Jeju Fire Headquarters Accelerates Training of New Firefighter Talent

Published 30 Dec.2021 10:21(KST)

[Jeju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Jeongpil] The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Fire Safety Headquarters (Chief Park Geun-oh) is actively training new firefighters who are strong in the field, aiming to cultivate excellent resources that can be deployed immediately upon appointment.

Jeju Fire Department announced on the 30th that it has been operating its own new recruit training program since 2018 and has produced a total of 350 graduates over 7 classes to date.

On the 31st, a commissioning ceremony and graduation ceremony will be held for 49 new recruits (43 men, 6 women) of the 8th class who have completed a total of 15 weeks of education and training.

The graduates, who entered in September, have acquired the basic competencies to perform their duties as firefighters through completion of courses including fire suppression, rescue, first aid, and fire administration, and will be assigned to work at the 119 centers of fire stations across the province.

As a result of operating the in-house new recruit training program, rapid deployment to frontline sites was possible without training backlog, and approximately 670 million KRW in outsourced training costs were saved.

The new recruit training program consists of a total of 19 weeks, including 5 weeks of remote education, 10 weeks of group education, and 4 weeks of station practice, covering 125 subjects and 688 hours.

In particular, from this year, a newly established standard education and training system with strengthened field practice education is enhancing the on-site response capabilities of new firefighting officials.

The newly established standard is characterized by reducing practical courses and shifting education time to focus on field practice.

Field practice education is practical training that can be immediately applied on site, reproducing actual fire scenes through basic, advanced, and applied courses, and is a program to develop systematic practical skills such as fire suppression and life rescue training.

From this training course, the scoring for field practice subjects has been raised (to over 60%) so that completion is not possible if the field practice score is low, and in the future, the evaluation criteria for the new recruit training course will be continuously strengthened by adding requirements such as course prerequisites, raising passing scores, and adding failure conditions for field practice subjects.

Additionally, to prevent fire truck accidents and strengthen field-centered fire truck operation capabilities, customized training and evaluation are being promoted according to driving ability levels.

Next year’s new recruit training course is planned to be held twice, with 55 people (9th class) from January 17 to April 29, and 55 people (10th class) in the second half of the year.

Park Geun-oh, head of the Fire Safety Headquarters, said, “I thank the trainees who have faithfully committed to education and training despite the difficult conditions due to COVID-19,” and added, “We will cultivate professional personnel capable of immediate field activity upon appointment through intensive practical training within limited time, aiming to nurture new firefighters strong in the field.”