Bee (Hive) Removal Dispatches Increased by 20% in One Year
"Warmer Temperatures May Have an Impact"
1,336 Line-of-Duty Deaths and Injuries... Increased by 252
Last year, approximately 11.96 million reports were received through the fire emergency number 119. Although the total number of reports decreased, dispatches for rescue operations and daily safety tasks such as 'removal of beehives' increased.
The National Fire Agency announced on the 22nd that it has published the "2024 National Fire Agency Statistical Yearbook" containing these details. The yearbook includes 200 detailed indicators across eight fields from last year: ▲organization, personnel, and budget ▲international cooperation ▲119 report reception and communication ▲fire, rescue, and emergency medical response activities ▲prevention ▲technology and industry ▲education and training.
According to the statistical yearbook, the total number of 119 reports last year was 11,956,459, a decrease of about 590,000 cases (4.70%) compared to the previous year. Looking at the detailed dispatches after receiving reports, fire dispatches (38,857 cases) and emergency medical dispatches (4,586,526 cases) decreased by 3.14% and 2.19%, respectively.
On the other hand, rescue dispatches increased by 9.21% to 1,309,614 cases. Rescue dispatches have been on the rise since 2020, with 838,194 cases in 2020, 1,062,612 cases in 2021, and 1,199,183 cases in 2022.
Dispatches related to daily safety also increased by 17.5%, from 521,002 cases the previous year to 611,054 cases last year. Among these, the largest portion was 'removal of beehives.' With 232,933 cases, it accounted for 38.11% of all daily safety dispatches. Beehive removal dispatches increased by 20.1% within one year. A National Fire Agency official explained, "This may be influenced by rising temperatures in our country," adding, "Species such as the Asian giant hornet, which are native to subtropical climates, are sometimes found coming to Korea."
The number of firefighters who died or were injured on duty increased in 2023 compared to 2022. Last year, there were 1,336 cases of firefighter deaths and injuries, an increase of 252 from 1,084 cases the previous year. While deaths decreased from 4 to 2, the increase in injuries was the main factor for the overall rise.
Sales in the fire safety industry increased by 1.1624 trillion KRW (6.6%) compared to 2022, reaching 18.6583 trillion KRW last year. The National Fire Agency emphasized, "This is the result of continuous efforts to promote the excellence of K-Fire through the annual International Fire Safety Expo and to increase sales."
Heo Seok-gon, Commissioner of the National Fire Agency, stated, "As the disaster environment rapidly changes and the complexity of social infrastructure increases, the importance of the statistical yearbook is growing because it provides key solutions through status management, forecasting, and research and development using statistics."
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