[Detecting fire smoke based on the multispectral image].

PubMed

Wei, Ying-Zhuo; Zhang, Shao-Wu; Liu, Yan-Wei

2010-04-01

Smoke detection is very important for preventing forest-fire in the fire early process. Because the traditional technologies based on video and image processing are easily affected by the background dynamic information, three limitations exist in these technologies, i. e. lower anti-interference ability, higher false detection rate and the fire smoke and water fog being not easily distinguished. A novel detection method for detecting smoke based on the multispectral image was proposed in the present paper. Using the multispectral digital imaging technique, the multispectral image series of fire smoke and water fog were obtained in the band scope of 400 to 720 nm, and the images were divided into bins. The Euclidian distance among the bins was taken as a measurement for showing the difference of spectrogram. After obtaining the spectral feature vectors of dynamic region, the regions of fire smoke and water fog were extracted according to the spectrogram feature difference between target and background. The indoor and outdoor experiments show that the smoke detection method based on multispectral image can be applied to the smoke detection, which can effectively distinguish the fire smoke and water fog. Combined with video image processing method, the multispectral image detection method can also be applied to the forest fire surveillance, reducing the false alarm rate in forest fire detection.

Fire Detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

An early warning fire detection sensor developed for NASA's Space Shuttle Orbiter is being evaluated as a possible hazard prevention system for mining operations. The incipient Fire Detector represents an advancement over commercially available smoke detectors in that it senses and signals the presence of a fire condition before the appearance of flame and smoke, offering an extra margin of safety.

Smoke regions extraction based on two steps segmentation and motion detection in early fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jian, Wenlin; Wu, Kaizhi; Yu, Zirong; Chen, Lijuan

2018-03-01

Aiming at the early problems of video-based smoke detection in fire video, this paper proposes a method to extract smoke suspected regions by combining two steps segmentation and motion characteristics. Early smoldering smoke can be seen as gray or gray-white regions. In the first stage, regions of interests (ROIs) with smoke are obtained by using two step segmentation methods. Then, suspected smoke regions are detected by combining the two step segmentation and motion detection. Finally, morphological processing is used for smoke regions extracting. The Otsu algorithm is used as segmentation method and the ViBe algorithm is used to detect the motion of smoke. The proposed method was tested on 6 test videos with smoke. The experimental results show the effectiveness of our proposed method over visual observation.

Assessment of the Utility of the Advanced Himawari Imager to Detect Active Fire Over Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hally, B.; Wallace, L.; Reinke, K.; Jones, S.

2016-06-01

Wildfire detection and attribution is an issue of importance due to the socio-economic impact of fires in Australia. Early detection of fires allows emergency response agencies to make informed decisions in order to minimise loss of life and protect strategic resources in threatened areas. Until recently, the ability of land management authorities to accurately assess fire through satellite observations of Australia was limited to those made by polar orbiting satellites. The launch of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) Himawari-8 satellite, with the 16-band Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI-8) onboard, in October 2014 presents a significant opportunity to improve the timeliness of satellite fire detection across Australia. The near real-time availability of images, at a ten minute frequency, may also provide contextual information (background temperature) leading to improvements in the assessment of fire characteristics. This paper investigates the application of the high frequency observation data supplied by this sensor for fire detection and attribution. As AHI-8 is a new sensor we have performed an analysis of the noise characteristics of the two spectral bands used for fire attribution across various land use types which occur in Australia. Using this information we have adapted existing algorithms, based upon least squares error minimisation and Kalman filtering, which utilise high frequency observations of surface temperature to detect and attribute fire. The fire detection and attribution information provided by these algorithms is then compared to existing satellite based fire products as well as in-situ information provided by land management agencies. These comparisons were made Australia-wide for an entire fire season - including many significant fire events (wildfires and prescribed burns). Preliminary detection results suggest that these methods for fire detection perform comparably to existing fire products and fire incident reporting from relevant fire authorities but with the advantage of being near-real time. Issues remain for detection due to cloud and smoke obscuration, along with validation of the attribution of fire characteristics using these algorithms.

Spacecraft Fire Safety Research at NASA Glenn Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meyer, Marit

2016-01-01

Appropriate design of fire detection systems requires knowledge of both the expected fire signature and the background aerosol levels. Terrestrial fire detection systems have been developed based on extensive study of terrestrial fires. Unfortunately there is no corresponding data set for spacecraft fires and consequently the fire detectors in current spacecraft were developed based upon terrestrial designs. In low gravity, buoyant flow is negligible which causes particles to concentrate at the smoke source, increasing their residence time, and increasing the transport time to smoke detectors. Microgravity fires have significantly different structure than those in 1-g which can change the formation history of the smoke particles. Finally the materials used in spacecraft are different from typical terrestrial environments where smoke properties have been evaluated. It is critically important to detect a fire in its early phase before a flame is established, given the fixed volume of air on any spacecraft. Consequently, the primary target for spacecraft fire detection is pyrolysis products rather than soot. Experimental investigations have been performed at three different NASA facilities which characterize smoke aerosols from overheating common spacecraft materials. The earliest effort consists of aerosol measurements in low gravity, called the Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment (SAME), and subsequent ground-based testing of SAME smoke in 55-gallon drums with an aerosol reference instrument. Another set of experiments were performed at NASAs Johnson Space Center White Sands Test Facility (WSTF), with additional fuels and an alternate smoke production method. Measurements of these smoke products include mass and number concentration, and a thermal precipitator was designed for this investigation to capture particles for microscopic analysis. The final experiments presented are from NASAs Gases and Aerosols from Smoldering Polymers (GASP) Laboratory, with selected results focusing on realistic fuel preparations and heating profiles with regards to early detection of smoke. SAFFIRE is the upcoming large-scale fire experiment which will be executed in a Cygnus vehicle after it undocks from the ISS.

Fire detection and incidents localization based on public information channels and social media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thanos, Konstantinos-Georgios; Skroumpelou, Katerina; Rizogiannis, Konstantinos; Kyriazanos, Dimitris M.; Astyakopoulos, Alkiviadis; Thomopoulos, Stelios C. A.

2017-05-01

In this paper a solution is presented aiming to assist the early detection and localization of a fire incident by exploiting crowdsourcing and unofficial civilian online reports. It consists of two components: (a) the potential fire incident detection and (b) the visualization component. The first component comprises two modules that run in parallel and aim to collect reports posted on public platforms and conclude to potential fire incident locations. It collects the public reports, distinguishes reports that refer to a potential fire incident and store the corresponding information in a structured way. The second module aggregates all these stored reports and conclude to a probable fire location, based on the amount of reports per area, the time and location of these reports. In further the result is entered to a fusion module which combines it with information collected by sensors if available in order to provide a more accurate fire event detection capability. The visualization component is a fully - operational public information channel which provides accurate and up-to-date information about active and past fires, raises awareness about forest fires and the relevant hazards among citizens. The channel has visualization capabilities for presenting in an efficient way information regarding detected fire incidents fire expansion areas, and relevant information such as detecting sensors and reporting origin. The paper concludes with insight to current CONOPS end user with regards to the inclusion of the proposed solution to the current CONOPS of fire detection.

An approach to the real time risk evaluation system of boreal forest fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakau, K.; Fukuda, M.; Kimura, K.; Hayasaka, H.; Tani, H.; Kushida, K.

2005-12-01

Huge boreal forest fire may cause massive impacts not only on global warming gas emission but also local communities. Thus, it is important to control forest fire. We collected data about boreal forest fire as satellite imagery and fire observation simultaneously in Alaska and east Siberia in summer fire seasons for these three years. Fire observation data was collected from aircraft flying between Japan and Europe. Fire detection results were compared with observed data to evaluate the accuracy and earliness of automatic detection. NOAA and MODIS satellite images covering Alaska and East Siberia are collected. We are also developing fire expansion simulation model to forecast the possible fire expansion area. On the basis of fire expansion forecast, risk analysis of possible fire expansion for decision aid of fire-fighting activities will be analyzed. To identify the risk of boreal forest fire and public concern about forest fire, we collected local news paper in Fairbanks, AK and discuss the statistics of articles related to forest fire on the newspaper.

Assessing and validating RST-FIRES on MSG-SEVIRI data by means a Total Validation Approach (TVA).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filizzola, Carolina; Corrado, Rosita; Marchese, Francesco; Mazzeo, %Giuseppe; Paciello, Rossana; Pergola, Nicola; Tramutoli, Valerio

2015-04-01

Several fire detection methods have been developed through the years for detecting forest fires from space. These algorithms (which may be grouped in single channel, multichannel and contextual algorithms) are generally based on the use of fixed thresholds that, being intrinsically exposed to false alarm proliferation, are often used in a conservative way. As a consequence, most of satellite-based algorithms for fire detection show low sensitivity resulting not suitable in operational contexts. In this work, the RST-FIRES algorithm, which is based on an original multi-temporal scheme of satellite data analysis (RST-Robust Satellite Techniques), is presented. The implementation of RST-FIRES on data provided by Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) onboard Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) that, offering the best revisit time (i.e. 15 minutes), can be successfully used for detecting fires at early stage, is described here. Moreover, results of a Total Validation Approach (TVA) experimented both in Northern and Southern Italy, in collaboration with local and regional civil protection agencies, are also reported. In particular, TVA allowed us to assess RST-FIRES detections by means of ground check and aerial surveys, demonstrating the good performances offered by RST-FIRES using MSG-SEVIRI data. Indeed, this algorithm was capable of detecting several fires that for their features (e.g., small size, short time duration) would not have appeared in the official reports, highlighting a significant improvement in terms of sensitivity in comparison with other established satellite-based fire detection techniques still preserving a high confidence level of detection.

