Hokuryu Fire Drill 2025 (Hokuryu Town, Hokkaido) We are grateful to the precious souls of the Hokuryu Fire Brigade members who undergo rigorous training and hard work!

July 4, 2025
Feature Articles, Activity report from Mayor Yasuhiro Sasaki of Hokuryu Town
Viewed 180 times

Friday, July 4, 2025

On Friday, June 27th, the 2025 Hokuryu Fire Drill was held in the parking lot of Hokuryu Town Hall. Firefighters demonstrated the results of their daily training through parade marches, pump operation, and mock fire drills. The drill, which also included an adorable fire prevention pledge by the children of Yawara Nursery School, was a grand and encouraging event that raised fire awareness among the community.

table of contents

1 FY2020 Hokuryu fire drill
- 1.1 the purpose
2 A look at the exercise
3 exercises
4 Closing Ceremony
5 FY2025 Hokuryu Firefighting Drill Plan
6 YouTube videos
7 Other photos
8 Related articles

FY2020 Hokuryu fire drill

On Friday, June 27th, from 2:30pm, the Hokuryu Fire Brigade (Chief Nakayama Shigeyuki) held a Hokuryu Fire Drill in the parking lot north of Hokuryu Town Hall. A social gathering followed from 5:00pm in the large hall of the Hokuryu Town Community Center.

the purpose

The purpose of this event is to strengthen cooperation between the various divisions of the Hokuryu Fire Brigade and the Hokuryu Branch Office, demonstrate the comprehensive firefighting capabilities of Hokuryu Town, and practice firefighting techniques, thereby raising the morale of firefighters and promoting fire prevention awareness among local residents.

Organizer:Fukagawa District Fire Department, Hokuryu Fire Brigade, Fukagawa District Fire Department, Hokuryu Branch of Fukagawa Fire Department
Sponsored by:Hokuryu Fire Brigade Union Supporters Association
cooperation:Hokkaido Prefectural Police Asahikawa Branch Fukagawa Police Station, Hokuryu Town Traffic Safety Instructor Association, Hokuryu Town Yawara Nursery School
Participating team name:
- Fukagawa District Fire Department, Hokuryu Fire Brigade 1st Division
- Fukagawa District Fire Department, Hokuryu Fire Brigade 2nd Division
- Fukagawa District Fire Department, Fukagawa Fire Department Hokuryu Branch
venue:Hokuryu Town Hall North Parking Lot

A look at the exercise

1. Separate procession

The lead vehicle, "Himawari," marched in a line, followed by the commander in chief, the deputy commander, the group flag, the award flag, the division flag, the 1st division members, the 2nd division members, and the fire engines, Shiryu, Shinryu, Izumiryu, Zhongryu, and Kouryu.

2. Opening Ceremony

"Fire Prevention Song" and "Fire Prevention Pledge" by children from the Yawara Nursery School Children's Firefighting Club

The kindergarten children, wearing matching happi coats and waving small banners, sing the "Fire Prevention Song"!

"Lock your doors and be careful of fire.
Do something good once a day
The cute voices of the kindergarten children echo through the air, saying "Smile, smile, Sunday!"

Fire Prevention Pledge

Then two kindergarteners appeared!

"Keirei!" "We will never play with fire!" They swore the words of their oath in a loud voice, "Keirei!"

Opening Ceremony

Opening ceremony preparations

Personnel, machinery and equipment inspection report:Each commander ⇒ Deputy commander ⇒ Supreme commander
Commander-in-Chief's Orders:Takashi Ukai, Commander-in-Chief

Opening remarks: Vice Commander Fujii Akinori

Salute to the flag

A moment of silence for the firefighters killed

Personnel Report: Takashi Ukai, Commander-in-Chief

Greetings from the Superintendent General: Yasuhiro Sasaki, Superintendent General (Mayor of Hokuryu Town)

"I am truly pleased that the historic and traditional Hokuryu Fire Drill 2025 is being held here today with such great fanfare and with such a large number of distinguished guests.

On the occasion of this prestigious fire drill, under the command of Chief Nakayama, the fire brigade members have been making tremendous efforts day and night in their local prevention and firefighting operations to protect the lives and property of the townspeople. I would like to express my deepest respect and gratitude to all the fire brigade members, and I hope that they will fully demonstrate the results of their daily training and that this drill will be a great success.

Now, this year has seen a series of large-scale wildfires across the country, making firefighting efforts extremely difficult and causing widespread damage.

