South Korea’s fire safety industry is passing a major turning point, evolving at a rapid pace every day.

While fire safety systems in the past were limited to "reactive" measures—mechanically operating only after a fire had already started—the industry is now advancing into an era of "intelligent proactive response," utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and wireless technology to predict and prevent fire hazards before they occur.

The key driving force behind this shift has progressed from the institutional integration of wireless fire safety to the approval of "external power lines for 447MHz frequency safety systems."

Previously, wireless fire equipment required the installation of numerous repeaters to eliminate radio dead zones. However, with the authorization of external power lines, antennas can now be placed in positions optimized for signal reception, providing a technical foundation that dramatically enhances the reliability of wireless fire safety networks. Now is the time to imbue this robust foundation with "intelligence."

The true completion of wireless fire safety lies in the utilization of high-quality data, specifically the integration of AI.

First, AI is the key to solving the chronic problem of "false alarms."

While conventional detectors relied solely on simplistic smoke density, AI-based wireless detectors analyze various factors such as smoke patterns and temperature trends. This allows them to clearly distinguish between daily irritants like dust or cooking fumes and actual fire hazards.

This will prevent the waste of firefighting resources caused by frequent malfunctions and serve as a catalyst for transforming social skepticism into trust. The transition from automatic fire detection systems in aging buildings to wireless fire forecasting systems has emerged as a major task for the fire safety industry.

Second, the realization of "prevention" through multi-sensor fusion.

Detector nodes, now equipped with stable power through external power lines, collect environmental data from across an entire building in real-time. By analyzing this data within a spatial context, AI can detect anomalies that precede a fire at an early stage. This will play a decisive role in securing the "golden time" before incidents escalate into major catastrophes.

Challenges to be Overcome

Of course, there are many challenges left to address. These include the establishment of construction standard guidelines following the introduction of external power lines, resolving frequency interference in smart buildings, and overcoming institutional and technical hurdles for a SME-led industry to independently build an AI ecosystem.

The responses to these challenges are as follows:

First, we must refine construction standard guidelines and inspection systems to ensure successful on-site implementation. Industry players should collaborate to standardize wiring methods and connector specifications to ensure uniform communication quality.

Next, we should push for an increase in output power (20~200mW) to fundamentally strengthen communication quality. Now that infrastructure has been improved through external power lines, we must accumulate independent empirical data to eliminate large blind spots and strengthen our case for policy changes.

Furthermore, the government and the private sector should pursue "AI wireless fire safety demonstration projects" in specific smart cities or large apartment complexes to verify both safety and economic feasibility. By establishing a "data standard interface" that allows for integrated learning of data from various manufacturers, we must create a "K-Fire Safety Ecosystem" that leads the global market.

Wireless fire safety is no longer a mere auxiliary tool. Wireless sensors throughout a building have become the "blood vessels" of a tightly woven safety network, and AI has become the "intelligence" that interprets the data flowing through them. The technology is already prepared. What is needed now is a policy decision to provide institutional support and actively adopt these technologies in the field.

Moving beyond the stage of focusing solely on wireless "installation," I look forward to seeing the South Korean wireless fire safety industry firmly established at the center of the path toward an "intelligent safety society" where technology independently judges and prevents disasters.

◆ Young-Jin Cho

CEO of RozeAI