In Spain, around 400,000 hectares have been burned so far this yearin 230 fires of which about twenty remain active. The most serious crisis in our history in terms of fires. We also come a problematic situation in 2024, when 47,711 hectares of forest were burned in Spain. Society is increasingly aware that in order to avoid or reduce the devastation that fires cause, it is necessary to have prevention, immediate reaction and coordination. Technology can be helpful for it. As shown, the Early fire detection solution that Alphanet Solutions and Securitas have developed.
This system combines AI technologies, such as Machine Learning, with IoT and monitoring and control 24/7. With them you can detect and notify a fire conato and facilitate the deployment of the necessary measures to end it before it spreads and becomes large forest fires.
These are those that burn more than 500 hectares and have consequences that go beyond the destruction of environments and the loss of forest mass. Fire damages biodiversity, threatens citizenship safety, deteriorates infrastructure and reduces economic activity in affected municipalities.
In the last decade, this type of fire has increased by 31%, with an average of 24 per year. In addition, since 2017, those known as sixth generation fires have gained importance, fires that feed on the dry fuel accumulated in forests, climate change and abandonment of the rural environment to alter even atmospheric conditions and generate fire storms. This type of fire is unpredictable, and extinguishing them is very complicated. Therefore, detecting a fire conato in its first moments is key to activating an effective operation against it.
The system created by Securitas and Alphanet Solutions uses the early alert system based on the sensory created by the first, which allows municipalities to install it in an agile and proactive way when the first indications of a fire are detected.
Their intelligent sensors are installed in the trees not harmful to them, with the aim of detecting the fire and emitting an early alarm. The sensors are trained and refined through Machine Learning techniques, and learn what are the normal conditions of the environment and what indications represent anomalies. Training also allows them to exclude false alarms, such as emissions produced by a vehicle or housing in the surroundings.
These sensors are fed through solar panels, and thanks to Lorawan wireless technology they communicate with a devices responsible for transmitting information to the remote control center. They work even in areas without coverage, thanks to Border Gateway devices that guarantee connectivity.
The signal is transmitted in a geolocated manner to the control center, which may be at home or remote, such as the Securitas Operation Center (SOC), in charge of continuously monitored. At this point the dynamic map of the interface of AlphaDataManagerwhich allows Integrate alerts and have a basis for exactly locating the fire conato. From this moment on, appropriate resources can be mobilized to extinguish it.
Of course, from Securitas and Alphanet Solutions alert that in parallel to the implementation of its technologyor from any other dedicated to the early detection of fires, It is essential to design and apply specific action protocols In case of alarm. Only in this way will it be possible to guarantee a quick, adequate and effective response to an incident.
On the other hand, they warn that collaboration between public and private entities is essential, given that 72% of the forest area in Spain is in private hands, although the protection of the mountains falls to public administrations.
