The National Fire Agency said on the 18th it will launch a "free distribution campaign for automatic dispersal fire extinguishers" in cooperation with the Korea Fire Protection Association during the spring forest fire prevention period.
An automatic dispersal fire extinguisher is a device that automatically releases an extinguishing agent when the surrounding temperature reaches 72 degrees. It helps suppress fires early when they break out in wood-fired boilers at dwellings near forests.
Wood-fired boilers are among the main ignition sources of forest fires. Over the past three years (2023–2025), there were 686 fires involving wood-fired boilers nationwide. They resulted in 29 casualties and about 7.1 billion won in property damage.
The National Fire Agency and the Korea Fire Protection Association plan to distribute 1,400 automatic dispersal fire extinguishers within the year to forest-adjacent areas in eight provinces and metropolitan cities—starting with Deokpyeong Village in Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang, and including Gyeonggi, Gangwon, North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong, North Jeolla, South Jeolla, North Gyeongsang, and South Gyeongsang.
National Fire Agency Commissioner Kim Seung-ryong said, "Prevention is the best policy for forest fires, and we hope the automatic dispersal fire extinguishers supplied through this public-private cooperation will serve as a reliable safety shield for residents in forest-adjacent areas."