GEO-SAFE — Geospatial based Environment for Optimisation Systems Addressing Fire Emergencies

Results in brief

Geospatial based Environment for Optimisation Systems Addressing Fire Emergencies

The EU and Australia are prone to destructive wildfires, affecting thousands of square kilometres each year causing significant human, economic and ecological losses. And the annual fire season in both regions is worsening, as are the associated human and economic costs. Collaboration between European and Australian researchers and firefighters enables them to acquire new knowledge and develop computational tools to assist in wildfire management. Understanding wildfire enables society to better address the risks posed and so protect lives, infrastructure and the environment. It is vital that European fire managers have opportunities to develop their wildfire skills by exchanging knowledge with Australian firefighting organisations and with researchers from different disciplines. Developing computational and training tools to assist with managing wildfires will ultimately result in reduced losses and improved use of resources. GEO-SAFE has three main objectives: wildfire knowledge creation; sharing knowledge amongst European/Australian academics and firefighters; skills development of researchers specialising in the development of firefighting tools. Specific objectives include: 1.Knowledge creation: 1. Develop tools (e.g. dynamic risk cartography, fire spread, fire suppression, evacuation, etc), to support decision making to enable optimal mitigation, response and deployment of resources during wildfire. 2. Understand how people behave when faced with wildfire and how this impacts evacuation decisions. 3. Understand end-user requirements and provide a means for testing models and methodologies. 4. Understand relevant management processes and develop training tools to facilitate the implementation of proposed management solutions. 2.Sharing of know-how: Creation of a research and development network through secondments and workshops between universities, labs and firefighting organisations in Australia and Europe. 3.Skills development: training of doctoral students and post-doctoral scientists and training of professional staff located in firefighting organisations. While the frequency and size of wildfires around the world is growing, increasing the threat to human life, property and the environment, much can be achieved through risk reduction and mitigation. GEO-SAFE has demonstrated through developments in risk cartography, decision making models for prevention and mitigation and evacuation planning tools that society is not helpless when faced by the devastating power of wildfire. Using these tools and methods it is possible to take decisive actions to reduce the consequences of wildfires long before the fire starts. However, further financial and intellectual investment is essential to turn these exciting prospects into reality.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

In EU and Australia, every year thousands of square miles of forests and other lands burn due to wildfires. These fires cause important economic and ecological losses, and often, human casualties. Both EU and Australian governments are aware of how crucial it is to improve wildfires’ management and containment . Scientists from different specialties, both in EU and Australia, have already developed methods and models in order to improve the management and decision process pertaining to preparedness and response phases in case of bushfire. The present project, named Geospatial based Environment for Optimisation Systems Addressing Fire Emergencies (GEO SAFE), aims at creating a network enabling the two regions to exchange knowledge, ideas and experience , thus boosting the progress of wildfires knowledge and the related development of innovative methods for dealing efficiently with such fires. More precisely, the GEO SAFE project will focus on developing the tools enabling to set up an integrated decision support system optimizing the resources during the response phase, through:• Developing a dynamic risk cartography of a region with regard to the possibility of a wildfire. The task will involve data collection (satellite and remote sensors), risk analysis and development of a tool enabling to forecast fire extension i, and in particular to predict fire and risk evolution during the response phase• Designing and testing a resource allocation tool for the response phase using the dynamic risk cartography. One of the problems to consider will be the resource allocation for securing key places (schools, hospitals, ….) given time dependent constraints. Problems will be identified through connections with final users, and the proposed solutions will be tested on simulated data.• Developing analyses of relevant management processes as well as training tools in order to facilitate the implementation of such solutionto be completed

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH · LondonCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
BUSHFIRE AND NATURAL HAZARDS CRC LIMITED · East MelbourneAustralia
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS · ParisFrance
CONSEJERÍA DE SOSTENIBILIDAD Y MEDIO AMBIENTE · SevillaSpain
ECOLE DE MANAGEMENT DE NORMANDIE · Le HavreFrance
ENTENTE POUR LA FORÊT MÉDITERRANÉENNE · GardanneFrance
FUNDACIO PAU COSTA · TARADELLSpain
MINISTERO DELL'INTERNO · ROMAItaly
POLITECNICO DI TORINO · TorinoItaly
ROYAL MELBOURNE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY*RMIT UNIVERSITY · MelbourneAustralia
SERVICE DEPARTEMENTAL D'INCENDIE ET DE SECOURS DE LA HAUTE-CORSE · FurianiFrance
UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID · MadridSpain
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DELL'AQUILA · L AQUILAItaly
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PERUGIA · PerugiaItaly
UNIVERSITE CLERMONT AUVERGNE · CLERMONT FERRANDFrance
UNIVERSITE DE GENEVE · GeneveSwitzerland
UNIVERSITE DE TECHNOLOGIE DE COMPIEGNE · COMPIEGNE CEDEXFrance
UNIVERSITE PARIS DAUPHINE · ParisFrance
UNIVERSITEIT TWENTE · EnschedeNetherlands
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE · MelbourneAustralia

GEO-SAFE · Geospatial based Environment for Optimisation Systems Addressing Fire Emergencies

Results in brief

Geospatial based Environment for Optimisation Systems Addressing Fire Emergencies

Project objective

Participants

Links