Jeonnam Fire Department Begins Special Alert Duty for Buddha's Birthday

From 6 PM on the 14th to 9 AM on the 16th

40 Fire Trucks and 222 Firefighters Deployed in Advance

The Jeonnam Fire Headquarters will enter special alert duty from 6 p.m. on the 14th until 9 a.m. on the 16th in preparation for Buddha's Birthday (the 15th).

According to data from the National Fire Information System, there have been a total of 6 temple fires in the past three years, causing approximately 610 million KRW in property damage. The causes of the fires were negligence in 3 cases (50%), electrical factors in 2 cases (33.3%), and unknown causes in 1 case (16.7%).

During the same period, 35 fires occurred in the province during the special alert duty for Buddha's Birthday, resulting in 2 casualties and property damage worth over 200 million KRW.

Accordingly, Jeonnam Fire has conducted fire safety inspections over the past month since April on 108 wooden and traditional temples to ensure that residents can have a safe and comfortable holiday.

Additionally, fire safety consulting led by the Fire Headquarters Chief and other station chiefs was promoted for 178 traditional temples to eliminate fire vulnerabilities and inspect the maintenance status of firefighting facilities.

During the upcoming special alert duty period, 22 fire stations in the province will maintain command-line duty by fire station chiefs for early proactive response to fires, and 40 fire trucks and 222 firefighting personnel will be deployed in advance to 32 key temples and other locations.

Furthermore, fire prevention patrols targeting vulnerable sites will be strengthened three times a day, and emergency response readiness will be enhanced by establishing an emergency communication system to enable rapid joint response with related agencies such as police, electricity, and gas.

Hong Young-geun, the head of the headquarters, stated, “Most temples are adjacent to forest areas, so if a fire occurs, it can spread into a large-scale fire causing extensive damage.” He urged, “We ask for active cooperation from related parties to prevent loss of traditional temples and cultural assets by being cautious with fire use inside temples.”

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