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Analysis of Disaster Medical Response: The Sejong Hospital Fire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2022

Daihai Choi Open the ORCID record for Daihai Choi [Opens in a new window] ,
Jangsun Lim ,
Myeong-Il Cha ,
Changshin Choi ,
Seungyoul Woo ,
Seongmi Jeong ,
Seong Youn Hwang ,
Inbyung Kim  and
Heebum Yang Open the ORCID record for Heebum Yang [Opens in a new window]
Daihai Choi
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, CHA University Gumi Hospital, Gumi, Korea
Jangsun Lim
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Myongji Hospital, Goyang, Korea
Myeong-Il Cha
Affiliation:
National 119 EMS Control Center, National Fire Agency, Sejong, Korea
Changshin Choi
Affiliation:
National Emergency Medical Center, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
Seungyoul Woo
Affiliation:
National Emergency Medical Center, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
Seongmi Jeong
Affiliation:
National Emergency Medical Center, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
Seong Youn Hwang
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea
Inbyung Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Myongji Hospital, Goyang, Korea
Heebum Yang*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Uijeongbu Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University, Uijeongbu, Korea
*
Correspondence: Heebum Yang, MD Department of Emergency Medicine Uijeongbu Eulji Medical Center Eulji University 712, Dongil-ro Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do Republic of Korea, 11759 E-mail: heebeom@gmail.com
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Abstract

This paper provides a field report on a fire that broke out on January 26, 2018 at Sejong Hospital in Miryang, South Korea, engendering the establishment of a committee to investigate the hospital fire response. This field report analyzes the disaster medical response. The official records of the disaster response from each institution were examined. On-site surveys were conducted through interviews with government officials and other health care workers regarding communication during the disaster response without using a separate questionnaire. All medical records were abstracted from hospital charts. There were 192 casualties: 47 victims died, seven were seriously injured, and 121 suffered minor injuries. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrived three minutes after the fire started, while news of the fire reached the National Emergency Medicine Operation Center based in Seoul in 12 minutes. The first disaster medical assistance team (DMAT) was dispatched 63 minutes after the National Emergency Medicine Operation Center was notified. The disaster response was generally conducted in accordance with disaster medical support manuals; however, these response manuals need to be improved. Close cooperation among various institutions, including nearby community public health centers, hospitals, fire departments, and DMATs, is necessary. The response manuals should be revised for back-up institutions, as the relevant information is currently incomplete.

Keywords

disastersemergency responsemass-casualty incidents
Type
Field Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 284 - 289
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

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