Provincial Fire and Emergency Dir. Gen. visits USAG Humphreys

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea -- For the first time since taking office last year, the Gyeonggi Province fire and disaster division director general visited U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, Oct. 5, to learn about the installation’s emergency response and role in the Republic of Korea and U.S. Alliance.

Dir. Gen. Cho Seon-ho oversees fire and disaster response services, and is responsible for more than 35 fire stations and 12,000 firefighters responsible for the safety of more than 14 million residents, for Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds the capital, Seoul, and stretches to the northwestern border of South Korea.

“The Gyeonggi Fire Departments have had a long and good relationship with the U.S. military,” said Cho, who also worked in the Yongsan area about 10 years ago. “When I worked in the Yongsan area, the fire department had a good relationship with the U.S. base there and I would like to have a great relationship with USAG Humphreys.”

The installation has mutual-aid agreements with Pyeongtaek, which resides in Gyeonggi Province, and other surrounding cities, in which each will come to the other’s aid in the event of an emergency.

“I hope our fire departments can train more often together – we both have great training facilities,” said U.S. Army Col. Ryan K. Workman, Humphreys commander. “The more we work and train together the better we can respond to an emergency.”

Workman led a brief windshield tour for Cho, along with the Pyeongtaek fire chief and senior staff, which drove past single-Soldiers’ quarters, family housing, and various training areas. From the bus, the group passed the main exchange, commissary, library, and two of the installation’s chapels before reaching the main fire station.

Cho said he was quite impressed by the facilities and accommodations available to service members and their families.

At the fire station, Cho toured the facility, stopping to talk with various firefighters, dispatchers and other emergency responders. In the bay, Cho saw the command vehicle and main fire engine. However, he spent most of the time talking with firefighters about the equipment, which included deployable decontamination systems.

Following the fire station tour, Cho visited the 2nd Infantry Division, 8th Army and Korean Theater Operations Museum. There, he received a detailed history of the U.S. military mission in Korea and the U.S. role in maintaining the ROK-U.S. alliance.

“Humphreys is an impressive installation,” said Cho. “I’m glad to have the opportunity to visit, and I look forward to inviting Col. Workman and others to visit the Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Response Headquarters in Suwon.”