Gyeonggi Province and KT Launch Hydrant Navigation Service on KT Map

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun Reporter] Through collaboration between Gyeonggi Province and KT, the "Gyeonggi Province Hydrant Navigation" has been created.

Not only firefighters from Gyeonggi Province but also all firefighters nationwide visiting Gyeonggi in case of major disasters can now easily locate the nearest hydrants in the region using "KT Map."

The Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced on the 28th that it has been implementing a "hydrant route guidance service" on KT Map, KT's navigation service, in collaboration with KT.

The hydrant route guidance service incorporates 29,442 public data points on fire water supply facilities in Gyeonggi Province into KT Map's information technology. When users search for "hydrant" in the navigation search bar, they can identify nearby hydrant locations in order of shortest distance at a glance.

The Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters explained that the system was developed as KT shared consensus and conducted positive reviews regarding the development and implementation of the hydrant route guidance service.

The Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters plans to pilot the hydrant route guidance service in Gyeonggi region before expanding it nationwide.

Additionally, the organization plans to continuously discuss additional participation in other navigation services.

Furthermore, in October, a "real-time notification service for no parking zones within 5m of hydrants" will be launched.

The service alerts drivers in real-time through voice and images when vehicles are parked in no parking zones around hydrants.

Following the fires in Jecheon, North Chungcheong and Milyang, South Gyeongsang provinces, the 2019 revision to the Road Traffic Act imposes fines of 80,000 won for passenger cars and 90,000 won for vans when parking within 5m of fire facilities such as hydrants is detected.

This represents approximately double the fine for general illegal parking, significantly strengthening penalties; however, illegal parking situations have not improved.

The Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters expects that the implementation of the hydrant route guidance service will not only enable faster response to fire scenes but also, when the real-time notification service for no parking zones is commercialized, will substantially eliminate illegal parking around hydrants and greatly contribute to the safety of residents.

Lee Sang-gyu, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters, stated, "This is an innovative public-private collaboration case in which businesses provide public safety services and the fire department can strengthen rapid fire response and illegal parking prevention," and added, "We will do our best to establish this as a commercial service and contribute to building a national safety network."