Jeonbuk Fire Department Claims First Overall Victory at National Firefighting Skills Competition

Consistent Excellence Across All Areas of Fire Suppression, Rescue, and Emergency Medical Services

The Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province Fire Department achieved its first-ever overall victory at the National Firefighting Skills Competition, where firefighters from across the country compete to demonstrate their on-site response capabilities. The department proved its top-tier field response skills nationwide by earning strong results across all areas, from fire suppression and rescue to emergency medical services and fire investigations.

The Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province Fire Headquarters took first place overall among the fire headquarters of 19 cities and provinces nationwide at the 39th National Firefighting Skills Competition. Photo by Jeonbuk Self-Governing Province Fire Headquarters

The Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province Fire Department announced on May 14 that it secured first place overall among 19 city and provincial fire departments at the 39th National Firefighting Skills Competition. This marks the first time Jeonbuk Fire Department has won the overall title at this event.

The National Firefighting Skills Competition is a premier event in the Korean firefighting sector, evaluating the skills and tactics required for fire suppression, rescue, and emergency response at disaster sites. This year’s competition was held from May 11 to 13 at the National Fire Service Academy in Gongju, Chungnam, with participation from over 5,000 individuals, including firefighters, volunteer fire brigade members, and university students majoring in emergency medical services. Jeonbuk Fire Department fielded a team of 50 participants—comprising 35 firefighters and 15 members from volunteer fire brigades and the general public—competing in 12 categories.

Jeonbuk Fire Department secured the overall victory with consistently strong performances in key categories, including fire tactics, applied rescue tactics, emergency medical tactics, fire investigation, toughest firefighter, rapid rescue team, drone competition, and university emergency medical department contest.

This year’s competition was especially fierce, as the representative teams from each region had advanced through local preliminaries. Teams were comprehensively evaluated on equipment handling, tactical speed, teamwork, and safety management in simulated disaster scenarios.

Fire officials noted that achieving overall victory is difficult based on results in a single event alone, as balanced capabilities are required across all areas of field response, including fire suppression, rescue, emergency care, and fire cause investigation. Jeonbuk Fire Department attributed its success to a field-oriented training system, emphasizing not only the improvement of individual technical skills but also the reinforcement of team-based tactical training, which translated into strong competition results.

Lee Osook, Chief of the Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province Fire Department, said, "This overall victory is an achievement not only for the team but for the entire Jeonbuk Fire Department, which has diligently trained on-site. We will continue to strengthen our field response capabilities to ensure the safety of our residents."

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