CHAPTER 3:Fire services

003 Volunteer Fire Corps activities taking root in the regions

The number of Volunteer Fire Corps established in cities, towns, and villages of the country is about 3,600, and approximately 928,000 members devote themselves to fire services in their respective communities, while they have their own occupations for a living. Their courageous act to fight against disaster is based solely on their resolution to protect their communities on their own and their sense of responsibility to live up to people's trust in them. Members of Volunteer Fire Corps are working for communities to protect people's lives and property through fire-fighting activities when a fire occurs, lifesaving and rescue activity, patrolling and guidance for evacuation in a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, storm, or flood, fully utilizing their knowledge of and skills in fire fighting and disaster preventing activities acquired as members of Volunteer Fire Corps. In addition to physical training when not on call, they shoulder a variety of roles including the organization of first-aid classes, fire prevention instruction to residents, special lookout patrols, and public relations activities. Members of Volunteer Fire Corps as fire fighting and disaster preventing leaders of residents who also shoulder the roles that would otherwise be performed by a fire department in the remote islands and the towns and villages in mountains that have no fire departments. Also, in the areas where permanent fire defense forces are available, they play an imperative role, ensuring good communication with residents through preventive activities when not on call and functioning as fire fighting and rescue forces taking advantage of readily available manpower in a time of need. The mobility of Volunteer Fire Corps members, who are familiar with the geography and individual residents of the area, has made a great contribution in many a serious disaster, preventing further disaster and saving local residents. Volunteer Fire Corps are increasing their importance under improving cooperation between them and fire departments as well as other autonomous disaster preventing organizations led by local residents. To support such activities conducted by Volunteer Fire Corps, Fire and Disaster Management Agency is providing people with disaster prevention education using the Internet and acting to encourage people to participate in Volunteer Fire Corps through PR in mail magazines, in addition to the promotion of improvement in activity environments and machinery and equipment of Volunteer Fire Corps.

A shining volunteer spirit - in the case of the Tokachi offshore earthquake

In 2003, the Tokachi offshore earthquake occurred. It caused damage to Hokkaido and an extensive area surrounding it including part of the Tohoku region. It was quite a severe earthquake recording tremors registering seismic intensity of 6 minus twice in one day. As soon as the earthquake occurred, a number of Volunteer Fire Corps members began their work to remove debris or check the safety of elderly people living alone. Further, it was reported that 7,000 members of Volunteer Fire Corps in total were out in the field to look out for tsunamis, search for missing people, guide residents to safe refuges, guard against secondary disaster, cover the ground to prevent landslides and restore collapsed houses. The image of Volunteer Fire Corps is set deeply in local residents' minds as a strong spiritual support that guards their safety.

Expectation for female members of Volunteer Fire Corps activity

More than 10,000 female members of Volunteer Fire Corps are now actively working nationwide. It is true that the changing social conditions have opened the way for utilization of women's abilities in society as an effective means to activate organizations and fulfill communities' increasing needs in the country. There is another reason that fire services involve services of high public necessity best performed with women's affectionate, considerate minds, such as disaster prevention guidance given to ordinary homes, calls for elderly people living alone for disaster preventing instructions, guidance to spread first-aid knowledge and skills, and so on. For this reason, female members of Volunteer Fire Corps, who were very few in the initial stage, have increased steadily in number. For example, in 2002, Matsuyama city of Ehime prefecture recruited 62 female members of Volunteer Fire Corps, who give first-aid guidance to the handicapped utilizing the visual and auditory senses by mastering sign language, and their attentive performance is highly valued. Activity to improve communication with or enlighten people through web sites and newsletters is also a suitable task for female members of Volunteer Fire Corps. The number of Volunteer Fire Corps female members increased by about 8,000 for the last several years and they are expected to play more roles in the future.

Desire to spread good activities invented locally

Volunteer Fire Corps continue to promote various activities contributing to the communities' disaster prevention programs, maintaining close relations with towns when not on call, or in a time of need. Fire and Disaster Management Agency, therefore, endeavors to convey information on local Volunteer Fire Corps' innovative activities to people throughout the country. This is done because the Agency thinks that if many people learn of the actual achievements of these activities, it will become a great influence on the disaster prevention efforts of these communities. The Agency intends to continue various supportive measures to foster members of Volunteer Fire Corps' motivation such as the introduction of the activities of Volunteer Fire Corps' to the public through the Agency's web sites and other media and the institutionalization of a system to commend exemplary Volunteer Fire Corps in the name of the Commissioner of the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.