoul with 1,931,834 calls. Calls received from the Seoul metropolitan area, including Seoul and Incheon, accounted for about 42% of the total nationwide.

Excluding no-response and misconnection calls, the number of calls increased the most by 5.9% in both Jeonnam, which suffered significant damage during the monsoon season, and Sejong, where the population has grown. Gangwon and Chungbuk saw decreases of 17.7% and 10%, respectively.

A National Fire Agency official stated, "We will utilize detailed analysis of the regional and temporal characteristics of 119 calls to enhance on-site response capabilities and develop effective disaster prevention policies."

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