Seoul Fire Department Strengthens 'Emergency Response System' to Prevent Gaps in On-Site Operations... Additional Measures Planned

Support for Personnel to Prepare for Mass Infection Among On-Site Fire Department Staff
Strengthening Centralized Management by Headquarters, Implementing Deployment of Experienced On-Site Office Staff in Emergencies

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters is strengthening its emergency response system to maintain disaster response operations in preparation for mass infections among on-site dispatch personnel amid the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

On the 23rd, the Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced plans to enhance the speed and effectiveness of the existing business continuity plan by specifying the criteria for securing dispatch firefighting forces, strengthening monitoring of quarantine situations and overall personnel management, and supporting a pool of experienced on-site staff.

Accordingly, the standards for securing firefighting forces for disaster and accident command and fire suppression will be subdivided from the existing three levels to five levels. Assuming a scenario where multiple fire stations face simultaneous mass infections, specific criteria have been established for reallocating personnel from neighboring fire stations and deploying headquarters personnel according to the scale of quarantined personnel. The 119 rescue and ambulance teams will secure dispatch personnel by adjusting shift work methods and drawing from the personnel pool to cover any shortages based on essential personnel standards.

The Fire and Disaster Headquarters plans to continuously monitor the status of quarantined personnel and promptly decide on reallocating dispatch personnel between fire stations and deploying experienced administrative staff with on-site work experience according to the required personnel scale, thereby fundamentally preventing dispatch gaps.

To this end, detailed dispatch team formation standards have been established for core tasks such as fire suppression, life rescue, and ambulance transport. A personnel pool and support plan have been developed considering the on-site work experience and qualifications of administrative staff from the headquarters and the Safety Experience Center. In particular, the Seoul Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Center, which receives 119 reports and manages situations, has separately formed a personnel pool of employees with situation management experience to be prioritized for deployment in the event of multiple quarantines to ensure business continuity.

The Fire and Disaster Headquarters disseminated this emergency response plan through a video conference with fire commanders held the previous day and shared cases from frontline fire stations. Through the commanders' meeting, Choi Tae-young, head of the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, emphasized, “In the serious situation of the Omicron spread, it is more important than ever for fire agencies to secure citizens' safety without any gaps,” and urged, “We must maintain a flawless disaster response posture by swiftly deploying available personnel in emergencies.”

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