Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters Conducted Rescue Operations Every 9 Minutes Last Year... 'Beehive Removal' Calls Account for 30% of Total

Analysis of 2020 Rescue Activity Status ... Dispatched 164 Times Daily on Average, Handling 128 Cases

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] The Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters announced on the 21st that, after analyzing the status of rescue activities in 2020, they responded to 59,845 rescue dispatches, handled 46,552 cases, and rescued 4,907 people.

This translates to an average of 164 dispatches per day, handling 128 cases, and rescuing 13 people daily.

Looking at the status by type, beehive removal dispatches were the most frequent at 13,796 cases (29.6%). Animal capture was 7,847 cases, traffic accidents 4,753 cases, and safety measures 4,307 cases followed.

Compared to 2019, rescue dispatches decreased by 7,015 cases (10.5%), rescue handling by 6,710 cases (12.6%), and rescued personnel by 710 people (12.6%).

In particular, beehive removal dispatches decreased by 8,577 cases (38.3%) compared to last year due to poor bee growth caused by the longest rainy season and consecutive typhoons. Traffic accidents decreased by 313 cases (6.2%) due to social distancing measures from COVID-19, which also significantly reduced the number of rescued people.

However, with the frequent occurrence of typhoons and heavy rains, water-related incidents such as drowning accidents increased by 54 cases (10.4%), safety measures like removal of traffic obstacles increased by 1,151 cases (36.5%), and natural disasters increased by 979 cases (79.5%).

By location, single-family homes (9,462 cases), roads and railways (8,606 cases), and apartment complexes (8,151 cases) accounted for most dispatches around residential and living environments.

By region, areas with larger populations such as Gumi (5,726 cases), Gyeongju (4,603 cases), Andong (4,095 cases), and Northern Pohang (3,382 cases) had higher demand. By month, August (9,641 cases), September (7,821 cases), July (6,026 cases), and June (3,654 cases) accounted for 41.5% of total rescue cases during the summer months (June to August, 19,321 cases).

Kim Jong-geun, head of the Fire Headquarters, stated, "We will provide systematic and proactive fire services to residents by operating customized education for key periods and targets, and the '119 Life Safety Alert System' that notifies risks of safety accidents in advance."