Fire Agency Opens Master's Program at Gimcheon University to Train 'Peer Counselors'

The National Fire Agency announced on the 5th that it will establish a master's program in 'Firefighting Specialized Counseling' at Gimcheon University Graduate School to train 'peer counselors' who understand the job characteristics of firefighters and can actively intervene in mental care. This is the first time a master's program in firefighting specialized counseling has been established at a graduate school.

Sixteen firefighters selected from the National Fire Agency and six metropolitan fire headquarters in March this year will be the first to enroll in the newly established master's program. They will undergo two years of academic and training courses and will begin working as peer counselors with professional skills and qualifications starting in 2026.

Peer counselors perform the same duties as the counselees, making it easier to build mutual trust and enabling early detection of high-risk groups for mental health and administrative intervention.

Currently, 33 peer counselors are active nationwide; these are firefighters appointed through career recruitment in the psychological counseling field.

Baek Deok-gon, Planning and Coordination Officer of the National Fire Agency, said, "With the training of peer counselors, we expect not only psychological support for firefighters but also exploration of risk factors and protective methods for mental health considering job characteristics, and the proposal of prevention models according to the occurrence and severity of various mental disorders."

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