Jung-gu holds disaster safety training for volunteer civil defense corps

Seoul's Jung-gu district held a disaster safety training session for members of its volunteer civil defense corps at the Gwangnaru Safety Experience Center on June 30. The training was designed to strengthen members' on-site response capabilities against various disasters and safety accidents in daily life.

The volunteer civil defense corps carries out disaster prevention activities in normal times — including safety inspections of vulnerable households, safety awareness campaigns, and checks of emergency fire extinguishers and heat-reduction facilities — and mobilizes to support affected areas when a disaster strikes to protect residents' safety.

The 90-minute session, led by active-duty firefighters, featured hands-on programs simulating disaster scenarios including ship accidents, fires, earthquakes and floods. Experience rooms built to closely replicate real conditions were used to heighten the sense of realism.

Members began with a video on responding to natural disasters before moving into practical drills, starting with a ship evacuation exercise. They then trained in fire response techniques — from operating a fire extinguisher to escaping an indoor building — and practiced evacuating during major earthquakes and aftershocks on a seismic simulator. The session concluded with a flood and storm course that let participants feel the force of heavy rain and typhoon-strength winds.

Jung-gu's volunteer civil defense corps currently has 243 members active across 15 neighborhoods and plays a leading role in spreading a culture of safety through hazard surveillance and recovery support. This month, with extreme heat and heavy rain expected, the corps is focusing on advance field management — inspecting cooling shelters and storm drains and checking on vulnerable households.

District Mayor Kim Gil-sung said the district would "continuously support effective education and training so that members can respond swiftly in real situations."