2024.06.11. The Fair Economy — The National Fire Agency announced on the 11th that it will hold the '4th National Fire Agency Commissioner's Cup Drone Competition' for two days on the 12th and 13th at the National Fire Service Academy in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, aiming to strengthen disaster-response capabilities using drones.
According to the agency, the competition began as a demonstration event at the National Fire Technology Competition in 2019. Initially limited to firefighters to boost drone use at disaster scenes, it was expanded last year to allow participation from the general public.
The competition is divided into a firefighter division and a civilian division. A total of 33 teams will compete: 18 firefighter teams selected from fire headquarters across the country's cities and provinces, and 15 civilian teams chosen on a first-come, first-served basis.
The general team category is open to any citizen without restrictions on region or age. Participants were selected through a first-come, first-served application process that ran from April 29 to May 24.
The competition consists of three categories: building interior search, mountainous area search and nighttime search, with participants competing in drone piloting skills.
In particular, the nighttime search category, newly established this year, simulates missing person incidents in fields and valleys after sunset. Competitors will showcase search techniques using advanced equipment such as lighting devices and thermal imaging cameras, along with drones.
Meanwhile, the National Fire Agency said that last year, fire department drones were dispatched 3,628 times to disaster sites, including missing-person searches and fires, and rescued 139 people.
This represents a 29.3% increase in dispatches and a 5.3% increase in the number of people rescued compared with the previous year (2022), showing that the use of fire department drones at disaster sites is increasing every year.
In fact, on the 31st of last month, a report was received that a man in his 80s had gone missing on Mount Guhaksan in Bongyang-eup, Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, and fire department drones played a major role in the search. Given the wide search area typical of mountainous terrain, a large number of firefighting personnel were deployed and a lengthy search was expected to be necessary. However, fire authorities immediately deployed drones to begin the search, quickly locating the missing man, who was in a critical condition with a fractured pelvis and ribs, and safely transporting him to a nearby hospital.
"Fire drones equipped with advanced technology capture video of disaster scenes from high altitudes and provide it in real time to on-site commanders. This is extremely helpful for assessing the situation and damage, as well as deploying and operating fire resources," said Yoon Sang-gi, director of the Equipment and Technology Bureau at the National Fire Agency. "We hope this competition will serve as an opportunity to further enhance disaster response capabilities using drones."
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