Seosan City Mobilizes Full Efforts for Spring Wildfire Prevention and Response... Deploys 100 Mobile Firefighters

Wildfire Prevention Headquarters Operates Since January 24
Equipment Inspections, Joint Training, and Campaigns for Wildfire Response

Lee Wanseop, mayor of Seosan City, Chungnam, visited the Eumam-myeon Wildfire Response Center on March 23 to encourage the special forest disaster firefighting team members. Photo by Seosan City

Seosan City in Chungnam Province is making every effort to proactively prevent and respond to wildfires in order to protect the precious lives and property of its citizens.

The city announced that, with the increased risk of wildfires in the spring due to dry weather and strong winds, it has been implementing a comprehensive wildfire prevention plan since January 24 to ensure prevention and prompt response.

Recently, large-scale wildfires have occurred in various parts of the country, including Sancheong County in Gyeongnam and Uiseong County in Gyeongbuk, raising awareness about the importance of wildfire prevention and initial response.

To establish a proactive wildfire response system, the city held a Wildfire Prevention Council on January 16, bringing together related organizations from the public, private, and military sectors to agree on joint wildfire response efforts.

The comprehensive wildfire prevention plan focuses on wildfire monitoring and the operation of the Wildfire Prevention Headquarters, Rapid Response Wildfire Suppression Team, and Special Forest Disaster Response Team for swift initial response when wildfires occur.

The 100 members of the Rapid Response Wildfire Suppression Team, deployed in towns and districts throughout the city, are conducting regular monitoring and guidance, while the 15-member Special Forest Disaster Response Team is always on standby to respond quickly to wildfires.

In particular, four members of the Special Forest Disaster Response Team are operating as a nighttime rapid response unit every day from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The Rapid Response Wildfire Suppression Team has completed key wildfire prevention activities, such as guiding against burning in forest-adjacent areas, as well as safety accident prevention training.

To ensure rapid and systematic wildfire suppression, the city completed inspections of wildfire suppression equipment such as rakes, backpack pumps, and radios owned by each town and district before February.

In addition, on February 24, equipment inspections were conducted on all 16 wildfire suppression vehicles deployed in the city at the Eumam-myeon Wildfire Response Center.

Notably, one leased wildfire suppression helicopter is stationed and operating at the Yeocheon-dong Doctor Heliport until June 30.

To eliminate blind spots in wildfire detection, the 'Wildfire Drone Monitoring Team' will operate until April 27, monitoring areas with a high risk of wildfires every weekend using drones.

The city is also promoting wildfire prevention guidelines through various media, including electronic displays, village broadcasts, and social networking services, to raise public awareness.

A total of 17,600 wildfire prevention promotional materials have been produced and posted in wildfire-prone areas, and on the 17th, a wildfire prevention campaign was held at the entrance to the Palbongsan hiking trail targeting hikers.

Mayor Lee Wanseop of Seosan City urged citizens to comply with wildfire prevention rules through a special statement in early March and visited the Wildfire Response Center on the 23rd to encourage members of the Special Forest Disaster Response Team.

Mayor Lee said, "We are focusing administrative efforts on wildfire prevention to protect the precious lives and property of our citizens," and added, "I ask all citizens to join in complying with prevention rules to ensure everyone's safety."

Meanwhile, on February 21, the city conducted joint training with the Seosan Fire Station, including the establishment of firebreaks in forests, emergency contact drills, and water supply support for wildfire suppression vehicles, to strengthen the wildfire response capabilities of the Special Forest Disaster Response Team.

In addition, the city is operating a 'Mobile Agricultural By-product Shredding Team' to prevent the burning of agricultural by-products such as pepper stems in rice fields and paddies adjacent to forests.

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