Korea looks to AI, drones, robots to make firefighting safer

South Korea's National Fire Research Institute is developing AI-assisted drones, robots, and advanced protective gear to make firefighting safer, with the goal of deploying these technologies to collect and analyze risk information at emergency scenes. Institute head Kim Yeon-sang said the AI will provide commanders with faster and more accurate situational judgments, addressing complex emergencies like the 2024 Incheon underground parking garage fire that damaged over 900 vehicles and a recent four-day blaze at a Coupang facility in Incheon.

Korea is moving toward a future firefighting system in which drones and robots enter hazardous zones first, artificial intelligence AI helps commanders make decisions and more advanced protective gear gives firefighters a better chance of surviving extreme conditions. “Drones and robots will be deployed to collect information on risks at the scene. Once they finish the task, AI will analyze it and provide commanders with the information they need,” Kim Yeon-sang, head of the National Fire Research Institute, said in a written interview with The Korea Times. “All this will enable faster and more accurate situational judgments.” The envisioned changes reflect a broader effort to adapt firefighting to increasingly complex emergencies, including high-rise blazes, electric vehicle fires — as seen in the 2024 Incheon underground parking garage fire, which damaged more than 900 vehicles — and large warehouse and logistics-center fires, such as the recent four-day blaze at a Coupang facility in Incheon. Kim said the institute is developing AI-assisted search drones, firefighting r