Taipei City Fire Department

Yearbook 2008

The Taipei City Government maintains city-wide safety by refining its fire-safety forces, reinforces disaster prevention networks, and improves the performance of emergency services.
1. Statistics of Fire Casualties
309 fires were reported in Taipei City in 2008, resulting in 3 deaths and 15 injuries. Compared to the data of 2007, the number of injuries increased by 6, and the number of deaths decreased by 1.
2. Fire Safety
(1) Improving the Management of Fire Safety Equipment in Public Places
Fire evacuation and safety facilities in public areas are randomly inspected in order to promote safety. In Taipei City there are currently 21,066 buildings with public access and 23,710 public facilities. 51,366 inspections (and/or re-inspections) were conducted in 2008; 45,055 passed, whereas 6,311 failed and responsible parties were ordered to make timely improvements. The passing rate was 87.71%.
(2) Promoting Fire Prevention Management Systems
4,846 locations in Taipei City require fire-prevention personnel. In 2008, 4,774 of them were assigned fire-prevention personnel and fire-safety projects were organized for them. 10,721 received help and took part in fire-safety training programs. 172 multi-purpose buildings, 283 social welfare centers for seniors and people with disabilities, and 71 large facilities were sites for fire-safety training.

Fire-safety educational campaign.

(3) Improving the Management of Hazardous Material
721 locations in Taipei City are listed as having hazardous material. 4,156 inspections were made in 2008; 4,054 of them passed and 102 failed. Management of propane vendors, fire-safety devices, amount of propane storage, uninspected propane cylinders, and propane tanks of four propane companies in Taipei City were reinforced.
(4) Promoting Fire-safety Education
A. Fire-Safety Specialists: In order to effectively reduce fire hazards, fire-safety specialists are available to instruct the public in proper methods of evacuation, electrical and propane safety. 38,875 households were visited in 2008, and 136,358 contacts with residents were made.
B. Fire-Safety Camp: Working with the Taipei Branch of the China Youth Corps, we conducted 8 Fire-Safety Camps from July 1 to 11 of 2008, in order to educate the public about disaster prevention and responses. About 800 individuals participated.
C. Major Educational Activities of Disaster Prevention
(A) The “119 Fire Safety Campaign” was held on the square of Shihkong Mitsukoshi Department Store, Xinyi District, on January 19.
(B) The “New Year Disaster Prevention” campaign was held in Jinghua Park on Feburary 16.

New Year Disaster Prevention campaign.

(C) The “2008 Taipei Safety 119 – Dragon Boat Festival and Fire-Safety Promotion” was held in Nanchang Park on May 24.
(D) The “Earthquake and Propane Safety” campaign was held in National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall on September 20.
(E) The “You Go, e Go, Everybody Goes – Experiencing the Life of Fire Workers” was held at the Fire Safety Museum of Taipei City Fire Department and Taipei 101 on November 1.
(5) The 2008 International Symposium on Fire Safety Technology
Taipei City Fire Department and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology jointly held the “2008 International Symposium on Fire Safety Technology” from November 3 to 4, 2008, to which experts from the U.S., Japan, Hong Kong, and Europe were invited to share thoughts on fire-safety engineering, professional management, experience of fire-safety, and fire-safety designs in historic attractions.

