Injuries Among Firefighters During Field Operations Decreased by 12% Last Year

56 Fewer Safety Accidents Compared to 2021

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The National Fire Agency announced on the 7th that the number of firefighters injured during on-site activities such as fire suppression, rescue, and emergency medical services last year was 411, a decrease of 56 (12%) compared to 467 in the previous year.

This can be seen as a result of actively implementing follow-up measures, including recurrence prevention measures following the large-scale logistics warehouse fire in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do in January 2022, which claimed the lives of three rescue workers.

The key policies implemented to prevent safety accidents among firefighters included ▲scientific investigation and analysis of accident causes ▲consulting for recurrence prevention of safety accidents in cities and provinces ▲operation of focused management periods for safety accidents during specific times ▲and the production of a practical manual for safety management in on-site firefighting activities.

First, from January to May 2022, the National Fire Agency formed a joint public-private central investigation team with the National Fire Research Institute to intensively analyze the causes of line-of-duty deaths, uncovering causes of special phenomena such as sudden fire gas ignition and smoke explosions that can occur at fire scenes.

Based on the identified characteristics, precautions, and response methods, these were incorporated into guidelines such as the standard firefighting operation procedures to establish a response system for sudden risks at fire scenes.

Subsequently, based on domestic and international research results and cases of safety accidents in firefighting activities, safety consulting was expanded for safety departments in cities and provinces (42 sessions, a 100% increase compared to 21 in 2021), and a system was institutionalized for each provincial fire headquarters to operate their own accident investigation teams to examine causes of firefighter injuries during on-site activities.

Additionally, specific periods such as the rainy season, typhoons, heatwaves, and winter were designated as ‘focused management periods for accident risk factors’ to strengthen safety accident prevention activities. In particular, during the summer, special inspections for firefighting activity safety management and a heatwave safety reinforcement period (July 8 to August 31, 2022) were conducted, achieving the goal of zero line-of-duty deaths and heat-related patients due to water accidents.

In November last year, a 'Practical Manual for Safety Management in On-site Firefighting Activities' was produced, translating research theories related to safety, accident analysis results from field activities, and overseas firefighters’ safety accident cases, along with the development of cyber education content.

Going forward, this practical manual and cyber education materials will be distributed to all provincial headquarters nationwide to actively utilize them in safety accident prevention education by enhancing the ability to predict potential risk situations that may occur on-site.

Hong Young-geun, Planning and Coordination Officer of the National Fire Agency, stated, “We will make every effort in proactive administration to protect on-site activities and prevent accidents so that firefighters working in the field can work in a safe environment.”