Looking for Retired Firefighting Equipment Used at Disaster Sites

Fire Agency Launches Campaign to Collect and Donate Firefighting Artifacts
Secured Over 3,600 Firefighting Items Including Fire Trucks Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The National Fire Agency announced on the 18th that it will carry out a campaign this year to collect and donate firefighting artifacts to secure relic materials for exhibition and research at the ‘National Fire Museum,’ scheduled to open in July 2024.

The ‘National Fire Museum’ will be located in Gwangmyeong-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do, with a site area of 14,751㎡ and a total floor area of 5,000㎡ across three floors, including an outdoor exhibition hall. Donated artifacts will be ▲registered as museum collections for permanent preservation ▲utilized as special exhibition, research, and educational materials considering the quantity and value of the donated items ▲published in research reports depending on the importance of the donations ▲applied for designation as nationally registered cultural heritage for important materials ▲and urgently preserved artifacts will be repaired and restored.

Donors will receive donation certificates, and their names will be recorded in the Hall of Honor within the museum. They will also be invited to various important events such as exhibition opening ceremonies. For large-scale donors, special solo exhibitions of donated artifacts are planned. To participate in artifact donation, applicants can download the ‘Firefighting Artifact Donation Application Form’ from the online Firefighting Artifact Data Center, complete it, and submit it by mail or email.

Last year, over 3,600 diverse artifacts including equipment, uniforms, and souvenirs were secured. Among them, a firefighting pump truck donated by Korea Midland Power was deployed to prepare for power plant fires but was actively used to assist the local community by transporting drinking water in the Gangneung area, where the water supply was cut off due to Typhoon Maemi in 2003. It was donated just before retirement.

Kim Su-hwan, head of the National Fire Hospital Construction Promotion Team at the National Fire Agency, said, “It is regrettable that firefighting equipment, which has worked with the public for safety at fire scenes and various disaster sites, is disposed of or sold as surplus.” He added, “We ask for the interest and participation of many citizens in meaningful firefighting artifact discovery and collection.”