2008 International Symposium on Fire Safety Technology.

(6) The Fire Laboratory Certification Project
In order to refine the laboratory's forensic capacities, we renovated the laboratory, purchased related equipment, formulated documents on QC, and participated in the U.S. CTS laboratory capacity evaluation. In order to certify the laboratory's reputation and improve the fire-safety capabilities of Taipei City, we are actively working with other countries.
3. Disaster Prevention and Rescue
(1) National Champion of Disaster Response for 5 years in a Row
The National Disaster Prevention and Protection Commission announced the performance of cities and counties in terms of disaster response in January, 2009. With a score of 95.26, Taipei City once again took first place in group A (three groups A, B, and C, compete; group A includes 9 cities and counties such as Taipei County and Taoyuan County). Taipei City is the only city that has won this honor 5 years in a row with a score above 90.
(2) Educational Radio Programs on Disaster Prevention
The Taipei Broadcasting Station makes disaster-related announcements and is now hosting a program sponsored by Taipei City Fire Department in which senior supervisors in Taipei City's fire safety authorities share their thoughts on disaster prevention, analysis, and education via phone-interviews on Fridays from April 25 to July 25, 2008.
(3) Fire-Safety Hero – The Birth of Du-Du the Elephant
Du-du, the Taipei City Fire Department's new mascot, is here to teach the public about disaster prevention. Du-du's big ears help him fly and symbolize his active efforts! The brave hero's strong legs take him to any site where a fire is burning out of control. The fire-fighting hero uses his long trunk to squirt out water and douse the fires. An expert on fire safety, the friendly and enthusiastic Du-du teaches children about fire-safety and promotes fire-safety education.

Birthday party of Du-du.

(4) Volunteer Firewomen's Competition of Innovative Tools for Fire Safety Education
To make education on disaster prevention more diversified and exciting, the “Volunteer Firewomen's Competition of Innovative Tools for Fire Safety Education” was conducted on June 12, 2008. The competition makes use of different tools to facilitate education.

Competition of innovative fire-safety teaching tools devised by volunteers.

(5) The Taipei City Urban Search and Rescue Team
A. The Team's Performance was Greatly Acknowledged: The Taipei City Urban Search and Rescue Team's rescue canines, Bailey and Biscuit, passed the class A (introductory) and B (advanced) tests at the “2008 National S&R Canines International IRO Assessment.” Greatly acknowledged by the Japanese for their capabilities, the Taipei City Urban Search and Rescue Team was once again invited to participate in the “2008 S&R Exercise” in Tokyo on August 31, 2008, demonstrating Taipei City's dedicated S&R capacity.
B. S&R Efforts in Sichuan: The Taipei City Urban Search and Rescue Team and The Red Cross Society of the Republic of China jointly dispatched a team to Sichuan that conducted S&R efforts from May 16 to 20, 2008, during which 15 bodies and two surviving dogs were retrieved, and two seniors were rescued and sent to a local shelter.

The S&R team in Sichuan.

(6) Information Regarding 2008 Taipei City Emergency Operations Center

(7) Assistance for the Ulaanbaatar Develop Emergency Operation and S&R Training
The Taipei City Fire Department sent Senior Specialist Shieh Jiing-shiuh, Sergeant Shih Fang-cheng, and Firefighter Kao Chien-sen to Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) who stayed from October 11 through 17, 2008, to assist in the development of emergency operations and S&R training. At the formal ceremony we donated ambulances.
4. Emergency Care
We are actively conducting training for emergency rescuers (different categories and levels), on-the-job training for teachers, adopting evaluation systems for physicians, improving the service quality of management, and purchasing new ambulances and other hardware in order to provide speedy hospital deliveries and first-aid treatment.
(1) Great Improvements in OHCA Survival Rate and First-aid Treatment
In 2008, the Golden Phoenix Emergency Medical Service Team saved 35 people from “Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest” (OHCA). The average number of emergency procedures performed was 3.122 times/per person. Founded on June 1, 1999, the team has saved 240 patients from OHCA since then.
(2) Best Performance Nationwide
The August issue of Common Health Magazine (2008) conducted a survey on “Nationwide Prehospital Care” and examined the performances of different cities/counties in terms of “capacity,” “resources,” “efficiency,” and “activeness” by consulting more than 30 experts of relevant backgrounds, analyzing governmental data, and giving out questionnaires to medical staff and the public. The Taipei City Fire Department received the highest marks in all categories and was ranked number 1.

Common Health Magazine ranks Taipei City's 119 system as the most competent.