Gyeonggi Province Sees Decrease in Fires and Rescue Operations in 2020 Due to Social Distancing

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Fire incidents and rescue/emergency response operations in Gyeonggi Province in 2020 all decreased compared to 2019 as a result of social distancing measures implemented due to COVID-19.

According to 2020 firefighting activity data analyzed by the Gyeonggi Province Fire & Disaster Headquarters on the 17th, fire incidents in the province last year totaled 8,920 cases, a 5.3% decrease from 9,421 cases in 2019.

However, casualties increased to 598 people in 2020 (113 deaths, 485 injured) compared to 576 people in 2019 (47 deaths, 529 injured), a 3.8% increase, due to incidents including the Icheon logistics warehouse fire that claimed 38 lives.

In 2020, fires occurred most frequently in apartment complexes with 1,256 cases (14%), followed by vehicles with 1,151 cases (12.9%), factories with 896 cases (10%), and single-family homes with 877 cases (9.8%).

Rescue operations also showed a downward trend, with 153,231 rescue operations last year, down 12.8% from 175,749 cases in 2019.

By incident type, daily safety incidents (102,535 cases→88,688 cases), traffic accidents (18,609 cases→16,103 cases), and elevator emergencies (6,861 cases→5,909 cases) all saw decreases from 2019; however, mountain rescues (1,718 cases→2,381 cases), water rescues (794 cases→1,430 cases), and structural collapses (229 cases→274 cases) increased from 2019.

Emergency patient transport also decreased. Last year, 371,474 patients were transported, down 14% from 432,158 patients in 2019. By patient type, illness accounted for the largest portion with 233,483 cases, followed by accident injuries (90,191 cases), traffic accidents (41,232 cases), and others (6,568 cases). Regarding COVID-19, confirmed case transports numbered 5,675 people, symptomatic individuals 95,076 people, and specimen transports 11 cases.

"Due to the impact of social distancing measures from COVID-19, dispatch operations across all firefighting activity sectors decreased compared to the previous year, suggesting that residents' voluntary compliance with quarantine guidelines played a significant role," said Lee Sang-gyu, head of the Gyeonggi Province Fire & Disaster Headquarters. "We will conduct thorough analysis of the reasons for increases and decreases in field dispatches and work toward creating a safer environment that residents can feel," he added.