In Hokuryu Town, most of the area is covered by mountains and forests, and we are constantly living in danger. Therefore, we feel that thorough preventive firefighting is more important than anything else in order to prevent disasters from occurring.

Fire departments are being called upon to respond to a variety of situations in line with the times, including not only disasters that occur on a daily basis, but also natural disasters such as earthquakes and storms and floods, vehicle accidents, and emergencies related to civil protection, and expectations for their capabilities are growing.

In Hokuryu Town, last year we centralized 119 emergency call reception operations within the Kita Sorachi area and worked to strengthen our response system.

In the event of a disaster, we would like to once again ask all our members to utilize modern firefighting equipment and the skills they have acquired through training to respond quickly and meet the expectations of local residents.

In closing, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Fire Department Supporters Association and traffic safety instructors who have cooperated with this drill, as well as to the members of the Yawara Nursery School Children's Firefighting Club who added luster to today's drill. I would also like to extend my best wishes for the continued good health of all the members and the distinguished guests who have joined us today. This concludes my remarks for the drill," said Chief Sasaki.

Inspection

exercises

1. Discipline training

Platoon leader of the Hokuryu Fire Brigade (27 members):Mr. Okunobu Asakura, Squad Leader of the 2nd Division

2. Fire pump operation (water discharge operation)

1st Division

Maneuver type:Small pump operation/telescopic double-wrapped hose single-line extension
Conductor:Masayuki Takada, Team Leader

3.Mock fire drill

Date and Time:Friday, June 27, 2020, 3:45 p.m.
Awareness:119
place:Hokuryu Town Disaster Preparedness Storehouse
Weather conditions:Wind direction: southwest, wind speed: 10m/s, humidity: 45%

Procedure

The Fukagawa Fire Department's Communications Command Center received a report of a fire from the Hokuryu Town Disaster Preparedness Storehouse via 119. After receiving the dispatch order, the Hokuryu Branch Police Station communications commander immediately sounded the siren and ordered the fire brigade and branch police vehicles to mobilize.

The dispatch command is given by siren (near fire signal).
Dispatched vehicles will operate with their red rotating lights on and sirens sounding.
Vehicles must travel at or below the legal speed limit.
The fire scene is indicated by a smoke bomb.
Traffic control will be carried out by police officers and traffic instructors.
The commander in chief will issue an order over the radio to stop the water spraying.

4. Simultaneous water spraying

Use one hose.
The nozzle shall be a spray nozzle.
The commander in chief will give instructions over the radio to start and stop water spraying.

Training completed.

Closing Ceremony

Comments from the Superintendent: Shigeyuki Nakayama, Superintendent

"I would like to thank all the guests for staying to watch today's comprehensive exercise until the very end.

We believe that all members of the group fully demonstrated the results of their daily training and achieved the expected results.

Furthermore, I believe that today's exercise was highly effective in helping participants acquire disaster response techniques and improve mutual cooperation.

We, the members of the fire brigade, are determined to use this exercise as an opportunity to further improve ourselves as the most familiar disaster prevention organization and to face disasters in response to the trust placed in us by local residents.

In closing, I hope that Hokuryu Town will become a disaster-free, bright, and livable town, and I would like to ask all the distinguished guests to continue to provide guidance in the future. That's all!" said Director General Nakayama Shigeyuki.

Guest congratulatory speech

Hokuryu Town Council Chairman Nakamura Shoichi

“I have been nominated, so I would like to say a few words. Although there was some concern about rainfall this morning, we have been blessed with good weather, and I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations on the successful completion of the 2025 Hokuryu Fire Drill, which was held with great fanfare. I offer my heartfelt congratulations.

I would like to express my respect and gratitude to all the members of the fire brigade for always being aware of their responsibilities as members of the fire brigade, and for having undergone prior training and been deployed today despite their busy schedules.

I believe that the results of each of the series of training exercises today were fully apparent, but given the personnel situation, the exercises have been scaled down slightly, which is a bit disappointing, but considering the actual situation, I think it is unavoidable.

In particular, in terms of discipline training, we were unable to carry out the traditional company training of the Hokuryu Fire Brigade, but we also had platoon training, which was the first time in a long time that 27 members of the Hokuryu Fire Brigade had trained in a platoon. It was a very cohesive training, and I was very moved by the sound of the 27 members' footsteps, which made a loud, unified sound. Thank you very much for your hard work.

We would also like to express our gratitude to the nursery teachers for their continued guidance and guidance in the Junior Firefighting Club run by the children of Yawara Nursery School, which has continued for many years.

