The
Fire Service in South Korea
(or
Korea Fire Service
) is an organization to prevent danger, to protect the Republic of Korea people's lives and property, fire suppression and rescue, relief of emergency patients, prevention of disaster, disaster response, and providing recovery after a disaster occurs.
[1]
[2]
Fire fighters in South Korea are Fire officers, members of an obligatory fire-fighting unit, and
volunteer fire fighters
.
[1]
Regarding fire fighting activities, the Framework Act on Fire Service, rescue and emergency activities are regulated by Act of 119 Rescue and Emergency Medical Services. The national fire department is the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Safety and Security, and the local fire department is in charge of the city and circuit fire headquarters.
[3]
There are multiple criticisms such as the problem of the command system, the status of the firefighting organization, and the poor treatment of the firefighters, although a plurality of organizations are set up to carry out firefighting activities.
History
[
edit
]
Before the Goryeo Dynasty
[
edit
]
Fires in the
Three Kingdoms of Korea
were rather common. According to
Samguk Sagi
, fires occured at
Hwangnyongsa
temple in the 2nd, 6th, and 8th years of the reign of
King Munmu
. Furthermore, there are some records indicating that
arson
happened during this period as well.
[4]
During the
Goryeo Dynasty
, a national-level firefighting system started to emerge. Whilst no specialized organization existed at the time, fires were still controlled and prevented via the 'Gold Coin System' (金貨制度
[
verification needed
]
).
[5]
This system worked on a basis of punishment and insurance. Any officials found guilty of arson (or otherwise causing a fire) faced immediate dismissal. If a fire destroyed company property, the perpetrator would be sentenced to three years of imprisonment. Victims of the fire would receive compensation if their house was destroyed by the fire or if they were injured by the fire.
[4]
[
verification needed
]
Local governments appointed one official to be in charge of these funds - initially with little oversight. However, following a fire during the 20th year of
Munjong of Goryeo
's reign, these officials were subject occasional inspections by the Royal Inspectorate to ensure that the funds had not been misused. If the appointed individuals could not be found or were otherwise neglecting their duty, they were liable to face imprisonment or further punishment.
[4]
[
verification needed
]
Whilst this successfully did prevent some fires, the Goryeo era still suffered more fires than previous eras, as a consequence of rapid urbanization (with booming urban populations living in larger, densely-packed, flammable buildings providing ample opportunities for fires to start and spread).
[4]
Joseon Dynasty
[
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]
The fire fighting system of the
Joseon Dynasty
was established in 1426 (Sejong 8th year), the first firefighting organization specialized in the Korean Peninsula was set up under the salary, and began taking charge of the fire protection work.
[6]
Initially, the forbidden army suppressed the fire, renamed the fire battalion as Ghum-Hwa(金貨,禁火. fire fighter) in the dynasty era and working for 24 hours.
[7]
[8]
Korea under Japanese rule
[
edit
]
Fire department in the Japanese emperor's fortune occupation is responsible for the Department of Protection or Security Department of the
Governor-General of Korea
. In the 1910s, firefighters were placed at the police office in Seoul City and other major cities We organized firefighting groups and arranged firefighters. In 1922, the
Gyeongseong
firefighting group was rebuilt by the Gyeongseong fire house, and in 1925, the first fire station of the Gyeongseong fire station rewrote.
[7]
[8]
United States Army Military Government in Korea and Republic of Korea
[
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]
National Fire Service
[
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]
In 1950 the National Fire Department of the Security Bureau was established, but in the same year it was reduced to being a directorate of the security department, and in 1955 the safety and protection department in charge of the fire department was in charge of the security department together with the guard department guard. The fire department was installed again in 1961 and was in charge of fire fighting work in the fire department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Department of the Internal Affairs Department until 1971. In 1975 the civil defense fund law came into force and the Ministry became responsible for civil defense affairs, in which the NFD was partly responsible.
[5]
Since then, the
National Emergency Management Agency
was established in 2004 after
the fire accident of the Daegu subway
and the typhoon,
[9]
but was dismantled by the
Sinking of MV Sewol
in 2014 and was transferred to the Ministry of Public Safety and Security. In 2017, on the basis of the Central Fire Service, the National Fire Agency was established as the country's singular firefighting service.
Local Fire Service
[
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]
In 1945, the fire department was established in the local government police department during the US military rule. In 1946, the Fire Fire Defense Committee and the municipal fire department were established, the Fire Department was established in 1947 and it was autonomous under the Ministry of Commerce, but in 1948 belonged to the state police administration regime. The fire department was established in Seoul Metropolitan City and Busan Metropolitan City in 1972, and in 1975, it was responsible for firefighting affairs in the fire department of the Civil affairs administration of each circuit. Since 1976 the mayor and county guard were in charge of firefighting work only in areas where fire stations were not established,
[5]
but in 1992 the circuit Fire headquarters was established and reached the present.
[10]
Fire service structure
[
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]
The firefighting organization of the Republic of Korea consists of the
National Fire Agency
under the Ministry of Interior and Security and the city or circuit firefighting headquarters. Under the NFA's administrative supervision there are
National 119 Rescue Headquarters
and a
National Fire Service Academy
, and under the city or circuit Firefight Headquarters there are fire stations and local fire academies. The NFA is responsible to the central government, while the city or county fire headquarters is managed by the local government respectively.
Central Fire Service
[
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]
Local Fire Service
[
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]
City Fire Service
[
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]
Provincial Fire Service
[
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]
Lack of Fire Stations
[
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]
Although it is in principle to set up one fire station in one city, county, or ward,
[11]
it was not protected, and as a result of the Fire headquarters in Gangwon Province analyzing fire life damage, there is a significant difference in death rate depending on the presence or absence of a fire station and insist on the necessity of establishing a fire station. However, a budget of about 7 billion won is consumed for establishing one fire station, and in municipalities with poor financial autonomy passively responding to the establishment of a fire station.
[12]
Fire officers
[
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]
The firefighters of the Republic of Korea are divided into 119 Fire Fighting Corps, 119 Rescue Squad, 119 Ambulance Corps by their work.
Rank
[
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]
Rank insignia of Fire Sub-deputy Chief
Rank insignia of Fire Captain
Rank insignia of Probationary Firefighter
It can be divided into 11 classes of national workers and 10 classes of regional workers.
[13]
Ranks:
- General Fire Marshal
- Fire Marshal
- Deputy Fire Marshal
- Major Fire Marshal
- Fire Chief
- Assistant Fire Chief
- Fire Captain
- Fire Lieutenant
- Senior Fire Sergeant
- Fire Sergeant
- Firefighter
- Acting Firefighter
Problem of disease
[
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]
South Korean firefighters work for about 84 hours a week,
[14]
and there is little support for treatment of
post-traumatic stress disorder
.
[15]
Indeed, the fire fighter with occupational illness is 14.3%.
[16]
However, 88 percent of the firemen who wounded injured due to disadvantage did not declare that they were official illness.
[17]
Diseases such as
leukemia
and
blood cancer
are not acknowledged to be official affairs in the state, and such a tone is maintained even after the Supreme Court's ruling.
[18]
Manpower shortage problem
[
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]
In order to solve the problem of excessive working hours, the local fire department changed the shift from two shifts to three shifts, but the total number of firefighters worked on the job wasn't added.
[19]
In addition, the number of firefighters needed to be dispatched at the end of 2014 amounted to 50493, but only about 41 percent of the respondents are able to fill the vacancy.
[20]
See also
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References
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