Seoul 119 Calls Average 5,121 per Day... Ambulance Dispatches Up 9.1%

Seoul City Announces First Half 119 Report and Firefighting Activity Statistics
119 Ambulance Dispatches Increase 9.1% with Rise in Outdoor Activities
Life Safety Reports Up 41.8%... 'Lock Device Opening' Most Frequent Dispatch

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Although the number of 119 emergency calls received in Seoul during the first half of this year decreased, the number of ambulance dispatches actually increased. The average daily number of calls was 5,121, and the average daily number of 119 rescue team dispatches was 505.

On the 11th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the statistics for 119 call receipts and firefighting activities for the first half of this year. The total number of calls received at the Seoul Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Center in the first half was 926,997, a 0.62% decrease compared to last year. The monthly average was 154,499 calls, and the daily average was 5,121 calls.

By type, the number of calls was ▲fire 11,538 ▲rescue 23,270 ▲ambulance 237,707 ▲life safety 29,672. Compared to the first half of last year, life safety calls increased by 41.8%, followed by rescue (23.0%), fire (14.1%), and ambulance (7.1%). Other calls decreased by 5.47%.

The number of 119 ambulance dispatches increased by 9.1%. The total dispatches in the first half were 353,950. The number of patients transported by the 119 ambulance team also increased by 5,637 (4.1%) to 143,461 in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.

By type, acute and chronic diseases accounted for the largest number with 98,550 patients (68.7%), followed by falls or slips with 19,138 patients (13.3%), and traffic accidents with 11,686 patients (8.1%).

A Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters official stated, “The increase in ambulance dispatches and patient transports compared to previous years seems to be related to the resurgence of outdoor activities as COVID-19 prolongs.”

Rescue dispatches increased by 43.9% in the first half of this year. The total was 91,548, with the 119 rescue team averaging 505 dispatches per day. The type that increased the most was life safety rescue dispatches (up 73.3%).

Among life safety rescue dispatches in the first half of this year, excluding other dispatches, the type with the highest proportion was "dispatch for unlocking locks" (6,208 cases), accounting for 16.2% of all life safety dispatches. Animal rescues (3,093 cases) were the second most frequent. Natural disaster dispatches (874 cases) increased by 624.3% compared to the same period last year.

The number of fire incidents reported in Seoul in the first half was 2,505, a 0.2% (60 cases) decrease from last year. On average, 13.8 fires are extinguished daily. Residential fires (37.3%) were the most common, followed by life service, sales and office facilities, and vehicles.

Choi Tae-young, head of the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said, "Considering the increase in rescue and ambulance calls, we will thoroughly operate the on-site response system," and added, "We will establish a disaster response system linked with information and communication technology to provide effective and prompt 119 services."

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