Gyeonggi Province Fire Department rescued an average of 69.7 people per day last year. Additionally, the number of rescue dispatches and rescued individuals significantly increased compared to the previous year.
On the 26th, the Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced that they dispatched 292,897 times to rescue sites last year and conducted 150,021 rescue activities, saving 25,454 people. This translates to an average of 802 dispatches and 411 rescue activities per day, rescuing 69.7 people daily.
Compared to the previous year, the number of dispatches and rescued individuals increased by 17.3% (an increase of 43,187 dispatches) and 26.5% (5,338 people), respectively. On the other hand, the number of rescue cases decreased by 17.3% (31,425 cases).
The Fire and Disaster Headquarters explained that the increase in rescue dispatches and rescued individuals is attributed to the continuous population growth in Gyeonggi Province over the past 10 years and a significant rise in outdoor activities after the full lifting of social distancing measures in April last year.
They also noted that the decrease in the number of rescue activities is due to an improved statistical system that counts multiple dispatches by two or more teams for multiple or complex accidents as a single dispatch by the jurisdictional rescue team.
Breaking down the rescue activities, fire and traffic accident-related rescues accounted for 94,453 cases, making up 63%. Life safety activities such as removing beehives and handling animals accounted for 37%.
Fire and traffic accident rescue activities were as follows: fire dispatches 30,629 cases (32%), traffic accidents 20,487 cases (22%), location confirmations 12,644 cases (13%), and elevator rescues 9,155 cases (10%).
Life safety dispatches included: beehive removals 25,698 cases (46%), false fire alarms (alarms triggered without an actual fire) confirmations 9,677 cases (17%), animal handling 8,924 cases (16%), and lock openings 4,950 cases (9%).
Jo Sun-ho, head of the Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters, stated, "As rescue demand increases daily, Gyeonggi Province accounts for 22.5% of nationwide rescue activities, overwhelmingly high. We will continue to strengthen the 119 emergency rescue response capabilities to eliminate blind spots in rescue dispatches and efficiently respond to large-scale disasters."
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