The National Firefighters Hospital said on the 25th that it will officially open in June next year in Eumseong County, North Chungcheong. It will treat firefighters and support rehabilitation and recovery. It will operate a local emergency center, enabling 119 ambulance transport. It will serve as a regional base hospital responsible for critical, emergency, and essential care.
The National Firefighters Hospital will be built with a total floor area of 39,000 square meters (11,797 pyeong). It will have 302 beds across two basement levels and four above-ground floors and operate 19 departments. The day before, it began trial care in rehabilitation medicine, and on the 29th it will expand outpatient services in internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics and adolescents. During the trial period, it will treat firefighters and their families, and in March next year it will expand services to local residents. Afterward, it will add inpatient wards, operating rooms, and an emergency room and officially open.
The hospital plans to install a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Firefighters, while protecting people's lives at fire and rescue scenes, risk burns or gas poisoning. In such cases, they can recover by breathing 100% pure oxygen in a treatment room maintained at high pressure. A helipad (helicopter landing and takeoff area) will also be installed to enable rapid response to disasters and emergencies.
The National Firefighters Hospital was established by the National Fire Agency and will be operated by Seoul National University Hospital under consignment. Director Gwak Young-ho of the National Firefighters Hospital said, "We will make it a trusted regional base public hospital for both firefighters and the public."