At 11 a.m. on the 16th, as the command and control officer's hand signal fell with "one, two, three," a powerful stream of water poured toward the artificial waterfall at the entrance to Apsan Park in Nam District, Daegu. It was a demonstration of a simulated wildfire suppression drill by firefighters and two special wildfire suppression vehicles. An official at the National Fire Agency said, "When people go up directly, it takes a long time to suppress the main fire, but by using the special vehicles, we can move quickly to a point close to the main fire and put it out."
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said that results are emerging in the field from the concentration of pan-government capabilities to extinguish wildfires early and minimize casualties. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, helicopter deployments during wildfires this year increased 88% from last year. The number of suppression personnel deployed also rose 49%. Minister Yoon Ho-jung said, "The time required to suppress the main fire per unit area has been drastically reduced from about 100 minutes last year to 30 minutes this year," adding, "There have also been no casualties so far."
This year, the national fire mobilization order related to wildfires was issued five times through February. Last year, the national fire mobilization order was issued five times over the entire year. An official at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) explained, "By preemptively issuing the national fire mobilization order, we are quickly deploying personnel and equipment and responding proactively by entering the wildfire sites directly to carry out suppression activities."
To prevent large wildfires in spring, the government is running a special countermeasure period for large wildfires through the 19th of next month. The Minister inspected the Daegu region's wildfire response system at Apsan Park that day and carried out a wildfire prevention campaign with related agencies such as the Korea Forest Service, fire authorities, and Daegu City, as well as private groups including volunteer fire brigades.
At the trailhead, the Minister personally handed out wildfire prevention leaflets to citizens one by one and provided guidance on wildfire prevention rules and resident evacuation tips tailored to the characteristics of ultra-fast wildfires. As the Minister gave the leaflets to hikers, the Minister said, "Do you have any flammable items like a lighter? You must not bring them," adding, "Do not cook. If you find embers, report them to 119 immediately."
The Minister said, "March is the period with the greatest risk of large wildfires, and during the special countermeasure period we will focus our response capabilities more meticulously and without gaps," emphasizing, "We ask all citizens to strictly observe wildfire prevention rules. We plan to take stern action against violations in accordance with relevant laws and regulations."