Firefighters' Union Calls for Official Recognition of Line-of-Duty Deaths, Citing Excessive Support Duties in Wildfire Response

"The official wildfire response agencies are the Korea Forest Service and local governments of cities and provinces"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] The Fire Headquarters of the National Public Officials Labor Union on the 9th urged, regarding the death of a firefighter who was supporting wildfire suppression efforts in Gangwon Province, that "the National Fire Agency and the Chungnam Fire Headquarters must immediately recognize the death as duty-related and provide appropriate honors accordingly."

The Fire Union issued a statement that day, saying, "The institution that should take active responsibility and respond to wildfires is only looking at the fire department, and the National Fire Agency is pushing its firefighters into the field without considering them."

The Fire Union added, "Firefighters are always the first to respond to all fires, but the official agencies responsible for wildfires are the Korea Forest Service and local governments of cities and provinces," and "Although firefighters’ role in wildfires is designated as support work, every spring and winter, firefighters have been exhausted by support duties, and ultimately, this tragic incident occurred."

Furthermore, the Fire Union pointed out, "The National Fire Agency is marketing this as a shortcut to becoming a fully national government position," and criticized, "The wildfire scene where the main and secondary roles are reversed, the National Fire Agency that does not understand its role, and our firefighters who have trusted and waited for such an agency are simply pitiful."

The Fire Union also demanded ▲ immediate recognition of the death as duty-related and proper honors ▲ an apology to the bereaved family and a promise to prevent recurrence, stating, "We will never just watch the tragic deaths of our colleagues again."

Meanwhile, firefighter A (48) of the Chungnam Fire Headquarters was found dead at his home on the morning of the 6th, the day after completing support duties such as deploying personnel and equipment from the fire station to the wildfire site for five days.

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