Applications of Volunteer Fire Fighters against Great Disasters and its Implications

This study examined the role of volunteer fire fighters in coping with great disasters in terms of community-based disaster management to provide some implications from a qualitative comparative case study between Korea and Japan. Kobe, which suffered from the Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake in 1995, was the study area. The city experienced an inadequate institutional system and lack of disaster management infrastructure at the time before the disaster. The study indicates that Korea volunteer fire fighters are not prepared sufficiently to tackle great disasters in terms of the supporting system, capacity and role by analyzing improvement plans of Japanese Volunteer Fire Fighters after Great East Japan earthquake in 2011. The results of the case study suggests improvements in the disaster management system to provide cooperation between the central government and local government, core task distribution, and community-based disaster management.