“We want to become the ‘Apple of the fire service industry’ with both technology and design.”
Firebuster, a firefighting technology startup, started from an idea that CEO Seungyeon Kim (pictured) and his father came up with together. CEO Kim’s father worked as a firefighter for 30 years and had doubts about the reliability of sprinklers. He focused on whether sprinklers would work effectively in underground parking lots and warehouses, where piping and building materials block the water sprayed by sprinklers, creating blind spots. He said, “It’s a question I’ve had since my father worked as a firefighter, and even now, more than 30 years later, nothing has changed.”
CEO Kim and his father developed a simultaneously operated sprinkler jet buster to solve this problem. Unlike existing sprinklers that operate only by thermal sensors, Jet Buster operates all connected sprinklers simultaneously when the main sprinkler operates. It has the advantage of eliminating blind spots as it can be installed in a more free form than before. First, water sprayed from an open sprinkler cools the surrounding air, preventing the skipping phenomenon in which adjacent sprinklers do not operate.
Despite its innovative technology, the process for startup products to be recognized was not easy. CEO Kim, who participated in the fire service industry excellent design contest hosted by the Korea Fire Industry and Technology Institute in 2016, confessed that he was almost frustrated by finishing in last place. Nevertheless, I did not give up and took on various competitions and contests. Starting with the grand prize at the Seoul International Invention Fair in 2017, it received the grand prize at the Smart Construction Competition in 2018.
Even overseas, attention was paid to Firebuster. Following the grand prize at the 2018 Silicon Valley International Invention Competition in the U.S. and the gold medal at the 2021 Geneva International Invention Competition in Switzerland, the award was won at the Indonesia International Invention Competition this year.
Firebuster, which has been recognized for its technological prowess, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology in 2020 and confirmed a conditional purchase investment contract with LH (Korea Land and Housing Corporation). We are also participating in the ‘K-Testbed’, which pilots the technologies and products of small and medium-sized venture companies and apply them to public institution facilities, and are planning to install sprinklers at Incheon International Airport this month. We are also preparing to enter the global market by applying for patents in six countries, including the United States, Europe, Japan, China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Until Firebuster was recognized, CEO Kim realized the reality that fire safety was being neglected. He expressed regret that the provision requiring sprinklers to be installed in the outdoor unit room of the air conditioner was recently relaxed and the sprinkler project exclusively for the outdoor unit room was completely canceled. He pointed out, “It is unfortunate that safety is being pushed back by other factors such as construction costs and space efficiency.”
Representative Kim said that there was a need to ‘convert firefighting into content.’ He said, “I was shocked while attending an overseas firefighting exhibition. It was like a festival, full of various events and experiences. He said, ‘This is how people will become interested in fire safety.’”
At the International Fire Exposition held last August, Firebuster presented a dance performance using a newly developed fire extinguisher. We also made T-shirts and keyrings with the company logo and distributed them to visitors. CEO Kim emphasized, “If safety isn’t fun, people don’t pay attention to it,” and added, “It is important to establish fire safety as an attractive culture.” He said, “To create change, you must have not only technical skills but also content such as design and fun. “We will become the Apple of the fire service industry that brings innovation through technology and design,” he said.
Text = Old Manual/Photo = Reporter Kang Eun-gu gugyobeom@hankyung.com
