PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Forest fires can cause significant damage that reduces the resilience of ecosystems. Impacts include changes in biodiversity and loss of connectivity, effects on soil and water, air pollution, and economic losses.
Some 80% of forest fires in Europe occur in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and France [Forest Fires in Europe 2014, European Commission]. Data shows that Spain had the most fires and the largest burnt area. Over half of the forest fires in Spain occurred in the north-west of the country.
The 1992 EU Regulation on the protection of forests against fire led to the establishment of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). In the fight against forest fires, early detection is critical for reducing response times, along with improved communication and coordination. The response time is directly related to the final burned area. Improving EFFIS will produce a more efficient tool for assessing measures to protect against forest fires and to better understand their causes.
At national level, state and regional prevention and defence plans against forest fires are aimed at minimising their environmental, social and economic damage. In Galicia, objective 5 of working group 4 of the region’s Smart Specialisation Strategy (RIS3) includes the early detection of forest fires, modelling their behaviour and innovation in information transfer to extinguish the fires.
OBJECTIVES
LIFETEC aimed to show that it is possible to use existing meteorological radars to detect forest fires at an early stage, thereby improving the usefulness of EFFIS. The project would also test the use of new communication and navigation systems that can improve the management and coordination of agents involved in fire-fighting, reducing their response time and the forest area burned. The project actions would be implemented in the region of Galicia in north-west Spain, and in Arouca, Portugal.
The specific objectives of the project were:
- To demonstrate the use of weather radars to detect forest fires at an early stage. For this, it will develop and test new early detection algorithms; and
- To use TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) digital radio for communicating with and coordinating fire-fighting teams. This will avoid the problem of poor network coverage in rural areas that can hinder the use of mobile phone systems.
LIFETEC would contribute to the implementation of the EU Regulation on the protection of forests against fire. The system being trialled by this LIFE project would have significant scope to be replicated elsewhere.
RESULTS
The LIFETEC project demonstrated the feasibility of using existing meteorological radars to detect forest fires at an early stage; and the use of new communication and navigation systems to improve the management and coordination of fire-fighting agents, particularly in rural areas.
As a result of the project, two technologies were made ready to help in the fight against forest fires: (i) a method for the early detection of forest fires using weather radars; and (ii) a management system based on TETRA (Trans European Trunked Radio) and Android for the real-time geolocation of firefighting resources.
The method for the early detection of forest fires uses weather radars that operate continuously, allowing measurements of variations to be carried out frequently. Europe is already covered by networks of meteorological radars, making it possible to monitor for new fires throughout Europe. The radars measure refraction index, which significantly decreases when temperature rises and humidity falls, a good indicator of early-stage forest fires. This method was demonstrated using three different radars, the Cuntis radar operated by MeteoGalicia in the Galician region of Spain, and the Arouca and Coruche radars operated by IPMA in Portugal. The method can potentially be implemented in the vast majority of current weather radars in Europe.
The management system based on TETRA and Android for the real-time geolocation of firefighting resources helps maximise the efficiency of action taken, and improves the safety of the firefighters involved. Firefighters have equipment to communicate with each other and with control centres, but this can be difficult in remote rural areas with poor communications networks. The system developed by the project team uses TETRA network infrastructure to achieve Trunked Mode Operation, and displays the coordinates of firefighters on a handheld Android device. It enables firefighting teams to remain continuously connected in out-of-coverage environments. The system was tested by firefighters of the 'Consorcio Contraincendios y Salvamento de Deza-Tabeirós' in Spain during summer campaigns in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).
