Gyeonggi Fire Department Promotes 'Daily Care Safety Measures' Including Rescue of Dementia Elderly

The results of the "Fire Safety Policy Awareness Survey" conducted by Gyeonggi Province in October, commissioned to the public opinion research firm Korea Gallup Survey Institute Co., Ltd., targeting 1,004 residents of the province

The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters is implementing the ‘119 Elderly Safety Protection Measures’ that range from creating a safe living environment by strengthening fire safety management in elderly facilities to providing life-care safety welfare services such as enhanced response to missing elderly dementia patients.

The Fire and Disaster Headquarters plans to frequently crack down on illegal activities in elderly care facilities and conduct initial response training, including guiding evacuation, as well as joint fire drills for related personnel to ensure the safety of elderly residents.

In addition, private professional instructors dedicated to the elderly will be dispatched to elderly welfare facilities to provide safety education on topics such as fire prevention and removal of safety hazard factors. The Fire and Disaster Headquarters will also hold a selection contest for the top elderly fire safety instructor on the 19th to foster specialized instructors for the elderly.

Furthermore, to prevent solitary deaths, the ‘Safety Guardians for Elderly Living Alone,’ composed of volunteer firefighters, will regularly conduct welfare calls and home visits.

Moreover, active responses will be taken upon receiving reports of missing elderly dementia patients, and the role of mandatory reporters of elder abuse will be strengthened by requiring paramedics to immediately report any discovered cases of elder abuse.

Cho Sun-ho, head of the Fire and Disaster Headquarters, emphasized, "By pre-registering personal information and medical history, the 119 dispatch team can understand the patient’s illness and characteristics in emergency situations and provide customized services. We plan to further expand the ‘119 Safety Call Service’ subscription targeting the elderly."

Meanwhile, according to the ‘Fire Safety Policy Awareness Survey’ conducted in October by the public opinion research firm Korea Gallup Survey Institute on 1,004 Gyeonggi-do residents, the elderly (38.1%) were most frequently selected as the top priority group for expanding fire services. Among facilities, more than half (54.1%) identified elderly and child-related facilities such as nursing homes and daycare centers as the highest priority.