Wildfire seasonal preparedness
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is increasing its seasonal efforts to tackle wildfires. Climate change and other factors have contributed to these fires becoming larger and hotter across the West in recent years. In response to this challenge, the service has begun utilizing advanced mapping tools and weather forecasting applications to predict fire behavior more accurately. Through these projects, our firefighters are reimagining firefighting tactics, developing tools and methods that will ultimately create safer environments for responders and the communities they serve.
As we close out the decade, the introduction of agile, lightweight wildfire personal protective equipment represents an important evolution. This new equipment allows fire fighters to minimize extended operations. Perhaps most importantly, it gives them the freedom to do their jobs better even in adverse circumstances. The service recently augmented its all-terrain vehicles to its firefighting arsenal. This improvement will enable crews to safely tackle difficult-to-reach spots when battling wildfires, such as those that raged earlier this summer on Marsden Moor and Ilkley Moor.
Otherwise, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service would still be none the wiser about a revolutionary new technology created by the University of Bradford team. This innovative change may have a profound effect on wildfire detection and response initiatives. Dr. Kamran Mahroof, a member of the University of Bradford team, highlighted the urgency of identifying wildfires at the earliest possible moment.
“Wildfires are a global phenomenon and have been increasing in frequency and intensity in recent years.” – Dr. Kamran Mahroof
The University of Bradford’s research is part of the 6G-VERSUS initiative, an EU-funded project aimed at conducting trials of 6G technology. Funding for this research has been supplied through the European Union’s Horizon Innovation Action programme. Later next year, the project will have its technology on display at a new pilot that’s set to take place in Greece. The trial will be coordinated by Dr. Konstantinos Katsaros and Dr. Lazaros Karagiannidis from the Greek-based Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS).
The University team is developing a combined robotic dog and aerial drone system that enhances situational awareness for first responders during wildfires. This ground-breaking process deploys artificial intelligence and machine learning to assess live camera streams. This enables teams to rapidly determine who is most at risk and distribute resources to meet needs with precision.
“In the Greek pilot of SNS-JU 6G-VERSUS, we’re developing a combined robotic dog and aerial drone system that boosts situational awareness for first responders during wildfires.” – Team
“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
Dr. Mahroof expressed pride in being part of a multi-country research team working to address such a major global challenge.
“We are immensely proud to be at the forefront of research addressing this pressing global challenge.” – Dr. Kamran Mahroof