Gyeonggi Fire Department Surpasses 10,000 Phone Consultations for COVID-19 'Home Treatment Guidance'

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters has surpassed 10,000 phone consultations at the 'Home Treatment Administrative Guidance Centers' operated by eight fire stations in the province, utilizing volunteer firefighters.

The Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters responded to the surge in phone consultations at frontline city and county home treatment administrative guidance centers, which handle phone consultations for COVID-19 home treatment patients, by deploying female volunteer firefighters to support the work.

The guidance centers, which started operation on February 21 at two fire stations in Pyeongtaek and Bucheon, have now expanded to eight fire stations in the province, including Pyeongtaek, Bucheon, Yongin, Namyangju, Suwon Nambu, Gwangju, Siheung, and Yangju.

At each guidance center, two volunteer firefighters are assigned during the day to provide phone consultations to home treatment patients regarding compliance with home quarantine rules, daily living guidelines, emergency 119 reporting instructions, and other inquiries.

So far, the main consultation results include 5,327 cases of medical consultation guidance, 1,738 inquiries about quarantine release, 970 cases related to outings and daily life, and 1,114 other guidance cases.

Choi Hyun-joo, a volunteer firefighter at Pyeongtaek Fire Station who worked at the home treatment administrative guidance center, shared her thoughts: "I feel proud and rewarded by receiving thank-you calls from many users, including a single parent who was severely depressed while in self-quarantine after testing positive along with her child."

Alongside this, since the 1st of this month, the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters has been operating a COVID-19 'Safe Accommodation' for firefighters to prevent gaps in emergency response. The safe accommodation provides temporary lodging for uninfected staff when cohabiting family members test positive, helping to separate living spaces from their families.

A total of 99 rooms are being operated using living quarters at various fire stations across the province.

Choi Byung-il, head of the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters, emphasized, "The support for home treatment administrative guidance center operations using volunteer firefighters is playing a crucial role like rain in a drought. The safe accommodation is also a specialized policy of Gyeonggi Fire to prevent gaps in emergency response, and we will continue to develop and implement policies for the safety of the residents."

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