KT installs 105 AI fire detectors at 20 companies in Incheon’s Namdong complex

KT said on Nov. 15 that it had installed 105 SafeMate fire detectors at 20 companies in the Namdong National Industrial Complex in Incheon, South Korea. The detectors send information about possible fires to a KT monitoring center, where operators can review an alert and contact factory staff by phone and text. Participating sites can route alerts off-site overnight and early in the morning, when fewer employees may be on the premises.

The Incheon office of the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation prioritized smaller businesses with higher fire risks, including those with older buildings and areas unstaffed at night. The agency’s Sept. 16 purchase and installation plan called for 100 detectors at 20 companies, with the allocation subject to site inspections. A subsequent procurement notice on Oct. 19 listed 105 units from LDT, a South Korean detector supplier. KT reported the same total for the installation it announced in November.

SafeMate was already operating in part of Namdong. Agency records and LDT’s account say a November 2025 pilot placed 25 detectors at five tenants in the complex’s electroplating area. The latest total covers the 2026 support program. KT gave an aggregate count without specifying the allocation or activation date for individual companies.

What the detectors measure

Each device checks for flames, smoke, high heat and a sharp rise in temperature. The last two are separate signals. One tracks whether heat reaches a set level, while the other responds to the pace at which the temperature rises. A temperature change can therefore provide information even before a fixed heat threshold is reached.

KT says the service uses past detection records to analyze patterns in the signals and passes information about possible fires to its monitoring center. The Nov. 15 announcement gives the number of devices deployed. KT has yet to publish detection accuracy or false alarm rates for the participating companies, so the installation tally cannot establish either figure.

From the monitoring center to the factory floor

Operators review the information and contact the people responsible for the site. KT’s product documentation says the monitoring center operates around the clock. It also describes an option to send an automatic report with location information to South Korea’s 119 emergency service when arranged with the local fire department. KT did not identify how many of the 20 companies use that option.

KT uses the SafeMate name for a broader line of fire safety services. The company lists separate products for checking the status of fire protection systems and managing rooftop emergency doors. The equipment figure in the Namdong announcement is for the detectors.

Location information travels with the detection data. LDT says the detector sends the location and status of the device over a wireless connection when it registers an abnormal signal. That helps a person reviewing an alert identify the part of the facility where it originated.

The agency’s plan calls for checking, after installation, that signals reach the monitoring platform and alerts reach the assigned staff. It also sets out plans for staff training and an operating manual. KT was responsible for communications and monitoring, while LDT handled the devices and on-site systems.

A September alert at an earlier pilot site

LDT published an account on Sept. 17 of a Sept. 9 fire at a Namdong electroplating factory. It says the detector registered abnormal heat and smoke readings and the KT center contacted the person responsible for the site by phone and text. LDT reported that staff located the fire and had put it out by the time firefighters arrived, with no injuries reported.

LDT says the pilot logged 216 detection events through the end of June. That tally counts signals such as flames, smoke and temperature readings registered by individual devices. LDT says the logs helped it identify locations with recurring signals. The November announcement does not give an equivalent record for the 20 companies or show how long alerts took to reach workers.

KT also plans to add AI-based detection for electrical arcs, which can indicate an electrical fault. The company described that work as a future addition and gave no release date or list of sites.