Strengthening Forest Service Command and Upgrading Firefighting Equipment for Large Wildfire Response

[Financial News] To efficiently respond to simultaneous large wildfires due to the climate crisis, it has been suggested that the forest authorities should be granted integrated command authority across ministries, and the wildfire suppression system should be revamped with advanced equipment.
 The Forest Science Society held a media briefing on the 11th at Chungnam National University in Yuseong, Daejeon, and released a policy report titled 'Characteristics of 2025 Large Wildfires and Improvement Measures for Wildfire Response' containing these details.
 Choi Myung-seok, Vice President of the Korean Forest Science Society (Professor at Gyeongsang National University), who presented as a speaker, stated, "The wildfire in the Yeongnam region that occurred last March resulted in 82 casualties due to high temperatures, dry weather, and strong winds, highlighting the shortcomings of the existing wildfire prediction and suppression systems."
 Vice President Choi pointed out the limitations in the field execution power of the wildfire response command system as a shortcoming of the wildfire prediction and suppression systems.
 He diagnosed, "During the recent large wildfire, the Forest Service's authority to mobilize resources was limited to 'cooperation', making it difficult to integrate and swiftly mobilize resources across ministries during actual large wildfires. The multi-level command system also delayed the central government's rapid intervention during large wildfire spread predictions."
 Vice President Choi also raised concerns about the recent proposal to transfer wildfire command authority to the fire department.
 He analyzed, "The opinion to transfer wildfire command authority to the fire department conflicts with the disaster safety management law's principle of social disaster response, weakening local governments' responsibilities and potentially disrupting the administrative system focused on wildfire prevention. The fire department's focus on large wildfires could also lead to neglecting their original mission of defending facilities such as houses adjacent to forests."
 The Forest Science Society suggested strengthening the Forest Service's command authority through legal and institutional foundation, enhancing personnel and equipment, and shifting the paradigm of forest management as improvement measures for wildfire response in the report.
 Vice President Choi argued, "The authority of the Forest Service Chief to mobilize wildfire suppression resources in the 'Forest Disaster Prevention Act', scheduled to be implemented in February next year, should be elevated from 'cooperation' to 'command'. The early establishment and operation of the integrated command headquarters for wildfires, strengthening the command authority of regional wildfire prevention agency heads, and mandating cooperation should be clearly defined to enhance field execution power."
 He also emphasized the need for investment to secure high-performance equipment, such as the rapid establishment of the 'National Forest Disaster Education and Training Center', introduction of large helicopters capable of night suppression, and expansion of multipurpose wildfire suppression vehicles. He stated that inter-ministerial cooperation should be strengthened, centering on the Forest Service, to organically connect the expertise of each agency, including the Fire Department, Ministry of National Defense, Police, Meteorological Administration, Ministry of Environment, and Cultural Heritage Administration.
 Meanwhile, Professor Kim Sung-yong of the National Kyung-guk University suggested improvements to minimize resident damage and evacuation systems, stating, "It is necessary to integrate the current text messaging service, wildfire spread prediction system, and location information verification technology into one system. Through this, if we can quickly issue evacuation orders to residents in danger zones and announce evacuation locations, it will be possible to minimize casualties."

kwj5797@fnnews.com Kim Won-jun Reporter