Visibility analysis of fire lookout towers in the Boyabat State Forest Enterprise in Turkey.

PubMed

Kucuk, Omer; Topaloglu, Ozer; Altunel, Arif Oguz; Cetin, Mehmet

2017-07-01

For a successful fire suppression, it is essential to detect and intervene forest fires as early as possible. Fire lookout towers are crucial assets in detecting forest fires, in addition to other technological advancements. In this study, we performed a visibility analysis on a network of fire lookout towers currently operating in a relatively fire-prone region in Turkey's Western Black Sea region. Some of these towers had not been functioning properly; it was proposed that these be taken out of the grid and replaced with new ones. The percentage of visible areas under the current network of fire lookout towers was 73%; it could rise to 81% with the addition of newly proposed towers. This study was the first research to conduct a visibility analysis of current and newly proposed fire lookout towers in the Western Black Sea region and focus on its forest fire problem.

Engineering and Development Program Plan, Aircraft Cabin Fire Safety.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-01

relative to a postcrash fuel fire, or whether advanced materials provide a significant safety benefit in comparison to inservice materials. if either...have always been controlled by early detection and prompt extinguishment action by effectively trained crew members. In addition, the fire resistant...occupants. g. Develop a computer fire test data bank with broad user availability for inservice and candidate cabin interior materials. h. Identify

The combined use of the RST-FIRES algorithm and geostationary satellite data to timely detect fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filizzola, Carolina; Corrado, Rosita; Marchese, Francesco; Mazzeo, Giuseppe; Paciello, Rossana; Pergola, Nicola; Tramutoli, Valerio

2017-04-01

Timely detection of fires may enable a rapid contrast action before they become uncontrolled and wipe out entire forests. Remote sensing, especially based on geostationary satellite data, can be successfully used to this aim. Differently from sensors onboard polar orbiting platforms, instruments on geostationary satellites guarantee a very high temporal resolution (from 30 to 2,5 minutes) which may be usefully employed to carry out a "continuous" monitoring over large areas as well as to timely detect fires at their early stages. Together with adequate satellite data, an appropriate fire detection algorithm should be used. Over the last years, many fire detection algorithms have been just adapted from polar to geostationary sensors and, consequently, the very high temporal resolution of geostationary sensors is not exploited at all in tests for fire identification. In addition, even when specifically designed for geostationary satellite sensors, fire detection algorithms are frequently based on fixed thresholds tests which are generally set up in the most conservative way to avoid false alarm proliferation. The result is a low algorithm sensitivity which generally means that only large and/or extremely intense events are detected. This work describes the Robust Satellite Techniques for FIRES detection and monitoring (RST-FIRES) which is a multi-temporal change-detection technique trying to overcome the above mentioned issues. Its performance in terms of reliability and sensitivity was verified using data acquired by the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) sensor onboard the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) geostationary platform. More than 20,000 SEVIRI images, collected during a four-year-collaboration with the Regional Civil Protection Departments and Local Authorities of two Italian regions, were used. About 950 near real-time ground and aerial checks of the RST-FIRES detections were performed. This study also demonstrates the added value of the RST-FIRES technique to detect starting/small fires and its sensitivity from 3 to 70 times higher than any other similar SEVIRI-based products.

Chemical Sensor Systems and Associated Algorithms for Fire Detection: A Review.

PubMed

Fonollosa, Jordi; Solórzano, Ana; Marco, Santiago

2018-02-11

Indoor fire detection using gas chemical sensing has been a subject of investigation since the early nineties. This approach leverages the fact that, for certain types of fire, chemical volatiles appear before smoke particles do. Hence, systems based on chemical sensing can provide faster fire alarm responses than conventional smoke-based fire detectors. Moreover, since it is known that most casualties in fires are produced from toxic emissions rather than actual burns, gas-based fire detection could provide an additional level of safety to building occupants. In this line, since the 2000s, electrochemical cells for carbon monoxide sensing have been incorporated into fire detectors. Even systems relying exclusively on gas sensors have been explored as fire detectors. However, gas sensors respond to a large variety of volatiles beyond combustion products. As a result, chemical-based fire detectors require multivariate data processing techniques to ensure high sensitivity to fires and false alarm immunity. In this paper, we the survey toxic emissions produced in fires and defined standards for fire detection systems. We also review the state of the art of chemical sensor systems for fire detection and the associated signal and data processing algorithms. We also examine the experimental protocols used for the validation of the different approaches, as the complexity of the test measurements also impacts on reported sensitivity and specificity measures. All in all, further research and extensive test under different fire and nuisance scenarios are still required before gas-based fire detectors penetrate largely into the market. Nevertheless, the use of dynamic features and multivariate models that exploit sensor correlations seems imperative.

Chemical Sensor Systems and Associated Algorithms for Fire Detection: A Review

PubMed Central

Fonollosa, Jordi

2018-01-01

Indoor fire detection using gas chemical sensing has been a subject of investigation since the early nineties. This approach leverages the fact that, for certain types of fire, chemical volatiles appear before smoke particles do. Hence, systems based on chemical sensing can provide faster fire alarm responses than conventional smoke-based fire detectors. Moreover, since it is known that most casualties in fires are produced from toxic emissions rather than actual burns, gas-based fire detection could provide an additional level of safety to building occupants. In this line, since the 2000s, electrochemical cells for carbon monoxide sensing have been incorporated into fire detectors. Even systems relying exclusively on gas sensors have been explored as fire detectors. However, gas sensors respond to a large variety of volatiles beyond combustion products. As a result, chemical-based fire detectors require multivariate data processing techniques to ensure high sensitivity to fires and false alarm immunity. In this paper, we the survey toxic emissions produced in fires and defined standards for fire detection systems. We also review the state of the art of chemical sensor systems for fire detection and the associated signal and data processing algorithms. We also examine the experimental protocols used for the validation of the different approaches, as the complexity of the test measurements also impacts on reported sensitivity and specificity measures. All in all, further research and extensive test under different fire and nuisance scenarios are still required before gas-based fire detectors penetrate largely into the market. Nevertheless, the use of dynamic features and multivariate models that exploit sensor correlations seems imperative. PMID:29439490

Development of Fire Detection Algorithm at Its Early Stage Using Fire Colour and Shape Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suleiman Abdullahi, Zainab; Hamisu Dalhatu, Shehu; Hassan Abdullahi, Zakariyya

2018-04-01

Fire can be defined as a state in which substances combined chemically with oxygen from the air and give out heat, smoke and flame. Most of the conventional fire detection techniques such as smoke, fire and heat detectors respectively have a problem of travelling delay and also give a high false alarm. The algorithm begins by loading the selected video clip from the database developed to identify the present or absence of fire in a frame. In this approach, background subtraction was employed. If the result of subtraction is less than the set threshold, the difference is ignored and the next frame is taken. However, if the difference is equal to or greater than the set threshold then it subjected to colour and shape test. This is done by using combined RGB colour model and shape signature. The proposed technique was very effective in detecting fire compared to those technique using only motion or colour clues.

Water vapour emission in vegetable fuel: absorption cell measurements and detection limits of our CO II Dial system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellecci, C.; De Leo, L.; Gaudio, P.; Gelfusa, M.; Lo Feudo, T.; Martellucci, S.; Richetta, M.

2006-09-01

Forest fires can be the cause of serious environmental and economic damages. For this reason a considerable effort has been directed toward the forest protection and fire fighting. In the early forest fire detection, Lidar technique present considerable advantages compared to the passive detection methods based on infrared cameras currently in common use, due its higher sensitivity and ability to accurately locate the fire. The combustion phase of the vegetable matter causes a great amount of water vapour emission, thus the water molecule behaviour will be studied to obtain a fire detection system ready and efficient also before the flame propagation. A first evaluation of increment of the water vapour concentration compared to standard one will be estimated by a numerical simulation. These results will be compared with the experimental measurements carried out into a cell with a CO II Dial system, burning different kinds of vegetable fuel. Our results and their comparison will be reported in this paper.

Early forest fire detection using principal component analysis of infrared video

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saghri, John A.; Radjabi, Ryan; Jacobs, John T.

