The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) is promoting a pilot fire safety project for the mobility impaired converging the Internet of Things (IoT) and intelligent surveillance cameras (CCTV) to improve fire detection and response methods in residential facilities of the mobility impaired and vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, seniors, and children.

The city’s fire safety service applies wireless fire detection sensors that supersedes the limitation of conventional wired devices (e.g. inaccurate location tracking), being able to accurately identify the occurrence of a fire and automatically send real-time fire notifications and locations of those trapped inside.

The wireless sensors can detect the source of fire within the facility and track the location of those trapped inside using motion detection. Users can press wireless emergency bells to send SOS signals to the fire department via a wired fire service network and fire safety platform, which will alert the general situation room at the Seoul Emergency Operations Center to dispatch emergency personnel to the site of the fire and take overall command.

In addition, the situation room can check live CCTV footage near the site of fire to command emergency personnel and appropriately respond to fire situations, and district surveillance centers can continuously monitor and respond to on-site situations.

As a service that is part of the SMG’s core social policy to stand in solidarity with the disadvantaged, Seoul will continue to monitor the project’s progress to supplement its shortcomings and expand the project to 844 facilities for the mobility impaired (564 for seniors, 32 for children, 248 for persons with disabilities) by 2024.