I believe that it is extremely important and fortunate to teach children about fire safety from an early age.

We would like to ask for your continued guidance, especially from parents and guardians.

This year, the weather has not been very good since early spring, and although it is still only June, we have already seen several days of midsummer temperatures.

Agricultural crops, especially rice, appear to be growing well, and we are looking forward to a good harvest this fall.

However, I have heard that there is a nationwide trend toward drought, and there are some concerns about water in our town as well, so we hope for good weather and moderate rainfall in the future.

As the Superintendent-General mentioned at the beginning, forest fires have been occurring both in Japan and overseas since the beginning of the year. Forest fires can take a long time to extinguish, as securing water for firefighting is difficult.

Our town has experienced forest fires in the past, albeit on a small scale. I hope that such fires will not occur in the future, and I also hope that house fires, or natural disasters such as earthquakes, strong winds, and heavy rains will not occur. In the unlikely event that a fire does occur, I hope that everyone will work hard to keep the damage to a minimum.

We hope that in the future, in addition to the members' ongoing, diligent training, we will also continue to educate the townspeople about fire and disaster prevention, so that the town will remain safe and secure, free from fires and disasters.

"In closing, I would like to extend my best wishes for the continued growth of the Hokuryu Fire Brigade, as well as for the health and happiness of all the members and everyone participating today. I would like to conclude my speech with a congratulatory message. Congratulations on your participation today," said Chairman Nakamura.

Chief of Fukagawa Police Station, Asahikawa District, Hokkaido Prefectural Police, Muneharu Yoneda
(Read by Seiji Oshima, Chief of Fukagawa Police Station, Numata Police Headquarters)

Mr. Seiji Oshima, Chief of the Numata Police Station, Fukagawa Police Station

"My name is Oshima, and I am the commander of the Numata Police Station and the Fukagawa Police Station. The Fukagawa Police Station commander would normally be the one to give the greeting, but unfortunately he is unable to attend due to commitments, so I will be delivering the congratulatory speech in his place.

I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations on the successful holding of the Hokuryu Fire Drill today. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for your continued understanding and cooperation in all aspects of police administration.

The members of the Hokuryu Fire Department, which has a glorious tradition and history, are the core of local disaster prevention, and in addition to their busy main jobs, they work diligently to perform the noble duty of protecting the lives, bodies, and property of residents from fires and disasters with a deep spirit of local love and a strong sense of responsibility.We would like to express our deepest respect for their hard work.

Furthermore, just now, under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, we conducted marching in formation, discipline training, fire pump operation, mock fire training, and simultaneous water spraying, and I was impressed by your high morale and your dignified and disciplined appearance, which gave me a truly reliable and powerful impression.

As you mentioned, large-scale natural disasters and forest fires have occurred across the country in recent years, and in July of last year, rainfall caused rivers to overflow in the Fukagawa Police Station jurisdiction, resulting in flooding in the surrounding area.

We are concerned that you will be faced with an increasing number of difficult activities, such as firefighting and rescue operations at disaster sites, in the future.

I ask that you all continue to maintain high morale, strive to further improve your skills, and meet the expectations and trust of the residents.

In order to fulfill our responsibility to protect the lives, bodies, and property of local residents, we at the police will continue to work closely with you on a daily basis and make further efforts to ensure safety and security.

In conclusion, I would like to offer my best wishes for the health of the fire brigade members, all those involved in the fire department, and everyone in attendance today, and conclude my speech with a congratulatory speech.
Congratulations on your graduation today," he said.

Salute to the flag

Saluting the Commander-in-Chief: Takashi Ukai, Commander-in-Chief

Afterwards, a social gathering was held in the large hall on the second floor of Hokuryu Town Community Center.

The smiles are amazing! With gratitude to the female members!!!

With boundless love, gratitude, and prayers, we offer our heartfelt thanks to the noble souls of the Hokuryu Fire Brigade members who undergo rigorous training and hard work to protect the safety and security of the townspeople's lives.

With gratitude to the great Hokuryu Fire Department...

FY2025 Hokuryu Firefighting Drill Plan

FY2025 Hokuryu Firefighting Drill Plan 2

FY2025 Hokuryu Firefighting Drill Plan 3

FY2025 Hokuryu Firefighting Drill Plan 4

FY2025 Hokuryu Firefighting Drill Plan 5

FY2025 Hokuryu Firefighting Drill Plan 6

FY2025 Hokuryu Firefighting Drill Plan 7

FY2025 Hokuryu Firefighting Drill Plan 8

YouTube videos