So naturally, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has been working to improve its response to wildfires. This action is especially needed in light of the rising incidence of wildfires. During the pandemic, the service launched cutting-edge mapping tools and weather forecasting apps. As they fight against the growing wildfire dangers in places like Marsden Moor and Ilkley Moor, these innovations allow them to better predict fire behavior.
To meet the demands of sometimes days-long operations for firefighters during this time, the service developed new lightweight, specialized personal protective equipment designed specifically for wildfires. Through training and collaboration, this initiative strives to make all personnel who work in dynamic, high-risk environments safer and more effective.
Deployment of all-terrain vehicles is a third key element of the improved wildfire response strategy. These purpose-built vehicles provide firefighters with better access to remote areas and more agility to address wildfires.
Over the past few years, West Yorkshire has experienced an increasing trend in intense wildfires. While this acceleration has challenged the fire service to find creative solutions, leading these is the 6G-VERSUS research project, which was awarded funding from the European Union’s Horizon Innovative Action programme. This project seeks to develop a more capable robotic dog/aerial drone system. The first part of the goal is to improve situational awareness for first responders.
Dr. Kamran Mahroof, one of the team members who developed and collaborated on this project, highlighted the need for immediate wildfire detection.
“The whole idea for us is to identify wildfires as soon as possible.” – Dr. Kamran Mahroof
He explained how wildfires are quickly becoming a worldwide issue, with their frequency and intensity increasing at an alarming rate.
“Wildfires are a global phenomenon and have been increasing in frequency and intensity in recent years.” – Dr. Kamran Mahroof
Next year, Greece will be the stage of the pilot phase of the European Union’s 6G-VERSUS project. This consortium will be coordinated by Dr. Konstantinos Katsaros and Dr. Lazaros Karagiannidis from the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS). This unified international effort represents a strong commitment to tackling increasingly complex wildfire challenges in partnership with cutting-edge technology.
Their ambitious plan is to use artificial intelligence to interpret the real-time camera feeds and use 6G links to relay the data. This tactic cuts down on the time it takes for teams to find someone at risk. It equals saving them time to deploy necessary resources, and more importantly, time to keep responders safe.
“By applying AI to interpret real-time camera feeds and using 6G links to relay the data, we can help teams quickly identify people at risk and deploy resources where they’re needed most, all while keeping responders safe.” – Team
The West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service were not aware of this technology before. At this point, they could be getting in touch with the University of Bradford team to work together on enriching future iterations. The recent showcase event in Birmingham showcased how artificial intelligence is addressing some of the world’s greatest challenges, such as wildfires.