James P. Bobotek | Gravel2Gavel
The threat of extreme wildfires has doubled in the past 20 years, with almost 20,000 fires blazing across the United States in 2024 alone. These high-intensity fires can be deadly, expensive, and create lingering health and environmental consequences. While we are used to seeing firefighters on the frontlines, researchers hope that next-generation smart technology, augmented by artificial intelligence (AI), will also play a key role in battling these conflagrations. Many municipalities, particularly those near wildfire-prone forests, are beginning to incorporate fire-focused advances (or “firetech”) into their smart city ecosystems.
“Smart cities” are urban centers enhanced by utilities, emergency services, traffic signals and more that are linked through information and communications technology. Though the concept can spark cybersecurity-related concerns, many locales are gradually implementing many different kinds of smart tech. Following the 2023 wildfire that devastated Maui, for example, Hawaii installed a network of cloud-based fire and wind sensors that use AI to detect wildfires in real time. Smart tools like these can aid in predicting and discovering fires, streamlining emergency alert protocols, calculating vital analytics and improving firefighter safety. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is actively studying these innovations, particularly in terms of environmental (smart buildings or robotics), operational (communications) and personnel (PPE sensors or biometrics). Below are a few of the key technologies to watch in this emerging field:
- Smart Sensors. A total of 80 sensors (64 wildfire sensors and 16 wind sensors) were placed throughout Hawaii starting in March of 2024. Attached to existing utility poles, they detect heat in the air, and then engage AI and smart learning to distinguish smoke particles and gases produced by fires from those commonly found in Hawaii’s atmosphere—such as volcanic ash and ocean salt. Positioned in “strings,” the sensors “talk” to each other and send text messages to officials when they find a problem.
The program is done in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate, TechNexus Venture Collaborative, and tech company N5 Sensors. As explained by DHS, the sensors function like a nose and “sniff out” fires as soon as they start, with round-the-clock sensing and alerting capabilities. In one trial, the alert system gave first responders a 37-minute head start before the first 911 call came in, an advantage that could not only help firefighters suppress the fire before it gets out of control but could also provide earlier notice for communities to make evacuation decisions. Following its Hawaii installation, DHS and its partners plan to continue to beta test their newest hardware in other regions, including California, Colorado, Tennessee, Arizona and Canada.
- Smart Video and Satellite Monitoring. Smart fire sensors are a somewhat novel concept, but with a little help from AI, tried-and-true tech (like videos and satellites) can also play a part in smart city environments. Pano AI, a California-based firetech startup, uses a network of connected mountaintop cameras to capture real-time data that is uploaded to the cloud. Using what is known as AI object detection, the program can distinguish smoke from non-smoke images and share potentially problematic footage with humans for review. A German startup, OroraTech, takes this type of monitoring to the skies; the company has launched 100 low-flying satellites that use a thermal infra-red sensor to detect heat in the form of radiation. Traditional satellites orbit higher up and can be hindered by clouds and distance. However, Orora’s closer-to-home models use an on-board algorithm to spot and broadcast fire alerts in minutes, a capability that aided in combatting last year’s Chilean wildfires. Orora research engineer Christian Molliere told Reuters that “[w]e believe that detecting these fires from space is the only method that is scalable.” The team is also working on predictive AI technology that provides detailed information about where and how a fire might spread, taking into account weather forecasts, available fuel and elevation data and satellite data, all in real time. In fact, a key recommendation of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), in their 2023 report, Modernizing Wildland Firefighting to Protect Our Firefighters, is to boost effective AI modeling of wildfire spread.
- Smart Helmets. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland are building an advanced smart helmet system that can help firefighters locate people faster in a fire while helping with spatial awareness. The device (which can be fitted to any standard fire helmet) uses AI to pool data from thermal cameras, radar and other helmet-mounted sensors to provide real-time information—essentially allowing firefighters “see” through the smoke and darkness that are typical in a fire setting. The team hopes to eventually add features like 3D maps and built-in display screens.
- Robots. Firefighting has always been a uniquely human endeavor. But with robotics capabilities exploding, in some situations a robot can now do some of the most dangerous work. In its study on wildfire modernization, PCAST noted that “recent advances in autonomous drones and robotics can be leveraged to decrease the physical burdens of wildland firefighting” and “perhaps even reduce the need for human firefighters to be present on the front lines of active wildfires.”
As such, the Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) employs a human-controlled robot called Robotics Systems 3 (RS3). It has come to the rescue in a number of ways, including by dragging hose lines up steep hills, pulling horses out of mud, and even working inside buildings with collapsing roofs—situations “where we could potentially lose a human life,” says LAFD assistant chief Wade White. Weighing in at 3,500 pounds, RS3 can be controlled from a distance of 900 feet, where operators use cameras and heat sensors mounted on the machine to make game-time decisions. Most recently, LAFD has also incorporated a drone program, integrated the RS3 robot and added an electric fire engine to its arsenal. The department is a model of how smart fire systems can function: it also uses WIFIRE, an AI modeling system, to plan evacuation routes and predict fire paths. Pulling from this centralized data, the city then uses a wireless alert system, NotifyLA, to send out early warnings. The next frontier for firefighting robots will be autonomous models that use AI learning to react to their surroundings, and a new wave of drones such as the FireDrone, which will use AI to physiologically adapt to its settings and withstand high temperatures.
Of course, firetech and its smart city applications expand far beyond wildfires. Leaders are also considering and implementing AI-assisted traffic solutions that allow emergency vehicles to move quickly to their destinations, smart tech in areas like personal alert safety devices to track firefighters’ whereabouts and environmental health risks, and resource tracking and disbursement. In buildings, smart sprinkler systems could become a new norm, and soon we may even see dynamic exit signage to help move crowds safely out of burning buildings. For now, fire departments are sometimes stymied by the cost of the newest firetech—the RS3 robot used by LAFD costs about $300,000—but a renewed focus on these innovations may usher in a new era of life-saving technology for those working on the frontlines.
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