EDaily shared an exclusive report on October 27 about the Taean Fire Station being sued from an incident that occurred back in 2011. The fire station dispatched crew members upon receiving an emergency call of boats burning by a harbor.
Three pump vehicles and five water tank vehicles arrived on site, however, the personnel had reached their destination 39 minutes late since the harbor was a long distance away (30 kilometers) from the fire station.
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As a result, 7 vessels were completely incinerated, leaving two ships partially damaged during that time.Even without the proper gear, firefighters did all they could to put out the fire before it spread any further; going back and forth, even pouring buckets of salty sea water.
Despite their efforts, the Taean Fire Department was sued by the boat owner who claimed the fire resulted in a total of 140 million KRW ($124,000) in property loss due to the firefighters' failure to arrive on time.
Because of lawsuit complications, some of the firefighters temporarily left their position and are under a great deal of stress as they deal with the matter on their own without any assistance from the government.
A firemen representative stated, "In order to avoid future confrontations like this, proper law regulations regarding the working condition of firemen need to be situated within the fire department."
Following this, on October 26, The Ministry of Public Administration and Security stated that the status of firemen employees will be switched to national staff until 2019.
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