Seoul Fire Department's 'Special Fire Watch Duty' During Lunar New Year Holiday... Safety Inspections of Living Treatment Centers, Nursing Hospitals, etc.

Special Fire Watch Duty at Fire Stations During Lunar New Year Holiday from the 10th
Emergency Medical Staff on Duty for Hospital, Clinic, Pharmacy Information and COVID-19 Consultations During the Holiday Period

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced on the 5th that it will conduct a "Special Fire Watch Duty" from 6 p.m. on the day before the Lunar New Year holiday, the 10th, until 9 a.m. on the 15th to prepare for the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Fire and Disaster Headquarters has been conducting emergency fire safety inspections at 695 locations, including COVID-19 residential treatment centers, since January 22, before the Lunar New Year holiday begins. In addition, to prevent fires, special fire inspections are being carried out at traditional markets and surprise crackdowns on multi-use facilities are ongoing. Fire safety consulting is also being promoted for fire-vulnerable targets such as jjokbangchon (small room villages) and lodging facilities.

During the Lunar New Year holiday, each fire station in Seoul will conduct preventive patrols in fire-vulnerable areas to secure emergency routes for fire trucks and continuously provide prior guidance on risk factors.

Meanwhile, accidents occurring during the Lunar New Year holiday will be handled by 143 units of the 119 Life Safety Team and 163 units of the 119 Ambulance Team, deployed throughout the city, who will be dispatched to the scene. In particular, three helicopters belonging to the Seoul Fire Aviation Unit will be on standby in case of difficult land access, such as highway traffic accidents and mountain accidents.

During last year’s Lunar New Year holiday, a total of 40 fires occurred, with causes including negligence in 26 cases (65%), electrical factors in 3 cases (7.5%), mechanical factors in 2 cases (5%), and others in 9 cases. The 119 Ambulance Team transported a total of 3,359 cases, with abdominal pain being the most common at 464 cases (13.8%), followed by back pain at 193 cases (5.7%), traffic accidents at 165 cases (4.9%), and respiratory distress at 140 cases (4.2%).

The Seoul Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Center’s Ambulance Situation Management Center, which receives 119 calls, will deploy a total of 33 personnel during the Lunar New Year holiday, five more than the usual 28, to handle tasks such as hospital and pharmacy guidance and medical consultations in response to COVID-19.

Choi Tae-young, head of the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said, “We will implement proactive fire safety measures for fire-vulnerable targets to ensure a safe Lunar New Year holiday and respond promptly to any disasters that may occur unexpectedly.”