Gyeonggi Fire Department Introduces Nationwide First 'Cyber Education' for Volunteer Firefighters

The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters will conduct the nation's first cyber education for volunteer firefighters.

Currently, there are 11,217 volunteer firefighters active across 36 fire stations in the province. According to the "Act on the Establishment and Operation of Volunteer Fire Brigades," they must complete 36 hours of basic training over two years and at least 12 hours of specialized training annually. However, both basic and specialized training have been conducted through in-person sessions, resulting in low completion rates and a demand for improvement.

A volunteer firefighter from the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters is attending cyber training. Provided by Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters

Accordingly, the Fire and Disaster Headquarters decided to introduce cyber education to reduce the burden of in-person training and increase completion rates through repetitive learning.

Earlier, the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters, in collaboration with the Gyeonggi-do Human Resources Development Institute, conducted a pilot cyber education program in February for a total of 602 volunteer firefighters. Among them, 75.4% (454 people) completed the course, and most of the graduates responded that the introduction of cyber education was necessary.

Kim Jaebyeong, head of the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said, "Cyber education is an important stepping stone for volunteer firefighters to develop professionally," adding, "We will establish an environment where learning can take place anytime and anywhere, and expand the scope so that residents can also enjoy professional fire education services online."

Meanwhile, starting with this cyber education for volunteer firefighters, the Fire and Disaster Headquarters plans to establish a "Smart Fire Education Training Management System" in August, which will open fire education to the public.