Geumcheon-gu, Seoul's First Autonomous District to Operate 'Electric Vehicle Fire Prevention Integrated Control System'

Early Detection Method for Temperature Rise as a Precursor to Electric Vehicle Fires
18 Thermal Cameras Installed at 14 Public Parking Lots for Real-Time Temperature Monitoring

Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yu Seong-hoon) announced that it will operate the 'Integrated Electric Vehicle Fire Prevention Monitoring System' at 14 public parking lots, the first among Seoul's autonomous districts, to respond swiftly to electric vehicle fires.

Electric vehicle fires mainly occur when the vehicle is stationary, and if a battery thermal runaway happens, it can escalate into an uncontrollable large-scale fire, making early detection and rapid response critically important.

The 'Integrated Electric Vehicle Fire Prevention Monitoring System' operates by installing thermal imaging cameras near electric vehicle charging facilities to detect early signs of fire, such as temperature increases.

Monitoring center personnel watch the temperature changes of parked electric vehicles 24 hours a day in real time through the thermal imaging cameras, and the recorded footage is stored in a recording system.

When a temperature rise is detected, the monitoring personnel immediately check for the possibility of fire, and if the temperature continues to rise, a fire warning broadcast is transmitted in the parking lot and an evacuation siren is activated.

If the temperature keeps rising and a fire is expected, the control room requests an emergency dispatch to the fire station to quickly suppress the fire.

The district has installed 18 thermal imaging cameras at 14 public parking lots, with each camera capable of monitoring 2 to 3 parking spaces.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, the district installed 'smothering fire extinguishing covers' at 13 public parking lots in the area to quickly extinguish electric vehicle fires.

Yu Seong-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “As electric vehicles are rapidly increasing, we will actively introduce systems that can prevent fires and detect them early so that residents can safely use public parking lots.”