2011-09-01

A land-based early forest fire detection scheme which exploits the infrared (IR) temporal signature of fire plume is described. Unlike common land-based and/or satellite-based techniques which rely on measurement and discrimination of fire plume directly from its infrared and/or visible reflectance imagery, this scheme is based on exploitation of fire plume temporal signature, i.e., temperature fluctuations over the observation period. The method is simple and relatively inexpensive to implement. The false alarm rate is expected to be lower that of the existing methods. Land-based infrared (IR) cameras are installed in a step-stare-mode configuration in potential fire-prone areas. The sequence of IR video frames from each camera is digitally processed to determine if there is a fire within camera's field of view (FOV). The process involves applying a principal component transformation (PCT) to each nonoverlapping sequence of video frames from the camera to produce a corresponding sequence of temporally-uncorrelated principal component (PC) images. Since pixels that form a fire plume exhibit statistically similar temporal variation (i.e., have a unique temporal signature), PCT conveniently renders the footprint/trace of the fire plume in low-order PC images. The PC image which best reveals the trace of the fire plume is then selected and spatially filtered via simple threshold and median filter operations to remove the background clutter, such as traces of moving tree branches due to wind.

Evaluation of detection and response times of fire sensors using an atmospheric monitoring system

PubMed Central

Rowland, J.H.; Litton, C.D.; Thomas, R.A.

2017-01-01

Atmospheric monitoring systems (AMS) are required when using air from conveyor belt entries to ventilate working sections in U.S. underground coal mines. AMS technology has the potential to increase fire safety mine-wide, but research is needed to determine the detection and response times for fires of a variety of combustible materials. To evaluate the potential of an AMS for fire detection in other areas of a coal mine, a series of full-scale fire experiments were conducted to determine detection and response times from fires of different combustible materials that are found in U.S. underground coal mines, including high- and low-volatility coals, conveyor belts, brattice materials, different types of wood, diesel fuel, and a foam sealant. These experiments were conducted in the Safety Research Coal Mine (SRCM) of the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) located in Pittsburgh, PA, using a commercially available AMS that is typical of current technology. The results showed that through proper selection of sensors and their locations, a mine-wide AMS can provide sufficient early fire warning times and improve the health and safety of miners. PMID:28529442

Evaluation of detection and response times of fire sensors using an atmospheric monitoring system.

PubMed

Rowland, J H; Litton, C D; Thomas, R A

2016-01-01

Atmospheric monitoring systems (AMS) are required when using air from conveyor belt entries to ventilate working sections in U.S. underground coal mines. AMS technology has the potential to increase fire safety mine-wide, but research is needed to determine the detection and response times for fires of a variety of combustible materials. To evaluate the potential of an AMS for fire detection in other areas of a coal mine, a series of full-scale fire experiments were conducted to determine detection and response times from fires of different combustible materials that are found in U.S. underground coal mines, including high- and low-volatility coals, conveyor belts, brattice materials, different types of wood, diesel fuel, and a foam sealant. These experiments were conducted in the Safety Research Coal Mine (SRCM) of the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) located in Pittsburgh, PA, using a commercially available AMS that is typical of current technology. The results showed that through proper selection of sensors and their locations, a mine-wide AMS can provide sufficient early fire warning times and improve the health and safety of miners.

Tree mortality from fire and bark beetles following early and late season prescribed fires in a Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schwilk, Dylan W.; Knapp, Eric E.; Ferrenberg, Scott; Keeley, Jon E.; Caprio, Anthony C.

2006-01-01

Over the last century, fire exclusion in the forests of the Sierra Nevada has allowed surface fuels to accumulate and has led to increased tree density. Stand composition has also been altered as shade tolerant tree species crowd out shade intolerant species. To restore forest structure and reduce the risk of large, intense fires, managers have increasingly used prescription burning. Most fires prior to EuroAmerican settlement occurred during the late summer and early fall and most prescribed burning has taken place during the latter part of this period. Poor air quality and lack of suitable burn windows during the fall, however, have resulted in a need to conduct more prescription burning earlier in the season. Previous reports have suggested that burning during the time when trees are actively growing may increase mortality rates due to fine root damage and/or bark beetle activity. This study examines the effects of fire on tree mortality and bark beetle attacks under prescription burning during early and late season. Replicated early season burn, late season burn and unburned control plots were established in an old-growth mixed conifer forest in the Sierra Nevada that had not experienced a fire in over 120 years. Although prescribed burns resulted in significant mortality of particularly the smallest tree size classes, no difference between early and late season burns was detected. Direct mortality due to fire was associated with fire intensity. Secondary mortality due to bark beetles was not significantly correlated with fire intensity. The probability of bark beetle attack on pines did not differ between early and late season burns, while the probability of bark beetle attack on firs was greater following early season burns. Overall tree mortality appeared to be primarily the result of fire intensity rather than tree phenology at the time of the burns. Early season burns are generally conducted under higher fuel moisture conditions, leading to less fuel consumption and potentially less injury to trees. This reduction in fire severity may compensate for relatively modest increases in bark beetle attack probabilities on some tree species, ultimately resulting in a forest structure that differs little between early and late season prescribed burning treatments.

Monitoring Fires from Space: a case study in transitioning from research to applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Justice, C. O.; Giglio, L.; Vadrevu, K. P.; Csiszar, I. A.; Schroeder, W.; Davies, D.

2012-12-01

This paper discusses the heritage and relationships between science and applications in the context of global satellite-based fire monitoring. The development of algorithms for satellite-based fire detection has been supported primarily by NASA for the polar orbiters with a global focus, and initially by NOAA and more recently by EUMETSAT for the geostationary satellites, with a regional focus. As the feasibility and importance of space-based fire monitoring was recognized, satellite missions were designed to include fire detection capabilities. As a result, the algorithms and accuracy of the detections have improved. Due to the role of fire in the Earth System and its relevance to society, at each step in the development of the sensing capability the research has made a transition into fire-related applications to such an extent that there is now broad use of these data worldwide. The origin of the polar-orbiting satellite fire detection capability was with the AVHRR sensor beginning in the early 1980s, but was transformed with the launch of the EOS MODIS instruments, which included sensor characteristics specifically for fire detection. NASA gave considerable emphasis on the accuracy assessment of the fire detection and the development of fire characterization and burned area products from MODIS. Collaboration between the MODIS Fire Team and the RSAC USFS, initiated in the context of the Montana wildfires of 2001, prompted the development of a Rapid Response System for fire data and eventually led to operational use of MODIS data by the USFS for strategic fire monitoring. Building on this success, the Fire Information for Resource Management Systems (FIRMS) project was funded by NASA Applications to further develop products and services for the fire information community. The FIRMS was developed as a web-based geospatial tool, offering a range of geospatial data services, including SMS text messaging and is now widely used. This system, developed in the research domain, has now been successfully moved to an operational home at the UN FAO, as the Global Fire Information Management System (GFIMS). With a view to operational data continuity, the Suomi-NPP/JPSS VIIRS system was also designed with a fire detection capability, and is providing promising results for fire monitoring both from the standard operational production system and experimental product enhancements. International coordination on fire observations and outreach has been successfully developed under the GOFC GOLD program.

Three-dimensional tracking for efficient fire fighting in complex situations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akhloufi, Moulay; Rossi, Lucile

2009-05-01

Each year, hundred millions hectares of forests burn causing human and economic losses. For efficient fire fighting, the personnel in the ground need tools permitting the prediction of fire front propagation. In this work, we present a new technique for automatically tracking fire spread in three-dimensional space. The proposed approach uses a stereo system to extract a 3D shape from fire images. A new segmentation technique is proposed and permits the extraction of fire regions in complex unstructured scenes. It works in the visible spectrum and combines information extracted from YUV and RGB color spaces. Unlike other techniques, our algorithm does not require previous knowledge about the scene. The resulting fire regions are classified into different homogenous zones using clustering techniques. Contours are then extracted and a feature detection algorithm is used to detect interest points like local maxima and corners. Extracted points from stereo images are then used to compute the 3D shape of the fire front. The resulting data permits to build the fire volume. The final model is used to compute important spatial and temporal fire characteristics like: spread dynamics, local orientation, heading direction, etc. Tests conducted on the ground show the efficiency of the proposed scheme. This scheme is being integrated with a fire spread mathematical model in order to predict and anticipate the fire behaviour during fire fighting. Also of interest to fire-fighters, is the proposed automatic segmentation technique that can be used in early detection of fire in complex scenes.

Cable tunnel fire experiment study based on linear optical fiber fire detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Dian; Ding, Hongjun

2013-09-01

Aiming at exiting linear temperature fire detection technology including temperature sensing cable, fiber Raman scattering, fiber Bragg grating, this paper establish an experimental platform in cable tunnel, set two different experimental scenes of the fire and record temperature variation and fire detector response time in the processing of fire simulation. Since a small amount of thermal radiation and no flame for the beginning of the small-scale fire, only directly contacting heat detectors can make alarm response and the rest of other non- contact detectors are unable to respond. In large-scale fire, the alarm response time of the fiber Raman temperature sensing fire detector and fiber Bragg grating temperature sensing fire detector is about 30 seconds, and depending on the thermocouples' record the temperature over the fire is less than 35° in first 60 seconds of large-scale fire, while the temperature rising is more than 5°/min within the range of +/- 3m. According to the technical characteristics of the three detectors, the engineering suitability of the typical linear heat detectors in cable tunnels early fire detection is analyzed, which provide technical support for the preparation of norms.

Integrating remotely sensed fires for predicting deforestation for REDD.

