Seoul City Strengthens On-Site Command Authority of Frontline Fire Stations... Strong Measures from Early Incident Stages

Among Seoul's 24 Fire Stations, 5 Fire Stations' On-Site Response Team Leaders Transition to Shift Work System

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 22nd, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will reorganize the fire station field response teams to prepare for the complexification of disasters due to the enlargement and underground development of urban spatial structures and to ensure citizen safety.

In order to strengthen the on-site command system of frontline fire stations that respond to accident scenes 24 hours a day, Seoul revised the enforcement rules of the Seoul Metropolitan Government Civil Servant Quota Ordinance last October.

Accordingly, the Seoul Fire Disaster Headquarters will first reorganize the field response chiefs of five out of the 24 fire stations into a shift work system that operates 24 hours a day starting from January next year.

The five fire stations are Jongno, Dongdaemun, Yeongdeungpo, Gangnam, and Songpa Fire Stations, and the work system of the field response chiefs at these stations will change from a single shift to a three-shift system. The on-site firefighting forces, previously commanded by team leaders at the fire stations, will now be led by higher-ranking field response chiefs who will respond and command regardless of day or night.

Additionally, the fire station on-site command teams will be divided into on-site safety teams and disaster investigation teams to enhance the professionalism of field response. The on-site safety team will be responsible for analyzing and evaluating risks inside and outside the accident site and managing the safety of firefighting personnel operating on-site.

The disaster investigation team will collect and disseminate information such as the presence and location of rescue targets at the accident site to facilitate rapid decision-making and command by the on-site commander, and investigate the causes of the accident after the situation ends.

The Seoul Fire Disaster Headquarters plans to expand this frontline fire station field organization reorganization to all fire stations in Seoul by 2026, aiming to activate a stronger command system from the early stages of an accident to minimize human casualties.

Meanwhile, according to statistics from the Fire Disaster Headquarters, over the past five years, there have been a total of 102 occasions (an average of 20 times per year) in Seoul where large-scale fires and other incidents triggered the emergency response stage. When the response stage is declared, an emergency rescue control team composed of fire, police, and district authorities operates jointly, mobilizing approximately 262 personnel and 53 pieces of equipment per incident.

Choi Tae-young, head of the Seoul Fire Disaster Headquarters, said, “Through this frontline fire station organizational reorganization, we will establish a flawless disaster site response system,” and added, “We will do our utmost to protect the precious safety and lives of citizens.”

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