Gwangyang Fire Station Holds Meeting to Respond to Accidents in the Seomjingang River Basin

Gyeongnam Hadong Fire Station and Jeonnam Gwangyang Fire Station Meeting

Establishing Efficient Joint Response Measures Including Disaster Site Information Sharing

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] Jeonnam Gwangyang Fire Station (Chief Seo Seung-ho) announced that as the heatwave and vacation season intensify, the number of water recreation users at rivers and valleys has increased. To prevent casualties from water-related accidents, on the 3rd, Gyeongnam Hadong Fire Station and Jeonnam Gwangyang Fire Station held a meeting.

Gwangyang Fire Station reported that in July, three family members died while playing in a river in Jinan-gun, Jeonbuk, and on August 2nd, at Eochi Valley in Gwangyang, a father and his two sons were safely rescued after holding onto surrounding bushes to withstand rapidly rising water levels and sudden changes in current while enjoying water activities.

The meeting was held because the Seomjin River, one of Korea's five major rivers, is managed by three local governments: Gurye-gun, Gwangyang-si, and Hadong-gun. Since the river is 46 km long, rapid response to accidents is expected to be difficult. Therefore, they prepared efficient joint response measures such as collaboration among local governments, establishing a dispatch system transcending city and provincial boundaries, integrated operation of firefighting resources, and sharing disaster site information.

Seo Seung-ho, Chief of Gwangyang Fire Station, said, "Water accidents continuously occur during the summer heatwave, so attention and caution are necessary." He added, "Swimming should be done only in permitted areas, and when entering the water, sufficient warm-up exercises and safety equipment such as life jackets must be worn, and safety rules must be strictly followed."

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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