PubMed

Armenteras, Dolors; Gibbes, Cerian; Anaya, Jesús A; Dávalos, Liliana M

2017-06-01

Fire is an important tool in tropical forest management, as it alters forest composition, structure, and the carbon budget. The United Nations program on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) aims to sustainably manage forests, as well as to conserve and enhance their carbon stocks. Despite the crucial role of fire management, decision-making on REDD+ interventions fails to systematically include fires. Here, we address this critical knowledge gap in two ways. First, we review REDD+ projects and programs to assess the inclusion of fires in monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems. Second, we model the relationship between fire and forest for a pilot site in Colombia using near-real-time (NRT) fire monitoring data derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The literature review revealed fire remains to be incorporated as a key component of MRV systems. Spatially explicit modeling of land use change showed the probability of deforestation declined sharply with increasing distance to the nearest fire the preceding year (multi-year model area under the curve [AUC] 0.82). Deforestation predictions based on the model performed better than the official REDD early-warning system. The model AUC for 2013 and 2014 was 0.81, compared to 0.52 for the early-warning system in 2013 and 0.68 in 2014. This demonstrates NRT fire monitoring is a powerful tool to predict sites of forest deforestation. Applying new, publicly available, and open-access NRT fire data should be an essential element of early-warning systems to detect and prevent deforestation. Our results provide tools for improving both the current MRV systems, and the deforestation early-warning system in Colombia. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Progress in the development of a S-RETGEM-based detector for an early forest fire warning system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charpak, G.; Benaben, P.; Breuil, P.; Martinengo, P.; Nappi, E.; Peskov, V.

2009-12-01

We present a prototype of a Strip Resistive Thick GEM (S-RETGEM) photosensitive gaseous detector filled with Ne and ethylferrocene (EF) vapours at a total pressure of 1 atm for an early forest fire detection system. Measurements show that it is one hundred times more sensitive than the best commercial ultraviolet (UV) flame detectors; and therefore, it is able to reliably detect a flame of ~ 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 m3 at a distance of about 1 km. An additional and unique feature of this detector is its imaging capability, which in combination with other techniques, may significantly reduce false fire alarms rate when operating in an automatic mode. Preliminary results conducted with air-filled photosensitive gaseous detectors are also presented. The main advantages of this approach include both the simplicity of manufacturing and affordability of construction materials such as plastics and glues specifically reducing detector production cost. The sensitivity of these air-filled detectors at certain conditions may be as high as those filled with Ne and EF. Long-term tests of such sealed detectors indicate a significant progress in this direction. We believe that our detectors utilized in addition to other flame and smoke sensors will exceptionally increase the capability to detect forest fire at a very early stage of development. Our future efforts will be focused on attempts to commercialize such detectors utilizing our aforementioned findings.

Using Space Technologies for a timely detection of forest fires: the experience of end-users in 3 Italian Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filizzola, Carolina; Belloni, Antonella; Benigno, Giuseppe; Biancardi, Alberto; Corrado, Rosita; Coviello, Irina; De Costanzo, Giovanni; Genzano, Nicola; Lacava, Teodosio; Lisi, Mariano; Marchese, Francesco; Mazzeo, Giuseppe; Merzagora, Cinzio; Paciello, Rossana; Pergola, Nicola; Sannazzaro, Filomena; Serio, Salvatore; Tramutoli, Valerio

2013-04-01

Every year, hundreds of thousands of hectares of European forests are destroyed by fires. Due to the particular topography, landscape and demographic distribution in Europe (very different from typical scenarios of China, USA, Canada and Australia), rapidity in fire sighting is still the determining factor in limiting damages to people and goods. Moreover, the possibility of early fire detection means also potentially to reduce the size of the event to be faced, the necessary fire fighting resources and, therefore, even the reaction times. In such a context, integration of satellite technologies (mainly high temporal resolution data) and traditional surveillance systems within the fire fighting procedures seems to positively impact on the effectiveness of active fire fighting as demonstrated by recent experiences over Italian territory jointly performed by University of Basilicata, IMAA-CNR and Local Authorities. Real time implementation was performed since 2007, during fire seasons, over several Italian regions with different fire regimes and features, in order to assess the actual potential of different satellite-based fire detection products to support regional and local authorities in efficiently fighting fires and better mitigating their negative effects. Real-time campaigns were carried out in strict collaboration with end-users within the framework of specific projects (i.e. the AVVISA, AVVISTA and AVVISA-Basilicata projects) funded by Civil Protection offices of Regione Lombardia, Provincia Regionale di Palermo and Regione Basilicata in charge of fire risk management and mitigation. A tailored training program was dedicated to the personnel of Regional Civil Protection offices in order to ensure the full understanding and the better integration of satellite based products and tools within the existing fire fighting protocols. In this work, outcomes of these practices are shown and discussed, especially highlighting the impact that a real time satellite system may have in assisting and complementing traditional surveillance systems to mitigate damages due to fires. In particular, the usefulness of satellite technology in an operational context was demonstrated mainly in reference to: i) the possibility of identifying fires at an early stage (so avoiding that small hotbeds could extend and become dangerous for citizens and destructive for environmental protected areas) as well as ii) the possibility to have an effective territorial control (e.g. discovering illegal burning fires such as unauthorized cleaning fires, and permitting local authorities to rapidly intervene and catch red-handed pyromaniacs).

Charge-flow structures as polymeric early-warning fire alarm devices. M.S. Thesis; [metal oxide semiconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sechen, C. M.; Senturia, S. D.

1977-01-01

The charge-flow transistor (CFT) and its applications for fire detection and gas sensing were investigated. The utility of various thin film polymers as possible sensing materials was determined. One polymer, PAPA, showed promise as a relative humidity sensor; two others, PFI and PSB, were found to be particularly suitable for fire detection. The behavior of the charge-flow capacitor, which is basically a parallel-plate capacitor with a polymer-filled gap in the metallic tip electrode, was successfully modeled as an RC transmission line. Prototype charge-flow transistors were fabricated and tested. The effective threshold voltage of this metal oxide semiconductor was found to be dependent on whether surface or bulk conduction in the thin film was dominant. Fire tests with a PFI-coated CFT indicate good sensitivity to smouldering fires.

Field test of optical and electrical fire detectors in simulated fire scenes in a cable tunnel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Dian; Ding, Hongjun; Wang, Dorothy Y.; Jiang, Desheng

2014-06-01

This paper presents the testing results of three types of fire detectors: electrical heat sensing cable, optical fiber Raman temperature sensing detector, and optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG) temperature sensing detector, in two simulated fire scenes in a cable tunnel. In the small-scale fire with limited thermal radiation and no flame, the fire alarm only comes from the heat sensors which directly contact with the heat source. In the large-scale fire with about 5 °C/min temperature rising speed within a 3-m span, the fire alarm response time of the fiber Raman sensor and FBG sensors was about 30 seconds. The test results can be further used for formulating regulation for early fire detection in cable tunnels.

Asynchronous Processing of a Constellation of Geostationary and Polar-Orbiting Satellites for Fire Detection and Smoke Estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyer, E. J.; Peterson, D. A.; Curtis, C. A.; Schmidt, C. C.; Hoffman, J.; Prins, E. M.

2014-12-01

The Fire Locating and Monitoring of Burning Emissions (FLAMBE) system converts satellite observations of thermally anomalous pixels into spatially and temporally continuous estimates of smoke release from open biomass burning. This system currently processes data from a constellation of 5 geostationary and 2 polar-orbiting sensors. Additional sensors, including NPP VIIRS and the imager on the Korea COMS-1 geostationary satellite, will soon be added. This constellation experiences schedule changes and outages of various durations, making the set of available scenes for fire detection highly variable on an hourly and daily basis. Adding to the complexity, the latency of the satellite data is variable between and within sensors. FLAMBE shares with many fire detection systems the goal of detecting as many fires as possible as early as possible, but the FLAMBE system must also produce a consistent estimate of smoke production with minimal artifacts from the changing constellation. To achieve this, NRL has developed a system of asynchronous processing and cross-calibration that permits satellite data to be used as it arrives, while preserving the consistency of the smoke emission estimates. This talk describes the asynchronous data ingest methodology, including latency statistics for the constellation. We also provide an overview and show results from the system we have developed to normalize multi-sensor fire detection for consistency.

Sounding the Alarm.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cordasco, Jerry M.

2000-01-01

Explains the use of alarms and other early-detection devices to effectively protect students in life-threatening fire situations. Ohio State University's multidiscipline approach to life safety is illustrated. (GR)

An Architecture for Automated Fire Detection Early Warning System Based on Geoprocessing Service Composition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samadzadegan, F.; Saber, M.; Zahmatkesh, H.; Joze Ghazi Khanlou, H.

