South Korea deploys AI to coordinate fire response across regional boundaries

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s National Fire Agency announced Tuesday that it will integrate artificial intelligence into its 119 emergency response system to calculate the fastest routes for firefighters and equipment.

The agency plans to establish a regional database of firefighting capabilities, allowing commanders to dispatch the nearest available fire engines to an emergency regardless of administrative boundaries. The current system relies on jurisdictional borders, where the local fire department in the reporting area serves as the primary responder.

Under the new plan, AI will also be utilized to detect fires involving electric vehicle batteries. Real-time data from drones will provide control centers with information on fire spread and automated recommendations for resource deployment.

The modernization effort also includes high-tech protective gear for firefighters. Personnel will be equipped with thermal imaging cameras, carbon fiber helmets, and powered exoskeletons to assist in rescue operations.

South Korea’s modernization of its emergency services serves as a benchmark for the global shift toward data-driven governance, moving beyond the traditional reliance on anecdotal experience in favor of artificial intelligence. The most significant policy shift involves the dismantling of administrative silos. In conventional emergency response frameworks, jurisdictional boundaries often create logistical bottlenecks where the nearest unit may not be dispatched simply because a fire occurs across a district or municipal line. South Korea’s AI-integrated system eliminates these inefficiencies, ensuring that dispatch is dictated by proximity and optimal transit time rather than bureaucratic geography.

The strategy also demonstrates a forward-looking approach to the evolving risk landscape, specifically targeting the unique challenges of electric vehicle (EV) battery fires. Furthermore, the deployment of advanced hardware, such as robotic exoskeletons, underscores a high-capital investment in occupational safety and operational efficiency for first responders.

For developing economies like Vietnam, adopting such a model presents a formidable set of structural challenges. The barrier to entry is not merely the initial capital expenditure for AI infrastructure and equipment, but the fundamental requirement for a centralized, real-time data ecosystem that integrates asset management, traffic analytics, and digitized building blueprints. Nevertheless, the potential dividends—most notably the reduction of response times in the chronic urban congestion of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City—position the South Korean framework as an essential blueprint for modernizing urban resilience.