Even Though Homes and Fields Were Burned... The Sacrificial Spirit That Fire Could Not Break, the Beautiful Service of the 'Uiyong Fire Brigade'

Female Volunteers Who Forget Their Own Hardships and Devote Themselves to Service Activities

Uljin Volunteer Fire Brigade Chief Jeong Seon-hee.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] A 213-hour battle. The longest wildfire in history in Uljin and Samcheok has been contained, leaving behind stories of hidden heroes.

On the 4th, a wildfire occurred in Uljin, Gyeongbuk, causing extensive damage, but there were righteous people who put their own losses aside and rushed into volunteer work.

The Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters reported that Jeong Seon-hee, head of the Uljin Women's Volunteer Fire Brigade, personally suffered great damage as 5,000 pyeong of plum orchards, a cherry farm, and containers were destroyed in the wildfire, yet she prioritized visiting other residents' damaged sites to carry out volunteer activities.

Also, Yoo Chun-sook, head of the Buk-myeon Women's Brigade, suffered significant damage to her house and boiler room. Members Park Kyung-sun, Lee Hyun-sook, and Choi In-hee also experienced losses with their houses, shiitake mushroom farms, and warehouses destroyed. They put their own pain aside and headed to the sites where disaster victims and firefighters were present.

They operated meal trucks to provide food for on-site workers and distributed supplies. At the National Sports Center, which was set up as a temporary shelter for disaster victims, they engaged in conversations with those experiencing anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders due to the fire, providing volunteer care to soothe their minds.

The volunteer firefighters who joined the volunteer work spoke in unison. "Since this wildfire caused great damage, we came rushing to the site to share the pain together," they said, adding, "We will do our best until the wildfire is completely extinguished and recovery is finished."

Uljin Volunteer Fire Brigade members in Gyeongbuk Province come out to the disaster site every day in groups of 300 to 400, sweating through volunteer activities such as wildfire suppression, mopping up remaining fires, and on-site traffic control.

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