The 'Fire Shield' plan will aim to use satellites and sensors to automate detection of fires, 95% of which are reported through triple-zero phone calls at the moment.
Existing and emerging technology should enable fire agencies to extinguish dangerous fires within an hour by 2025, reducing impacts on communities and wildlife alike, according to research backed by billionaire couple Andrew and Nicola Forrest.
Technology advances could make it possible to extinguish dangerous fires within an hour by 2025, according to a target set by the Minderoo Foundation.The plan, to be unveiled at the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday, will aim to use satellites and sensors to automate detection of fires. At present, about 95 per cent of fires are reported through triple-zero phone calls, with people also staffing fire towers looking for smoke.
The NSW Bushfire Inquiry highlighted the potential for improvement in technology after last season's record fires scorched more than 5 million hectares in the state alone. Not only were fire agencies often reliant on aircraft to identify the fire front, they also struggled, at times, to get timely information out to communities at risk.
The scope for gains is great, ranging from better estimates of fuel loads in the landscape and how hazard-reduction burning can be better targeted, to the use of drones and other autonomous vehicles to put fires out before they threaten people, property and ecosystems.
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