Over the Past 10 Years, 40 Firefighters Have Died in the Line of Duty
Poor Conditions Persist Including Firefighting Allowances
An elderly man's remark to firefighters dispatched to remove a beehive has become a hot topic among netizens. On the 9th, an online community 'BobaeDream' posted an article titled 'Our country's firefighters are so pitiful.' The author, Mr. A, took photos of firefighters spraying water on the exterior wall of an apartment and removing a beehive, and uploaded them.
On the 9th, an online community 'BobaeDream' posted an article titled 'Our country's firefighters are so pitiful.' The author, Mr. A, took photos of firefighters spraying water on the exterior walls of an apartment and removing a beehive, and uploaded the pictures. [Photo by online community 'BobaeDream']
Mr. A began, "A few days ago, firefighters came to remove a wasp nest on the rooftop of the apartment." He added, "They sprayed water and destroyed about half of the beehive, but complete removal was impossible," and said, "Passing elderly people said, 'Why don't they just tie a rope and climb the wall?'" Mr. A expressed anger, saying, "I was listening nearby and got mad thinking about what would happen if they got stung by bees or fell." He continued, "I gave the firefighters coffee coupons out of gratitude," and added, "I hope their treatment improves." Netizens responded to Mr. A's story with comments such as, "Sometimes it feels like firefighters are given too many roles," "Firefighters' treatment improvement is more urgent than other public officials," and "Always supporting the firefighters."
Meanwhile, according to statistics from the National Fire Agency, from 2020 to 2022, an average of 5,585 bee sting incidents occurred annually, with 4,402 cases (78.8%) happening between July and September. The average annual number of deaths over three years was 9.7. When coming into contact with a beehive, one should cover the head and quickly move at least 20 meters away. If stung by a bee, promptly remove the stinger, disinfect or wash the affected area with clean water, and apply ice packs to relieve pain.
Firefighters Still Facing Poor Working Conditions and Manpower Shortages
On June 25th, firefighters and forensic investigators were busily moving around the scene of a fire at a primary battery manufacturing factory in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province to conduct an on-site investigation. [Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@]
Although firefighters were converted from local government employees to national government employees as of April 1, 2020, frontline firefighters express self-deprecating voices that the only change is the 'rank title.' The biggest reason for this dilemma of being 'nominally national government employees' is that budget and personnel authority still depend on provincial governors, not the central government. Leaving it to each local government’s discretion means that securing firefighting personnel, fire suppression equipment, and training infrastructure cannot be adequately provided regionally. The residential fire in Gimje City, Jeonbuk, in March last year and the warehouse fire in Seogwipo City, Jeju, in December of the same year both resulted in line-of-duty deaths due to insufficient personnel on site.
The fire at a meat processing factory in Mungyeong City, Gyeongbuk, in February this year, which claimed the lives of two young firefighters, was also a tragedy caused by poor conditions. Furthermore, treatment such as the fire suppression allowance, which has remained unchanged for 24 years since it was raised by 80,000 KRW per month in 2001, has yet to improve. The fact that about four firefighters die in the line of duty annually is also pointed out as being related to this administrative system. According to the National Fire Agency, a total of 40 firefighters have died in the line of duty over the past 10 years from 2014 to last year.
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