Gyeonggi Fire Department Excelled in Fire Response This Year... Decrease in Deaths, Injuries, and Property Damage

A firefighter is spraying a water curtain at the fire scene.

The number of fires, fatalities, injuries, and property damage in Gyeonggi Province are all decreasing.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced on the 24th that as of August this year, all four fire damage indicators?number of fires, fatalities, injuries, and property damage?have decreased compared to the same period last year.

Among the four fire damage indicators from the National Fire Agency, only three provinces and cities, including Gyeonggi Province, Daegu, and Jeju, showed decreases.

From the beginning of this year until August 6, there were 5,277 fires in the province. This is a decrease of 195 cases, or 3.6%, compared to 5,472 cases during the same period last year. Fire-related fatalities also decreased from 49 last year to 43 this year, and injuries dropped from 377 to 328. Additionally, property damage sharply declined by 81.9 billion KRW (30%), from 273.1 billion KRW to 191.2 billion KRW.

The Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters attributes these results to analyzing the problems of previous large-scale fires last year, establishing comprehensive measures, and independently developing prevention strategies and firefighting tactics tailored to regional characteristics, from fire prevention to suppression.

In this year’s work plan, the Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced its goal to achieve a world top 5 level of fire safety within the next five years. The International Association of Fire and Rescue Services (CTIF), mainly joined by OECD advanced countries including South Korea, evaluates safety based on the number of fires, fatalities, and injuries per 100,000 population.

Countries with relatively high fire safety include most Western European nations such as France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, where the annual number of fire-related deaths per 100,000 population is below 0.5. Over the past three years, Gyeonggi Province has averaged about 0.6 deaths, roughly half that of Japan or the United States, but still slightly below the world’s highest level.

To achieve early fire safety goals, the Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters will implement a "100-Day Special Fire Safety Measures" starting in September to prepare for the winter season.

Each fire station will manage daily situations with a target to reduce fire damage by 20% compared to the three-year average, focusing firefighting resources from the initial stage of fires to ensure rapid rescue and containment of fire spread.

Jo Sun-ho, head of the Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters, emphasized, "While the decrease in fire damage is a meaningful achievement, it also teaches us never to be complacent for even a moment. We will unite the strength and wisdom of the residents to definitely achieve zero large-scale fires."

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