Association-Led Building Fire-Safety Drone Standard Released in Shenzhen

On the morning of December 5, 2025, the association standard Guidelines for the Application of Unmanned Aircraft in Building Fire Inspection and Reconnaissance (《无人驾驶航空器建筑物消防巡查和侦察应用指南》) was officially released in Shenzhen. The standard is administered by the Shenzhen Standards Promotion Association, led by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Association for Low-altitude Economy, and jointly developed by 27 organisations including the Shenzhen Fire Rescue Bureau, the Shenzhen Emergency Management Bureau, the Shenzhen Institute of Standards and Technology, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Innovation Research Institute, China Unicom Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Innovation Research Institute, Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited, and the Macao Low-altitude Economy Association.

This standard is China's first systematic operational guide for drones in the field of building fire inspection and reconnaissance. It marks the transition of drones in the fire emergency field from "exploratory practice" to "standards-led development," providing important technical support for the safe development of the low-altitude economy in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Leaders from the Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervisory Authority, the Shenzhen Fire Rescue Bureau, the Shenzhen Emergency Management Bureau and other organisations attended the release conference and delivered speeches.

The head of the Standards Division of the Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervisory Authority congratulated the release of the standard in his speech. He first discussed the positioning of the standard: association standards are a new force and innovation engine of the standards system in the new era, representing a structural shift from government-led to market-driven, with the advantages of being fast, new, flexible and precise. He then addressed the value of the standard: the standard released today is of great significance, filling the gap in high-rise building fire safety standards and conducting beneficial exploratory research on drone fire inspection and reconnaissance specifications. It fully reflects multi-party collaboration and in-depth joint efforts across "industry, government, academia, research and application." It not only supports urban public safety but is also part of Shenzhen's strategic layout for building a low-altitude economy demonstration zone. Finally, he discussed the outlook for the standard: the formulation of the standard is only the beginning, and attention should be paid to advancing the standard from paper specifications to practical application, industrial collaboration and GBA leadership. He proposed focusing on three major paths: government application procurement, creating demonstration scenarios, and conducting professional training, and building an ecosystem loop of technology iteration, verification services and policy support, ultimately promoting the upgrade of the standard to a "GBA Standard" and even an international standard, providing solid support for urban safety.

The head of the Cyberspace Administration Office of the Shenzhen Fire Rescue Bureau stated that the release of this standard is a milestone in the innovative development of low-altitude fire rescue. Faced with the traditional challenges of rapid fire spread and difficult rescue in super high-rise buildings, the efficient inspection and precise reconnaissance capabilities of drones can provide tremendous assistance. Next, the fire department will take this opportunity to accelerate the implementation and application of the standard, integrate it into team building and training systems, and work with enterprises to advance the large-scale innovation of specialized unmanned equipment, build an air-ground coordinated rescue system, and create a "Shenzhen model" for super high-rise building fire prevention and control.

The head of the Emergency Command and Plan Management Division of the Shenzhen Emergency Management Bureau emphasized that fire prevention and control in super high-rise buildings is a worldwide public safety challenge that must be addressed through the empowerment of science and technology. The introduction of this guide provides an operable "aerial operations manual" for building an "air-space-ground integrated" fire emergency tactical system. The leading nature of the standard is reflected in three aspects: directly addressing pain points, pooling GBA wisdom, and empowering future safety. He expects the standard to drive industrial innovation, enabling drone technology to truly become an "aerial shield" safeguarding the lives and property of the people, and contributing "Shenzhen wisdom" to enhancing the GBA's emergency coordination capabilities.

During the standard interpretation session, the person in charge of the Shenzhen Science and Technology Association for Low-altitude Economy gave a detailed introduction to the development background, main content and application value of the standard. Targeting the pain points of high-rise building fire prevention and control, the standard systematically regulates the full-process operations of unmanned aircraft in fire inspection and reconnaissance, including mission planning, data collection, personnel qualifications and emergency response, and integrates infrared thermal imaging and AI analysis technologies to achieve intelligent fire warning and efficient response.

The standard brings together the wisdom of 27 industry, academia, research and application collaboration organisations across Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, covering multiple fields such as fire safety, low-altitude economy, communications and unmanned aircraft research and development, and reflects the Greater Bay Area's consensus on cooperation and technical mutual trust in the field of fire safety. The standard not only has the potential to be transformed into a "GBA Standard", but will also support the coordinated development of the low-altitude economy and the smart fire safety industry.

In the subsequent seminar and exchange session, Division Chief Zhan Qingliu of the Municipal Emergency Management Bureau, the person in charge of the Market Supervision Administration, and Chairman Yu Jingbing of Global Eagle successively delivered speeches, offering insightful opinions on standard dissemination, high-quality implementation and application, fire and rescue personnel training, and unmanned aircraft-assisted delivery of rescue materials. Director Wang Yanchen of the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute focused on the issues of standard interoperability and policy coordination between Hong Kong and the mainland. The meeting also invited relevant departments of CPIC P&C Insurance to participate throughout the process.

Next, the Shenzhen Standards Promotion Association will continue to play its role as a bridge and link, actively joining forces with government regulatory departments, research institutes, leading enterprises in the industry and professional service institutions. On the one hand, it will intensify the dissemination, interpretation and promotion of published standards, promote the effective implementation of standards and empower industrial development; on the other hand, it will continue to tap high-quality standard resources in the industry, optimize the whole-process management mechanism for association standards from project approval, drafting, review to release, and promote the release and implementation of more excellent standards that are technologically advanced, scientifically sound and aligned with market needs, leading high-quality development with high standards and providing strong support for accelerating the construction of an association standard system that is structurally sound, advanced and applicable, and internationally aligned.

Source: Shenzhen Science and Technology Association for Low-altitude Economy