2013-09-01

Rapidly discovering, sharing, integrating and applying geospatial information are key issues in the domain of emergency response and disaster management. Due to the distributed nature of data and processing resources in disaster management, utilizing a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) to take advantages of workflow of services provides an efficient, flexible and reliable implementations to encounter different hazardous situation. The implementation specification of the Web Processing Service (WPS) has guided geospatial data processing in a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) platform to become a widely accepted solution for processing remotely sensed data on the web. This paper presents an architecture design based on OGC web services for automated workflow for acquisition, processing remotely sensed data, detecting fire and sending notifications to the authorities. A basic architecture and its building blocks for an automated fire detection early warning system are represented using web-based processing of remote sensing imageries utilizing MODIS data. A composition of WPS processes is proposed as a WPS service to extract fire events from MODIS data. Subsequently, the paper highlights the role of WPS as a middleware interface in the domain of geospatial web service technology that can be used to invoke a large variety of geoprocessing operations and chaining of other web services as an engine of composition. The applicability of proposed architecture by a real world fire event detection and notification use case is evaluated. A GeoPortal client with open-source software was developed to manage data, metadata, processes, and authorities. Investigating feasibility and benefits of proposed framework shows that this framework can be used for wide area of geospatial applications specially disaster management and environmental monitoring.

Early warning of active fire hotspots through NASA FIRMS fire information system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilavajhala, S.; Davies, D.; Schmaltz, J. E.; Murphy, K. J.

2014-12-01

Forest fires and wildfires can threaten ecosystems, wildlife, property, and often, large swaths of populations. Early warning of active fire hotspots plays a crucial role in planning, managing, and mitigating the damaging effects of wildfires. The NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) has been providing active fire location information to users in easy-to-use formats for the better part of last decade, with a view to improving the alerting mechanisms and response times to fight forest and wildfires. FIRMS utilizes fires flagged as hotspots by the MODIS instrument flying aboard the Aqua and Terra satellites and sends early warning of detected hotspots via email in near real-time or as daily and weekly summaries. The email alerts can also be customized to send alerts for a particular region of interest, a country, or a specific protected area or park. In addition, a web mapping component, named "Web Fire Mapper" helps query and visualize hotspots. A newer version of Web Fire Mapper is being developed to enhance the existing visualization and alerting capabilities. Plans include supporting near real-time imagery from Aqua and Terra satellites to provide a more helpful context while viewing fires. Plans are also underway to upgrade the email alerts system to provide mobile-formatted messages and short text messages (SMS). The newer version of FIRMS will also allow users to obtain geo-located image snapshots, which can be imported into local GIS software by stakeholders to help further analyses. This talk will discuss the FIRMS system, its enhancements and its role in helping map, alert, and monitor fire hotspots by providing quick data visualization, querying, and download capabilities.

Evaluation of mine fires due to spontaneous combustion in the mechanized faces of Middle Anatolian Lignite mine (OAL), case studies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gueyagueler, T.; Karaman, H.

1995-12-31

In this paper fires due to spontaneous combustion in Middle Anatolian Lignite mine (OAL) which is the first fully mechanized underground lignite mine in Turkey, are studied. Since the installation of mechanization, due to spontaneous heating, four panel fires namely, AO1, AO2, AO3 and AO4 have broken out. During these fires, the concentrations of carbon monoxide, methane and the velocity of air are measured continuously by the Micro Minos Environmental monitoring system. For each fire, the environment where fire has started is examined and the possible causes of the fire are investigated. Also the precautions taken to extinguish the firemore » at different stages are described and the importance of the early detection of mine fire are discussed together with the limitations of the monitoring system the practical difficulties observed during the fire.« less

A-21st-century-approach to firefighting in the Western US: How microwave-based seismic networks can change fire suppression from reactive to proactive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kent, G. M.; Smith, K. D.; Williams, M. C.; Slater, D. E.; Plank, G.; McCarthy, M.; Rojas-Gonzalez, R.; Vernon, F.; Driscoll, N. W.; Hidley, G.

2015-12-01

The Nevada Seismological Laboratory (NSL) at UNR has recently embarked on a bold technical initiative, installing a high-speed (up to 190 Mb/sec) mountaintop-based Internet Protocol (IP) microwave network, enabling a myriad of sensor systems for Multi-Hazard Early Warning detection and response. In the Tahoe Basin, this system is known as AlertTahoe; a similar network has been deployed in north-central Nevada as part of a 5-year-long grant with BLM. The UNR network mirrors the successful HPWREN multi-hazard network run through UCSD; the UNR "Alert" program (Access to Leverage Emergency information in Real Time) has expanded on the original concept by providing a framework for early fire detection and discovery. Both systems do not rely on open-access public Internet services such as those provided by cellular service providers. Instead, they utilize private wireless communication networks to collect data 24/7 in real-time from multiple sensors throughout the system. Utilizing this restricted-access private communication platform enhances system reliability, capability, capacity and versatility for staff and its community of certified users. Both UNR and UCSD fire camera systems are presently being confederated under a common framework to provide end users (e.g., BLM, USFS, CalFire) a unified interface. Earthquake response has been both organizations' primary mission for decades; high-speed IP microwave fundamentally changes the playing field allowing for rapid early detection of wildfires, earthquakes and other natural disasters, greatly improving local and regional disaster response/recovery. For example, networked cameras can be optimally placed for wildfire detection and are significantly less vulnerable due infrastructure hardening and the ability to avoid extreme demands by the public on cellular and other public networks during a crisis. These systems also provide a backup for emergency responders to use when public access communications become overwhelmed or fail during an event. The crowd-sourced fire cameras can be viewed year round through AlertTahoe and AlertSoCal websites with on-demand time-lapse, an integrated real time lightning map, and other useful features.

Utilizing multi-sensor fire detections to map fires in the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Howard, Stephen M.; Picotte, Joshua J.; Coan, Michael

2014-01-01

In 2006, the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) project began a cooperative effort between the US Forest Service (USFS) and the U.S.Geological Survey (USGS) to map and assess burn severity all large fires that have occurred in the United States since 1984. Using Landsat imagery, MTBS is mandated to map wildfire and prescribed fire that meet specific size criteria: greater than 1000 acres in the west and 500 acres in the east, regardless of ownership. Relying mostly on federal and state fire occurrence records, over 15,300 individual fires have been mapped. While mapping recorded fires, an additional 2,700 “unknown” or undocumented fires were discovered and assessed. It has become apparent that there are perhaps thousands of undocumented fires in the US that are yet to be mapped. Fire occurrence records alone are inadequate if MTBS is to provide a comprehensive accounting of fire across the US. Additionally, the sheer number of fires to assess has overwhelmed current manual procedures. To address these problems, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Applied Sciences Program is helping to fund the efforts of the USGS and its MTBS partners (USFS, National Park Service) to develop, and implement a system to automatically identify fires using satellite data. In near real time, USGS will combine active fire satellite detections from MODIS, AVHRR and GOES satellites with Landsat acquisitions. Newly acquired Landsat imagery will be routinely scanned to identify freshly burned area pixels, derive an initial perimeter and tag the burned area with the satellite date and time of detection. Landsat imagery from the early archive will be scanned to identify undocumented fires. Additional automated fire assessment processes will be developed. The USGS will develop these processes using open source software packages in order to provide freely available tools to local land managers providing them with the capability to assess fires at the local level.

Utilizing Multi-Sensor Fire Detections to Map Fires in the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, S. M.; Picotte, J. J.; Coan, M. J.

2014-11-01

In 2006, the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) project began a cooperative effort between the US Forest Service (USFS) and the U.S.Geological Survey (USGS) to map and assess burn severity all large fires that have occurred in the United States since 1984. Using Landsat imagery, MTBS is mandated to map wildfire and prescribed fire that meet specific size criteria: greater than 1000 acres in the west and 500 acres in the east, regardless of ownership. Relying mostly on federal and state fire occurrence records, over 15,300 individual fires have been mapped. While mapping recorded fires, an additional 2,700 "unknown" or undocumented fires were discovered and assessed. It has become apparent that there are perhaps thousands of undocumented fires in the US that are yet to be mapped. Fire occurrence records alone are inadequate if MTBS is to provide a comprehensive accounting of fire across the US. Additionally, the sheer number of fires to assess has overwhelmed current manual procedures. To address these problems, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Applied Sciences Program is helping to fund the efforts of the USGS and its MTBS partners (USFS, National Park Service) to develop, and implement a system to automatically identify fires using satellite data. In near real time, USGS will combine active fire satellite detections from MODIS, AVHRR and GOES satellites with Landsat acquisitions. Newly acquired Landsat imagery will be routinely scanned to identify freshly burned area pixels, derive an initial perimeter and tag the burned area with the satellite date and time of detection. Landsat imagery from the early archive will be scanned to identify undocumented fires. Additional automated fire assessment processes will be developed. The USGS will develop these processes using open source software packages in order to provide freely available tools to local land managers providing them with the capability to assess fires at the local level.

Efficient Forest Fire Detection Index for Application in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs).

PubMed

Cruz, Henry; Eckert, Martina; Meneses, Juan; Martínez, José-Fernán

2016-06-16

This article proposes a novel method for detecting forest fires, through the use of a new color index, called the Forest Fire Detection Index (FFDI), developed by the authors. The index is based on methods for vegetation classification and has been adapted to detect the tonalities of flames and smoke; the latter could be included adaptively into the Regions of Interest (RoIs) with the help of a variable factor. Multiple tests have been performed upon database imagery and present promising results: a detection precision of 96.82% has been achieved for image sizes of 960 × 540 pixels at a processing time of 0.0447 seconds. This achievement would lead to a performance of 22 f/s, for smaller images, while up to 54 f/s could be reached by maintaining a similar detection precision. Additional tests have been performed on fires in their early stages, achieving a precision rate of p = 96.62%. The method could be used in real-time in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs), with the aim of monitoring a wider area than through fixed surveillance systems. Thus, it would result in more cost-effective outcomes than conventional systems implemented in helicopters or satellites. UASs could also reach inaccessible locations without jeopardizing people's safety. On-going work includes implementation into a commercially available drone.

