National Fire Agency partners with state institute to develop device designed to improve firefighters' vision

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SEOUL -- A firefighting technology institute operated by the National Fire Agency has partnered with a state-funded institute to develop an image-based vision improvement device for firefighters so that emergency workers can recognize obstacles and optimized routes to safety exits in smoke-filled fire sites.

It is vital for firefighters to precisely recognize their location inside a low-visibility fire site so that they can plan their exit routes while extinguishing a fire and searching for people. Normally, corridors of a building will be filled with smoke and flames in about two minutes after a fire is started. Obstacles that have fallen from the ceiling also pose a grieve threat for survivors and emergency workers as they can block escape routes.

The National Fire Research Institute said that it signed a cooperation agreement with the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) to jointly develop a special image-based vision improvement device. KERI will provide technology that processes pixel images and the fire research institute will develop the optical device based on ideas submitted by firefighters.

"Obtaining a clear field of view can prevent safety accidents and help firefighters effectively find stranded people," the fire research institute's head researcher Lee Chang-seob said in a statement on March 15.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com

National Fire Agency partners with state institute to develop device designed to improve firefighters' vision

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