Planet Inspired: Simulating fires to prevent them

Planet Inspired: Simulating fires to prevent them


Fire simulators make it possible to save human and economic
resources, reducing the risks of field testing

In Italy, Civil Protection and the Forestry Service have begun
using a high technology system, based on mathematical
models of fire spread in Mediterranean woods context, with
tactical and operating functions. The geo-referenced 3-D
scenarios are adaptable according to the environment being
tested and permits the optimal use of aircraft.
Videogame enthusiasts are going crazy for games where they
play the role of firefighters and they must fight different kinds
of fires, also in their delicate situations, such as a truck filled
with chemical products overturned on the road. They have to
set up barriers to keep onlookers away, prepare the firehoses
and drive the truck.On the other hand the forest fire
simulators used by Civil Protection are not video games,
rather the latest generation computers with 3-D graphics,
deriving from the development of flight simulators, movie
entertainment and console games.The first was Farsite, North

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American, then there was FMIS, a Greek model and "Fire
Tactics", developed by French firefighters.In Italy, Civil
Protection and the Forestry Service have begun using a high
technology system, based on mathematical models of fire
spread in Mediterranean woods context, with tactical and
operating functions .The system, in the trial phase, is a
simulator with a 360 photorealistic three-dimensional
scenario, dedicated to training firefighters for fighting forest
fires with simulation of the fire front that expands according to
the wind and terrain with smoke, audio effects, etc.The geo-
referenced 3-D scenarios can be adapted according to the
environment being tested, with the objective of optimizing the
use of aircraft in putting out the fires.The three-dimensional
models of the objects involved in the simulations (aircraft,
vehicles, people, buildings, and vegetation, etc.) can be
customized according to teaching needs.Thus, it is possible to
develop in simulated virtual scenarios, forecast models on the
development of the phenomenon, in relation to the different
natural ecosystems involved, in order to develop shared
operating protocols for the optimal management of fire
extinguishing operations as well as refining the investigative
techniques for identifying arsonists.The simulators are based
on numerous studies. The simulators are used for modeling
operating situations and identifying the most suitable
algorithms for analyzing how a forest fire spreads.At TechFOr,
International Exhibition on Technology for Security, held in
Rome this year, the Forestry Service presented its simulator
project that could be housed in a building complex,
confiscated from organized crime, in Castelvolturno, that will

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soon be the home of the "Forest Firefighter Training School."
The simulation techniques are certainly one of the main
sources for obtaining relevant information that makes it
possible to save considerable resources, both human and
economic, and reduce the risks that derive from field testing.

Fonte: Planet Inspired


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