Remote optical observations of actively burning biomass fires using potassium line spectral emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magidimisha, Edwin; Griffith, Derek J.

2016-02-01

Wildland fires are a widespread, seasonal and largely man-made hazard which have a broad range of negative effects. These wildfires cause not only the destruction of homes, infrastructure, cultivated forests and natural habitats but also contribute to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions and aerosol particle production. Global satellite-based monitoring of biomass burning using thermal infrared sensors is currently a powerful tool to assist in finding ways to establish suppression strategies and to understand the role that fires play in global climate change. Advances in silicon-based camera technology present opportunities to resolve the challenge of ubiquitous wildfire early detection in a cost-effective manner. This study investigated several feasibility aspects of detecting wildland fires using near-infrared (NIR) spectral line emissions from electronically excited potassium (K) atoms at wavelengths of 766.5 and 769.9 nm, during biomass burning.

Monitoring of wildfires in boreal forests using large area AVHRR NDVI composite image data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kasischke, E.S.; French, N.H.F.; Harrell, P.

1993-06-01

Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) composite image data, produced from AVHRR data collected in 1990, were evaluated for locating and mapping the areal extent of wildfires in the boreal forests of Alaska during that year. A technique was developed to map forest fire boundaries by subtracting a late-summer AVHRR NDVI image from an early summer scene. The locations and boundaries of wildfires within the interior region of Alaska were obtained from the Alaska Fire Service, and compared to the AVHRR-derived fire-boundary map. It was found that AVHRR detected 89.5% of all fires with sizes greater than 2,000ha with no falsemore » alarms and that, for most cases, the general shape of the fire boundary detected by AVHRR matched those mapped by field observers. However, the total area contained within the fire boundaries mapped by AVHRR were only 61% of those mapped by the field observers. However, the AVHRR data used in this study did not span the entire time period during which fires occurred, and it is believed the areal estimates could be improved significantly if an expanded AVHRR data set were used.« less

Monitoring of wildfires in boreal forests using large area AVHRR NDVI composite image data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kasischke, Eric S.; French, Nancy H. F.; Harrell, Peter; Christensen, Norman L., Jr.; Ustin, Susan L.; Barry, Donald

1993-01-01

Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) composite image data, produced from AVHRR data collected in 1990, were evaluated for locating and mapping the areal extent of wildfires in the boreal forests of Alaska during that year. A technique was developed to map forest fire boundaries by subtracting a late-summer AVHRR NDVI image from an early summer scene. The locations and boundaries of wildfires within the interior region of Alaska were obtained from the Alaska Fire Service, and compared to the AVHRR-derived fire-boundary map. It was found that AVHRR detected 89.5 percent of all fires with sizes greater than 2000 ha with no false alarms and that, for most cases, the general shape of the fire boundary detected by AVHRR matched those mapped by field observers. However, the total area contained within the fire boundaries mapped by AVHRR were only 61 percent of those mapped by the field observers. However, the AVHRR data used in this study did not span the entire time period during which fires occurred, and it is believed the areal estimates could be improved significantly if an expanded AVHRR data set were used.

First open field measurements with a portable CO2 lidar/dial system for early forest fires detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaudio, Pasquale; Gelfusa, Michela; Lupelli, Ivan; Malizia, Andrea; Moretti, Alessandro; Richetta, Maria; Serafini, Camilla; Bellecci, Carlo

2011-11-01

Lidar and dial are well established methods to explore the atmosphere. Different groups have already shown experimentally the possibility to measure the density variation of aerosol and particulate in the atmosphere due to plumes emitted in forest fires with this kind of systems. The aim of the present work is to demonstrate the capabilities of our mobile Lidar system, based on a CO2 laser, to detect forest fires and minimizing false alarms. For this purpose, our system can be operated in both lidar and dial configurations in sequence. The first Lidar measurement is performed to evaluate the variation of the local density into the atmosphere, using a nonabsorption water wavelength 10R18 (10.571 μm). If the returned signal reports a backscattering peak, the presence of a fire is probable. To confirm this hypothesis, a second dial measurement is carried out to reveal a second component emitted during the combustion process. The chosen second component is water vapour, which is, as it is well-known, largely produced during the first combustion stage. Measuring the water concentration peak after the detection of the aerosol density increment (referred to the standard mean atmospheric value) represents a good method to reduce false alarms with a dial system. In order to test this methodology, a first set of measurements has been performed in a field near the Engineering Faculty of the University of Rome "Tor Vergata". A quite small controlled-fire has been lighted into a box at a distance of about one kilometre from the system. The data acquired at the two wavelengths (10R18 and 10R20) have been averaged on 100 elastic backscattered Lidar signals. The first results confirm the effectiveness of the measurement strategy for reducing the number of false alarm preserving the early detection.

Wildfire Detection using by Multi Dimensional Histogram in Boreal Forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Honda, K.; Kimura, K.; Honma, T.

2008-12-01

Early detection of wildfires is an issue for reduction of damage to environment and human. There are some attempts to detect wildfires by using satellite imagery, which are mainly classified into three methods: Dozier Method(1981-), Threshold Method(1986-) and Contextual Method(1994-). However, the accuracy of these methods is not enough: some commission and omission errors are included in the detected results. In addition, it is not so easy to analyze satellite imagery with high accuracy because of insufficient ground truth data. Kudoh and Hosoi (2003) developed the detection method by using three-dimensional (3D) histogram from past fire data with the NOAA-AVHRR imagery. But their method is impractical because their method depends on their handworks to pick up past fire data from huge data. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to collect fire points as hot spots efficiently from satellite imagery and to improve the method to detect wildfires with the collected data. As our method, we collect past fire data with the Alaska Fire History data obtained by the Alaska Fire Service (AFS). We select points that are expected to be wildfires, and pick up the points inside the fire area of the AFS data. Next, we make 3D histogram with the past fire data. In this study, we use Bands 1, 21 and 32 of MODIS. We calculate the likelihood to detect wildfires with the three-dimensional histogram. As our result, we select wildfires with the 3D histogram effectively. We can detect the troidally spreading wildfire. This result shows the evidence of good wildfire detection. However, the area surrounding glacier tends to rise brightness temperature. It is a false alarm. Burnt area and bare ground are sometimes indicated as false alarms, so that it is necessary to improve this method. Additionally, we are trying various combinations of MODIS bands as the better method to detect wildfire effectively. So as to adjust our method in another area, we are applying our method to tropical forest in Kalimantan, Indonesia and around Chiang Mai, Thailand. But the ground truth data in these areas is lesser than the one in Alaska. Our method needs lots of accurate observed data to make multi-dimensional histogram in the same area. In this study, we can show the system to select wildfire data efficiently from satellite imagery. Furthermore, the development of multi-dimensional histogram from past fire data makes it possible to detect wildfires accurately.

Efficient Forest Fire Detection Index for Application in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs)

PubMed Central

Cruz, Henry; Eckert, Martina; Meneses, Juan; Martínez, José-Fernán

2016-01-01

This article proposes a novel method for detecting forest fires, through the use of a new color index, called the Forest Fire Detection Index (FFDI), developed by the authors. The index is based on methods for vegetation classification and has been adapted to detect the tonalities of flames and smoke; the latter could be included adaptively into the Regions of Interest (RoIs) with the help of a variable factor. Multiple tests have been performed upon database imagery and present promising results: a detection precision of 96.82% has been achieved for image sizes of 960 × 540 pixels at a processing time of 0.0447 seconds. This achievement would lead to a performance of 22 f/s, for smaller images, while up to 54 f/s could be reached by maintaining a similar detection precision. Additional tests have been performed on fires in their early stages, achieving a precision rate of p = 96.62%. The method could be used in real-time in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs), with the aim of monitoring a wider area than through fixed surveillance systems. Thus, it would result in more cost-effective outcomes than conventional systems implemented in helicopters or satellites. UASs could also reach inaccessible locations without jeopardizing people’s safety. On-going work includes implementation into a commercially available drone. PMID:27322264

An Evaluation of Image Based Techniques for Early Wildfire Detection and Fuel Mapping

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gabbert, Dustin W.

