Gyeongnam Province launches 119 Forest Fire Special Response Team in January next year... Capacity: 54 people

An organization dedicated to extinguishing forest fires will be established in Gyeongnam.

Gyeongnam Province announced on the 5th that the 119 Forest Fire Special Response Team will be launched in January next year.

The province is the third province among cities and provinces in the country to operate the 119 Forest Fire Special Response Team, following Gyeongbuk and Gangwon-do.

In March last year, a forest fire in Sancheong-gun spread to Hadong-gun and lasted for 10 days, killing four public officials and firefighting crews, and burning over 3,000 hectares of forests, houses, and agricultural and livestock facilities, causing nearly 30 billion won in damage.

At that time, the province realized the need for a professional response agency specializing in forest fire extinguishment.

Due to the impact of climate change, the scale of large-scale forest fires is increasing and the frequency of occurrence is increasing, increasing the need for a specialized forest fire response organization.

The province revised the ordinance on the establishment of administrative organizations and established the 119 Forest Fire Special Response Team under the fire headquarters.

Existing firefighting organizations focused on protecting civilians, such as preventing fires from spreading to private homes during forest fires.

The 119 Forest Fire Special Response Team is equipped with specialized firefighting equipment such as a professional firefighting vehicle capable of moving on mountain paths, a mobile pump, and a fire rake, and works directly with the Forest Service to extinguish forest fires.

The fire brigade, the rank in command of the front-line fire department, leads the 54-member 119 Forest Fire Special Response Team.

The 119 Forest Fire Special Response Team remodels the old 119 Safety Center in Geumseo-myeon, Sancheong-gun, located in the Jiri Mountain region, and uses it as a temporary office building.