The National Fire Agency (NFA) has selected 137 members of its international rescue team to protect Koreans abroad and conduct humanitarian activities for disaster victims. Seen are members of the team in February last year performing a mission at the site of a strong earthquake in Turkiye (Turkey). (NFA)

By Park Hye Ri

The country's top firefighters will go abroad to serve on the front lines of disasters.

The National Fire Agency (NFA) on April 10 said it selected 137 members from its international rescue team to protect Koreans overseas and conduct humanitarian activities for disaster victims.

Some 260 staff from the National 119 Rescue Headquarters, National Fire Service Training Center and 19 provincial fire departments applied for the mission. Among those selected were two female firefighters and specialists in fields like architecture, video editing, drones and military interpretation.

The NFA's international rescue team, aka the Korea Disaster Relief Team, in February last year was deployed to the site of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Turkiye (Turkey) to Canada in August to fight forest fires. With an earthquake occurring in Japan in January and another in Taiwan this month, the team organized semi-annual deployment to secure golden time to save lives.

The agency will upgrade the team's response capacity by designating personnel who are immediately deployable when needed.

"Earning the highest rating (heavy) for three consecutive years since 2011, our international rescue team has the capability to immediately respond to disasters anywhere in the world," said Lee Young-pal, head of the NFA's 119 General Situation Office. "We will keep expanding our global cooperation with the big goal of cooperating in international disaster response to minimize damage."

hrhr@korea.kr