CAE - Is operating the Wildfires Monitoring Network of Calabria Region

Following tests and field trials, the experimental system for the prevention and monitoring of wildfires in the region of Calabria is finally operating. 

Designed by CAE, world leader company in designing and implementation of networks for natural phenomena monitoring, the system is a pilot project strongly supported by the Regional Administration - Civil Protection - and employs the most modern technologies to prevent and deal with wildfires. 

The official start of the network follows the launch of a preventing wildfire national campaign, which started in Calabria on 15 June and will end on 15 October (for other Italian regions the term was anticipated to September 15; the system will be a support to institutions who oppose to wildfires).

 

 

The Wildfire Monitoring Network implemented by CAE for the Calabria region consists of 12 stations, each equipped with high-definition cameras, cameras for detection of heat (thermal cameras) and sensors for the measurement of atmospheric parameters, such as speed and direction of wind, humidity, temperature. 

When a fire starts, thanks to the synthesis of the information collected by these sensors, which interact continuously and in real time with the Control Centre of Civil Protection, the CAE system simulates through a Prediction and Propagation model different scenarios for the evolution of fire and provides guidance on supposed direction and speed, effectively supporting firefighters in the management of the emergency. 

The CAE system also contributes to prevention: the data of its 12 weather stations spread throughout the region, providing a valuable support in the preparation of the Bulletin of the Risk Zones, released on a daily basis.

 

 

In addition to sensors for the detection of atmospheric phenomena, each of the 12 stations of the pilot project installed by CAE is equipped with high resolution cameras able to detect the presence of smoke and infrared cameras that detect changes in temperature within 6-8 km. 

Nevertheless the control is not exclusively delegated to automatic systems. The signaling of a possible fire alerts an operator who verifies, through the instruments installed in the Central Office, the presence or absence of a fire and, if necessary, activates the Fire Protection Protocol specified by the Region. 

"This monitoring network represents perfectly the mission of CAE, which is implementing the most advanced systems for the protection of the territory and the most advanced solutions for the security of the population - says Guido Bernardi, Marketing & International Development Manager of CAE - However wildfires are a disaster quite particular - continues Bernardi - if you think that most of them do not have natural causes, and even if you can achieve more and more advanced technologies, the most effective weapon is the absolute prevention and the awareness by the population that the forests are a common good to be protected "