Early detection of forest fire and first intervention of fire-fighting units

Abstract

In Mediterranean ecosystems the climate change causes the rising of the temperature and therefore the risk of forest fires is increased. A large proportion of the forests destroyed each year, could be saved with a forest fire detection system. Time is critical for saving people, animals, and the environment. Time is crucial and every minute matters in the event of a fire. A faster response means that many fires can be extinguished before they spread and cause more extensive damages. Thanks to technology development, improved systems of remote sensing for forest fires are created and implemented, reducing detection time, the estimated location of the fires break out. The key element in these systems is the performance in real time of the various moving features, such as vehicles, personnel, and even the fronts of the fires. The aim of the paper is the choice of appropriate early fire detection system for the first intervention and the determination of the required fire lookout stations and firefighting intervention units. International literature was investigated to find out the appropriate fire detection sensor. An analysis of observation was done by command ARCMAP (Viewshed). The observation from the height of the tower and the detection of smoke from a height of 5 meters, determined the observation rate of the area and the location of the sensor. In the research area are specified the positions of fire lookout stations with the help of DTM and GIS as well as the necessary vehicles and personnel for immediate first intervention.