Few events can cause the catastrophic impact to ecology, infrastructure, and human safety of a wildland fire along the wildland urban interface. The suppression of natural wildland fires over the past decade has caused a buildup of dry, dead surface fuels: a condition that, coupled with the right weather conditions, can cause large destructive wildfires that are capable of threatening both ancient tree stands and manmade infrastructure. Firefighters use fire danger models to determine staffing needs on high fire risk days; however models are only as effective as the spatial and temporal density of their observations. OKFIRE, an Oklahoma initiativemore » created by a partnership between Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma, has proven that fire danger assessments close to the fire – both geographically and temporally – can give firefighters a significant increase in their situational awareness while fighting a wildland fire. This paper investigates several possible solutions for a small Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) which could gather information useful for detecting ground fires and constructing fire danger maps. Multiple fire detection and fuel mapping programs utilize satellites, manned aircraft, and large UAS equipped with hyperspectral sensors to gather useful information. Their success provides convincing proof of the utility that could be gained from low-altitude UAS gathering information at the exact time and place firefighters and land managers are interested in. Close proximity, both geographically and operationally, to the end can reduce latency times below what could ever be possible with satellite observation. This paper expands on recent advances in computer vision, photogrammetry, and infrared and color imagery to develop a framework for a next-generation UAS which can assess fire danger and aid firefighters in real time as they observe, contain, or extinguish wildland fires. It also investigates the impact information gained by this system could have on pre-fire risk assessments through the development of very high resolution fuel maps.« less

Wavelet-based Gaussian-mixture hidden Markov model for the detection of multistage seizure dynamics: A proof-of-concept study

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent electrophysiological activities, known as seizures. Without the appropriate detection strategies, these seizure episodes can dramatically affect the quality of life for those afflicted. The rationale of this study is to develop an unsupervised algorithm for the detection of seizure states so that it may be implemented along with potential intervention strategies. Methods Hidden Markov model (HMM) was developed to interpret the state transitions of the in vitro rat hippocampal slice local field potentials (LFPs) during seizure episodes. It can be used to estimate the probability of state transitions and the corresponding characteristics of each state. Wavelet features were clustered and used to differentiate the electrophysiological characteristics at each corresponding HMM states. Using unsupervised training method, the HMM and the clustering parameters were obtained simultaneously. The HMM states were then assigned to the electrophysiological data using expert guided technique. Minimum redundancy maximum relevance (mRMR) analysis and Akaike Information Criterion (AICc) were applied to reduce the effect of over-fitting. The sensitivity, specificity and optimality index of chronic seizure detection were compared for various HMM topologies. The ability of distinguishing early and late tonic firing patterns prior to chronic seizures were also evaluated. Results Significant improvement in state detection performance was achieved when additional wavelet coefficient rates of change information were used as features. The final HMM topology obtained using mRMR and AICc was able to detect non-ictal (interictal), early and late tonic firing, chronic seizures and postictal activities. A mean sensitivity of 95.7%, mean specificity of 98.9% and optimality index of 0.995 in the detection of chronic seizures was achieved. The detection of early and late tonic firing was validated with experimental intracellular electrical recordings of seizures. Conclusions The HMM implementation of a seizure dynamics detector is an improvement over existing approaches using visual detection and complexity measures. The subjectivity involved in partitioning the observed data prior to training can be eliminated. It can also decipher the probabilities of seizure state transitions using the magnitude and rate of change wavelet information of the LFPs. PMID:21504608

Fire and Smoke Monitoring at NOAA' Satellite Service; Applications to Smoke Forecasting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stephens, G.; Ruminski, M.

2005-12-01

The Hazard Mapping System (HMS), developed and run operationally by NOAA's Satellite Services Division (SSD), is a multiplatform remote sensing approach to detecting fires and smoke over the US and adjacent areas of Canada and Mexico. The system utilizes sensors on 7 different NOAA and NASA satellites. Automated detection algorithms are employed for each of the satellites for the fire detects while smoke is delineated by an image analyst. Analyses are quality control by an analyst who inspects all available imagery and automated fire detects, deleting suspected false detects and adding fires that the automated routines miss. Graphical, text, and GIS compatible analyses are posted to a web site as soon as updates are performed, and a final product for a given day is posted early the following morning. All products are archived at NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center. Areal extent of detectable smoke is outlined using animated visible imagery, for input to a dispersion and transport model, the HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT), developed by NOAA's Air Resources Laboratory (ARL). Resulting smoke forecasts will soon be used as input to NOAA's Air Quality forecasts. The GOES Aerosol and Smoke Product (GASP) is an experimental GOES imagery based aerosol optical depth (AOD) product developed by the NESDIS Office of Research and Applications, being implemented for evaluation by the NESDIS Satellite Analysis Branch for use in smoke and volcanic ash monitoring. Currently, research is underway in NESDIS' Office of Research and Applications to objectivize smoke delineation using GASP and MODIS AOD retrievals. NOAA's Operational Significant Event Imagery (OSEI) program processes satellite imagery of environmentally significant events, including fire, smoke and volcanic ash, visible in operational satellite data. This imagery is often referred to by fire managers and air quality agencies. Future plans include the integration of high resolution global data from the European Space Agency's MetOp satellite and global geostationary satellites.

12,000-Years of fire regime drivers in the lowlands of Transylvania (Central-Eastern Europe): a data-model approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feurdean, A.; Liakka, J.; Vannière, B.; Marinova, E.; Hutchinson, S. M.; Mosburgger, V.; Hickler, T.

2013-12-01

The usefulness of sedimentary charcoal records to document centennial to millennial scale trends in aspects of fire regimes (frequency, severity) is widely acknowledged, yet the long-term variability in these regimes is poorly understood. Here, we use a high-resolution, multi-proxy analysis of a lacustrine sequence located in the lowlands of Transylvania (NW Romania), alongside global climate simulations in order to disentangle the drivers of fire regimes in this dry climatic region of Central-Eastern Europe. Periods of greater fire activity and frequency occurred between 10,700 and 7100 cal yr BP (mean Fire Interval = mFI 112 yr), and between 3300 and 700 cal yr BP (mFI 150 yr), whereas intervals of lower fire activity were recorded between 12,000 and 10,700 cal yr BP (mFI 217 yr), 7100 and 3300 cal yr BP (mFI 317 yr), and over last 700 years (no fire events detected). We found good correlations between simulated early summer (June, July) soil moisture content and near-surface air temperature with fire activity, particularly for the early to mid Holocene. A climate-fire relationship is further supported by local hydrological changes, i.e., lake level and runoff fluctuations. Fuel limitation, as a result of arid and strongly seasonal climatic conditions, led to low fire activity before 10,700 cal yr BP. However, fires were most frequent during climatically drier phases for the remaining, fuel-sufficient, part of the Holocene. Our results also suggest that the occurrence of more frequent fires in the early Holocene has kept woodlands open, promoted grassland abundance and sustained a more flammable ecosystem (mFI < 150 years) whereas the decline in fire risk under cooler and wetter climate conditions (mFI = 317 years) favoured woodland development. From 3300 cal yr BP, human impacts clearly were partly responsible for changes in fire activity, first increasing fire frequency and severity in periods with fire-favourable climatic conditions (halving the mFI from 300 years to about 150 years), then effectively suppressing fires over the last several centuries. Given the projected future temperature increase and moisture decline and the biomass accumulation due to the agricultural land abandonment in the region, natural fire frequency would be expected to return to <150 years.

Autonomous long-range open area fire detection and reporting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engelhaupt, Darell E.; Reardon, Patrick J.; Blackwell, Lisa; Warden, Lance; Ramsey, Brian D.

2005-03-01

Approximately 5 billion dollars in US revenue was lost in 2003 due to open area fires. In addition many lives are lost annually. Early detection of open area fires is typically performed by manned observatories, random reporting and aerial surveillance. Optical IR flame detectors have been developed previously. They typically have experienced high false alarms and low flame detection sensitivity due to interference from solar and other causes. Recently a combination of IR detectors has been used in a two or three color mode to reduce false alarms from solar, or background sources. A combination of ultra-violet C (UVC) and near infra-red (NIR) detectors has also been developed recently for flame discrimination. Relatively solar-blind basic detectors are now available but typically detect at only a few tens of meters at ~ 1 square meter fuel flame. We quantify the range and solar issues for IR and visible detectors and qualitatively define UV sensor requirements in terms of the mode of operation, collection area issues and flame signal output by combustion photochemistry. We describe innovative flame signal collection optics for multiple wavelengths using UV and IR as low false alarm detection of open area fires at long range (8-10 km/m2) in daylight (or darkness). A circular array detector and UV-IR reflective and refractive devices including cylindrical or toroidal lens elements for the IR are described. The dispersion in a refractive cylindrical IR lens characterizes the fire and allows a stationary line or circle generator to locate the direction and different flame IR "colors" from a wide FOV. The line generator will produce spots along the line corresponding to the fire which can be discriminated with a linear detector. We demonstrate prototype autonomous sensors with RF digital reporting from various sites.

Monitoring of pipeline oil spill fire events using Geographical Information System and Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogungbuyi, M. G.; Eckardt, F. D.; Martinez, P.

