Seoul Firefighting Helicopter Dispatches for Wildfires This Year Up 14 Times from Last Year... Contributing to Large Wildfire Suppression

98 Wildfire Suppression and Mountain Accident Rescues from January to April... 58% Increase Compared to Same Period Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced on the 12th that the deployment of Seoul fire helicopters increased until April this year compared to the same period last year, with wildfire suppression deployments increasing more than 14 times.

According to the Fire and Disaster Headquarters statistics, from January to April this year, there were 98 fire helicopter deployments related to wildfire suppression and mountain accident rescues, an increase of 36 cases (58.1%) compared to the same period last year. In particular, in March and April, there were 78 deployments, an increase of 46 cases (143.8%) compared to 32 cases in the same period last year.

The increase in fire helicopter deployments is analyzed to be due to the many wildfires that occurred nationwide this spring. Due to wildfires in Gyeongbuk and Gangwon, Seoul fire helicopters were deployed 44 times this year for wildfire suppression, which is more than 14 times the 3 deployments during the same period last year.

Support deployments of fire helicopters to other cities and provinces besides Seoul are based on the "Regulations on Nationwide Fire Force Mobilization and Operation Management," established following the Gangwon wildfire in April 2019. Accordingly, the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters urgently supported not only fire helicopters but also numerous fire trucks and personnel to suppress wildfires occurring in places such as Uljin, Gyeongbuk, and Samcheok, Gangwon.

Meanwhile, the Seoul Fire Aviation Unit operates three fire helicopters. In addition to pilots and mechanics, separate rescue paramedics board the helicopters to perform missions such as rescuing and transporting citizens in mountainous areas where the 119 rescue team has difficulty reaching, as well as wildfire suppression.

Over the past three years (2019?2021), Seoul fire helicopters were deployed 682 times, rescuing 618 people and transporting them to hospitals and other facilities. Choi Tae-young, head of the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said, “An organic cooperation system without regional distinctions is necessary for disasters such as large wildfires,” and added, “We will continue to make every effort to operate a disaster response system utilizing fire helicopters and other resources.”

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