RIT Rapid Response Team Deployed When Firefighters Trapped…Northern Gyeonggi Fire Department Conducts Live Emergency Rescue Drill

As large-scale fires have been occurring frequently in recent times, the Gyeonggi Northern Fire and Disaster Headquarters conducted the "2026 Northern Gyeonggi Comprehensive Emergency Rescue Drill" on the 19th at the Welplex Knowledge Industry Center in Gungnae-myeon, Pocheon City, to urgently assess preparedness for large-scale complex disasters.

This drill was jointly overseen by the Gyeonggi Northern Fire and Disaster Headquarters and the Pocheon Fire Department. A total of 416 personnel and 71 pieces of equipment from 25 agencies and organizations—including the fire department, police, military, Pocheon City, and medical institutions—participated to carefully examine the response systems by situation for on-site personnel.

In particular, training to ensure the safety of firefighters operating at disaster scenes was a key focus. The drill examined risk assessment based on changing conditions at the scene, personnel safety management, and response systems in case of communication breakdown. This was in response to recent firefighter casualties occurring during fire incidents.

A drill activating a Rapid Response Team (RIT) was also conducted, assuming a situation where firefighters become trapped. Additionally, the drill verified the operation of the "4C on-site response system" centered on command, communication, mission execution, and inter-agency collaboration.

The drill was conducted under the scenario of a private helicopter crashing into a multi-use building, resulting in a large-scale fire and multiple casualties. Contingent situations such as fire expansion, communication breakdown, and building collapse were injected via unannounced messages to assess the on-site commander's risk judgment, command systems, and cooperation frameworks among relevant agencies.

Kim Moon-yong, Head of the Northern Fire and Disaster Headquarters, stated: "Along with protecting the lives of residents, ensuring the safety of firefighters performing duties at the scene is an equally important responsibility. We will carefully examine on-site hazards and continuously review our command and response systems to prevent regrettable line-of-duty deaths from recurring."