Gyeonggi 'Yongin Seobu Fire Station' to Open in May

The Yongin Western Fire Station in Gyeonggi Province will open in May.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced on the 30th that the amendment to the 'Gyeonggi Province Administrative Organization and Staffing Ordinance' related to the opening of the Yongin Western Fire Station passed the plenary session of the 374th extraordinary meeting of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council on the 26th, making the May opening possible.

This ordinance was enacted in response to the increasing fire service demand in the western Yongin area and includes the separation and establishment of the 'Yongin Western Fire Station' from the Yongin Fire Station.

The Yongin Western Fire Station will oversee the Giheung-gu and Suji-gu areas and will be organized with a staff of 296, including 1 director, 3 departments, 1 division, 6 centers, and 1 rescue team. It is expected to significantly strengthen disaster response command capabilities in the western Yongin region.

Yongin City is a local government with high fire service demand due to rapid population growth and the announcement of a large-scale semiconductor belt development plan. However, compared to Ulsan Metropolitan City (6 fire stations) and Gwangju Metropolitan City (5 fire stations), which have similar population sizes, Yongin has only one fire station. The number of residents per fire service officer in Yongin is 1,820, more than twice the national average of 713, and the number of dispatches is 72,860, ranking first nationwide.

Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters

Accordingly, Gyeonggi Province has been promoting the establishment of the Yongin Western Fire Station since 2018. However, the originally planned site for the station building was included in the 'Platform City' urban development project area, causing difficulties in establishment. As a result, since 2021, the Yongin Fire Station has only provided temporary responses by separately installing the 2nd Field Command Unit and the 2nd Rescue and Ambulance Team responsible for the western area at the Suji 119 Safety Center.

Discussion on the establishment of the Yongin Western Fire Station took a turn last August when Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province gave a special directive for the early opening of the Yongin Western Fire Station during the 'Gyeonggi Provincial Government Current Issues Inspection Meeting.'

Following Governor Kim Dong-yeon's directive, Gyeonggi Province decided to prioritize opening the fire station using a leased building first and then proceed with constructing the station building later, a so-called 'open first, build later' approach.

After finalizing the plan to open first and build the station later, Gyeonggi Province allocated a budget of 1.35 billion KRW at the end of last year for the opening of the Yongin Western Fire Station.

Chosunho, head of the Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters, stated, "The preparation for the building and opening is almost complete, and we expect to complete staff deployment and open the station in May, followed by an opening ceremony with residents in June."