2016-12-01

Nigeria, the largest producer of crude oil in Africa occupies sixth position in the world. Despite such huge oil revenue potentials, its pipeline network system is consistently susceptible to leaks causing oil spills. We investigate ground based spill events which are caused by operational error, equipment failure and most importantly by deliberate attacks along the major pipeline transport system. Sometimes, these spills are accompanied with fire explosion caused by accidental discharge, natural or illegal refineries in the creeds, etc. MODIS satellites fires data corresponding to the times and spill events (i.e. ground based data) of the Area of Interest (AOI) show significant correlation. The open source Quantum Geographical Information System (QGIS) was used to validate the dataset and the spatiotemporal analyses of the oil spill fires were expressed. We demonstrate that through QGIS and Google Earth (using the time sliders), we can identify and monitor oil spills when they are attended with fire events along the pipeline transport system accordingly. This is shown through the spatiotemporal images of the fires. Evidence of such fire cases resulting from bunt vegetation as different from industrial and domestic fire is also presented. Detecting oil spill fires in the study location may not require an enormous terabyte of image processing: we can however rely on a near-real-time (NRT) MODIS data that is readily available twice daily to detect oil spill fire as early warning signal for those hotspots areas where cases of oil seepage is significant in Nigeria.

MODIS Observations of Smoke and Fires

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, Yoram; Ichoku, Charles; Remer, Lorraine; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instruments collect daily measurements of our planet since early 2000 from the Terra spaceborne polar platform. It has unique channels to observe smoke over land and ocean and to observe fires. Using unsaturated channels at 3.9 micron MODIS detects the fires and estimates the fire radiative energy. Using solar channels in the visible (0.47 and 0.66 micron) and in the mid IR (2.1 micron) MODIS measures the smoke optical thickness distribution and evolution over the land. Seven Channels in the solar spectrum are used to detect the smoke properties and distribution over the oceans. Data from the Aerosol Robotic Network, are used to validate the MODIS observations. The MODIS aerosol data presented in a movie form is used to observe the generation of smoke plumes and their dispersion around the globe. For example a key conclusion is that smoke in particular from Southern Africa can pollute significantly the 'pristine' Southern Hemisphere zonal range of 45'S-60'S, and the Northern Pacific.

Tropical North Atlantic ocean-atmosphere interactions synchronize forest carbon losses from hurricanes and Amazon fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yang; Randerson, James T.; Morton, Douglas C.

2015-08-01

We describe a climate mode synchronizing forest carbon losses from North and South America by analyzing time series of tropical North Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs), landfall hurricanes and tropical storms, and Amazon fires during 1995-2013. Years with anomalously high tropical North Atlantic SSTs during March-June were often followed by a more active hurricane season and a larger number of satellite-detected fires in the southern Amazon during June-November. The relationship between North Atlantic tropical cyclones and southern Amazon fires (r = 0.61, p < 0.003) was stronger than links between SSTs and either cyclones or fires alone, suggesting that fires and tropical cyclones were directly coupled to the same underlying atmospheric dynamics governing tropical moisture redistribution. These relationships help explain why seasonal outlook forecasts for hurricanes and Amazon fires both failed in 2013 and may enable the design of improved early warning systems for drought and fire in Amazon forests.

Advanced fire observation by the Intelligent Infrared Sensor prototype FOCUS on the International Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oertel, D.; Haschberger, P.; Tank, V.; Lanzl, F.; Zhukov, B.; Jahn, H.; Briess, K.; Lorenz, E.; Roeser, H.-P.; Ginati, A.; Tobehn, C.; Schulte in den Bäumen, J.; Christmann, U.

1999-01-01

Current and planned operational space-borne Earth observation systems provide spatially, radiometrically or temporally crude data for the detection and monitoring of high temperature phenomena on the surface of our planet. High Temperature Events (HTE) very often cause environmental disasters. Such HTE are forest and savannah fires, fires of open coal mines, volcanic activities and others (e.g. fires of oil wells, pipelines etc.). A simultaneous co-registration of a combination of infrared (IR) and visible (VIS) channels is the key for a reliable autonomous on-board detection of High Temperature Events (HTE) on Earth surface, such as vegetation fires and volcano eruptions. This is the main feature of the FOCUS experiment. Furthermore there are ecology-oriented objectives of the FOCUS experiment mainly related to spectrometric/imaging remote inspection and parameter extraction of selected HTEs, and to the assessment of some ecological consequences of HTEs, such as aerosol and gas emission. Based on own experimental work and supported by Co-Investigators from Italy, Greece, France, Spain, Russia and Germany, DLR proposed in 1997 to use the International Space Station (ISS) in its early utilization phase as a platform and test-bed for an Intelligent Infrared Sensor prototype FOCUS of a future Environmental Disaster Recognition Satellite System. FOCUS is considered by ESA as an important mission combining a number of proven technologies and observation techniques to provide the scientific and operational user community with key data for the classification and monitoring of forest fires. FOCUS was selected as one of five European ``Groupings'' to be flown as an externally mounted payload during the early utilisation phase of the ISS. The FOCUS Phase A Study will be performed by OHB-System, DLR and Zeiss from September 1998 until May 1999.

Early Warning Systems Assure Safe Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenhalgh, John

1973-01-01

Fairfield, Connecticut, public schools are protected by an automatic fire detection system covering every area of every building through an electric monitor. An intrusion alarm system that relies primarily on pulsed infra-red beams protects the plant investment. (Author/MF)

Animals as Mobile Biological Sensors for Forest Fire Detection

PubMed Central

2007-01-01

This paper proposes a mobile biological sensor system that can assist in early detection of forest fires one of the most dreaded natural disasters on the earth. The main idea presented in this paper is to utilize animals with sensors as Mobile Biological Sensors (MBS). The devices used in this system are animals which are native animals living in forests, sensors (thermo and radiation sensors with GPS features) that measure the temperature and transmit the location of the MBS, access points for wireless communication and a central computer system which classifies of animal actions. The system offers two different methods, firstly: access points continuously receive data about animals' location using GPS at certain time intervals and the gathered data is then classified and checked to see if there is a sudden movement (panic) of the animal groups: this method is called animal behavior classification (ABC). The second method can be defined as thermal detection (TD): the access points get the temperature values from the MBS devices and send the data to a central computer to check for instant changes in the temperatures. This system may be used for many purposes other than fire detection, namely animal tracking, poaching prevention and detecting instantaneous animal death. PMID:28903281

Highly Sensitive Sensors Based on Metal-Oxide Nanocolumns for Fire Detection.

PubMed

Lee, Kwangjae; Shim, Young-Seok; Song, Young Geun; Han, Soo Deok; Lee, Youn-Sung; Kang, Chong-Yun

2017-02-07

A fire detector is the most important component in a fire alarm system. Herein, we present the feasibility of a highly sensitive and rapid response gas sensor based on metal oxides as a high performance fire detector. The glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technique is used to make the highly porous structure such as nanocolumns (NCs) of various metal oxides for enhancing the gas-sensing performance. To measure the fire detection, the interface circuitry for our sensors (NiO, SnO₂, WO₃ and In₂O₃ NCs) is designed. When all the sensors with various metal-oxide NCs are exposed to fire environment, they entirely react with the target gases emitted from Poly(vinyl chlorides) (PVC) decomposed at high temperature. Before the emission of smoke from the PVC (a hot-plate temperature of 200 °C), the resistances of the metal-oxide NCs are abruptly changed and SnO₂ NCs show the highest response of 2.1. However, a commercial smoke detector did not inform any warning. Interestingly, although the NiO NCs are a p -type semiconductor, they show the highest response of 577.1 after the emission of smoke from the PVC (a hot-plate temperature of 350 °C). The response time of SnO₂ NCs is much faster than that of a commercial smoke detector at the hot-plate temperature of 350 °C. In addition, we investigated the selectivity of our sensors by analyzing the responses of all sensors. Our results show the high potential of a gas sensor based on metal-oxide NCs for early fire detection.

Fires in Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Numerous thermal anomalies were detected on the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia in late June and early July by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Some of the anomalies (red dots) were fires, but at least one was the result of ongoing volcanic activity at one of the Peninsula's numerous active volcanoes. The erupting volcano, called Sheveluch, can be seen most clearly in the image from July 8, 2002. It is located in the upper right quadrant of the image, and appears as a grayish circular patch amid the surrounding green vegetation. In its center is a red dot indicating that MODIS detected a thermal signature coming from the restless volcano. Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Detection rates of the MODIS active fire product in the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hawbaker, T.J.; Radeloff, V.C.; Syphard, A.D.; Zhu, Z.; Stewart, S.I.

2008-01-01

MODIS active fire data offer new information about global fire patterns. However, uncertainties in detection rates can render satellite-derived fire statistics difficult to interpret. We evaluated the MODIS 1??km daily active fire product to quantify detection rates for both Terra and Aqua MODIS sensors, examined how cloud cover and fire size affected detection rates, and estimated how detection rates varied across the United States. MODIS active fire detections were compared to 361 reference fires (??? 18??ha) that had been delineated using pre- and post-fire Landsat imagery. Reference fires were considered detected if at least one MODIS active fire pixel occurred within 1??km of the edge of the fire. When active fire data from both Aqua and Terra were combined, 82% of all reference fires were found, but detection rates were less for Aqua and Terra individually (73% and 66% respectively). Fires not detected generally had more cloudy days, but not when the Aqua data were considered exclusively. MODIS detection rates decreased with fire size, and the size at which 50% of all fires were detected was 105??ha when combining Aqua and Terra (195??ha for Aqua and 334??ha for Terra alone). