For firefighters recovering from injuries, the heaviest burden is the pressure to return to the field. Believing their absence adds to their colleagues' workload, some rush back before they have fully healed. For the medical staff treating them, the challenge does not end with closing a wound. Helping patients set aside their impatience and recover fully in body and mind matters just as much.
"Many of them tell me they feel sorry toward their colleagues and ask when they can go back to the field," Cho Shin-young, head of the health promotion center at the National Fire Service Hospital, said in an interview with the Seoul Economic Daily on the 23rd. "Only when they have recovered enough to perform their duties safely in the field can the medical team discharge them with peace of mind."
Cho stressed the need for treatment tailored to the nature of firefighting work, because the shock from major fires or rescue and emergency scenes is not a one-time event but can recur. Beyond burns and musculoskeletal injuries, patients may also experience insomnia, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. "We have to take a more multifaceted approach than with general patients and draw up long-term treatment plans," he said.
The National Fire Service Hospital is the institution responsible for that kind of integrated care. After beginning pilot operations last December, it expanded treatment to local residents in March this year and officially opened on June 8. It links four specialized centers — health promotion, burns, integrated rehabilitation and mental health — to support everything from prevention and early detection to treatment, rehabilitation and psychological recovery.
Inside the hospital is the "People's Heroes' Haven," a space where injured firefighters can receive emotional support and rest alongside specialized treatment. KB Insurance provided a total of 230 million won to build it across the hospital's second through fourth floors. The second floor houses the burn, mental health and integrated rehabilitation centers, while the third and fourth floors hold inpatient rooms, making it easy to move between treatment rooms and wards. Warm-toned furniture has been arranged to promote emotional stability, and beyond the large windows lies an expanse of greenery. Books placed alongside video content can also be read in the wards.
Cho said he finds the work rewarding when he sees firefighters express gratitude for a space made for them. "In treatment rooms and consultation rooms — and even in the wards — they cannot help but feel tense, but at the haven they can set that tension down and clear their minds," he said. "Some have told us it gives them the strength to keep going with their treatment."
The haven also features a "Warmth Mailbox," designed to lower the barrier to mental health counseling. Those who write down worries they have struggled to share with anyone and drop them in anonymously receive a handwritten reply from a volunteer with Ongi, a nonprofit association. "Some find face-to-face counseling burdensome because of how others might see them or because of medical records," Cho said. "Putting their thoughts into writing can clear their minds, and that experience can serve as a stepping stone to professional help."
KB Insurance is also providing 600 recovery support kits for seriously injured firefighters in long-term hospital care. Each contains toiletries, hygiene products, a sleep mask, a charger and other items needed during a hospital stay, along with an encouragement card. "These are people who have always rescued and helped others," Cho said. "I hope that at least while they are being treated in the hospital, this gives them a sense that all of society is rooting for their recovery."
The project is an extension of KB Insurance's decade of support for firefighters. From 2016 through last year, the company built rest and relaxation rooms at 100 119 safety centers nationwide, and it has now widened its scope to a specialized fire service hospital. Its support extends not only to firefighters but also to their families. From 2012 to 2024, the KB Financial Group Foundation ran a scholarship program for 682 children of firefighters who died or were injured in the line of duty. KB Insurance took over the program last year and now provides one-on-one customized learning mentoring for each child.
"Helping firefighters recover fully in body and mind so they can return to the field safely is an important role for the National Fire Service Hospital," Cho said. "The Heroes' Haven and the Warmth Mailbox will go a long way toward building an environment that supports not just physical treatment but psychological and emotional recovery as well."
