On the 29th, Kim Hee-sook, a member of the Munmu Daewang Women's Volunteer Fire Brigade, who received an award at the '119 Hero Award' ceremony held by the National Fire Agency.
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwi-yeol] Gyeongbuk Province announced on the 29th that Kim Hee-sook, a member of the Munmu Daewang Women's Volunteer Fire Brigade at Gyeongju Fire Station, received the 119 Hero Award at the award ceremony held by the National Fire Agency.
The 119 Hero Award was first introduced in 2018 to honor and recognize those who risk their lives to save precious lives at disaster sites. A total of 38 people, including 7 this year, have received the award.
On March 20th at around 12:40 PM, member Kim Hee-sook played a significant role in preventing casualties by anticipating an accident and quickly taking safety measures at a rockfall accident site near the Sunday market in Waeup-ri, Munmu Daewang-myeon, Gyeongju City.
At that time, 16 people including nearby merchants and tourists were staying at the site to trade agricultural products for the Sunday market.
While selling agricultural products as usual, member Kim quickly shouted to those around her to evacuate upon noticing signs of rockfall and landslide and requested a 119 emergency call.
When a 77-year-old female merchant was injured by falling rocks, she risked her safety to rescue her to a safe place and helped the firefighters who arrived at the scene by providing accident information to assist in the response.
Member Kim Hee-sook said, “Thanks to the fire safety training I received regularly, I was able to respond well at the accident site that could have led to a major casualty. As a volunteer firefighter, I did what was natural, and I am happy to receive this award.”
Lee Young-pal, head of the Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters, said, “In Gyeongbuk, 10,972 volunteer firefighters in 408 teams play a major role as guardians of disaster prevention for the local community. We appreciate the hard work of the volunteer firefighters and hope they will continue to do their best for the safety of the residents.”
The Munmu Daewang Women's Volunteer Fire Brigade was launched in 2013 and consists of 23 members including Captain Kim Young-kyung. They dedicate themselves to disaster prevention and community service such as local safety guardianship and elderly safety care services.
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