Fire Agency Allocates 331.1 Billion Won Budget for 2025... Focus on Responding to 'New Type Disasters'

93 Billion Won Decrease Compared to This Year... "Natural Decrease, Real Increase"
Focus on New Disaster Response Types Such as Electric Vehicles and Batteries

The National Fire Agency has drafted a budget of 331.1 billion KRW for 2025. The plan focuses intensively on responding to new types of disasters such as electric vehicle and battery fires.

On the 5th, the National Fire Agency announced that it has prepared a budget of 331.1 billion KRW for next year, which is 9.3 billion KRW (2.7%) less than this year's budget. The agency explained that 45.7 billion KRW, including 19.5 billion KRW for the establishment of the 119 Integrated Situation Room and 3.9 billion KRW for the Disaster Site Command Capability Enhancement Center, decreased naturally due to the completion of projects this year, so the actual increase is 36.4 billion KRW. The drafted budget will be finalized in December after parliamentary review.

The budget for next year emphasizes strengthening responses to new types of disasters such as electric vehicle and battery fires, as well as large ship fires. To expand equipment for responding to electric vehicle and battery fires, which have recently become a contentious issue, 4.3 billion KRW will be invested. 14.7 billion KRW will be allocated for the installation of fireboats at national ports, and 12.9 billion KRW for the construction of a fire helicopter maintenance facility. Additionally, 3.8 billion KRW has been allocated to build live-fire training facilities to enhance firefighters' fire suppression capabilities.

To respond to electric vehicle fires, the National Fire Agency plans to deploy 63 units of three types of electric vehicle fire response equipment, including suffocation fire blankets and portable water tanks, to the Central 119 Special Rescue Team and seven 119 Chemical Rescue Centers to establish a rapid response system. Furthermore, unmanned water cannon vehicles will be deployed nationwide to provinces and cities to improve fire response capabilities at fire sites that are difficult for on-site personnel to access.

A budget of 15.4 billion KRW will be invested in the large-capacity water cannon system to be introduced in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, following Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do. The large-capacity water cannon system can spray firefighting water up to 130 meters at a rate of 75,000 liters per minute, making it useful for large fire scenes and flood disaster sites.

Approximately 30.5 billion KRW has been allocated for fire safety technology development next year. The National Fire Agency's major new and ongoing R&D projects for next year include ▲ development of technologies to prevent and reduce casualties at fire sites ▲ development of technologies for use in fire safety sites ▲ development of technologies related to electric vehicle battery fires. This includes AI-based real-time fire detection and early extinguishing systems reflecting the characteristics of traditional markets.

Technologies related to recent controversial fire accidents with multiple casualties will also be developed. Regarding the fire rescue in Bucheon last month, where a death occurred due to an air mattress flipping over, technology for an automatically charging air mattress that is easy to move and deploy will be developed. In response to the increase in battery fires related to the Hwaseong battery factory fire, development of lithium-ion battery extinguishing devices and extinguishing agents, as well as AI and sensor-based battery fire prediction and detection systems, will also be pursued.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A budget of 62.4 billion KRW will be invested in the construction of the National Fire Hospital, scheduled for completion in June next year. The National Fire Hospital specializes in diseases related to the duties of firefighters. To support the mental health of firefighters who suffer from high suicide rates and post-traumatic stress disorder, 3 billion KRW will be invested in operating outreach counseling rooms.

Outside of the general account, a total of 929.4 billion KRW has been secured, including 32.4 billion KRW from the Emergency Medical Fund (Ministry of Health and Welfare) for supporting 119 ambulance operations and expanding 119 rescue equipment, 8.7 billion KRW from the National Property Management Fund (Ministry of Strategy and Finance) for relocating the National Fire Research Institute building, 6.4 billion KRW from the Lottery Fund (Ministry of Strategy and Finance) for reinforcing negative pressure ambulances, 5.8 billion KRW from the Administrative City Construction Special Account (Happiness Agency) for building national disaster response facilities, and 876.1 billion KRW from the Fire Safety Grant Tax.

Baek Deok-gon, Planning and Coordination Officer of the National Fire Agency, said, "Next year's budget focuses on systematizing the national-level total response system so that it can be quickly activated in the event of a large-scale disaster, expanding health and safety management support for on-site personnel, and strengthening education and training to enhance firefighters' capabilities. We will continue to strive to provide optimal fire services that meet the needs of the public and are suitable for the field in response to the changing disaster environment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.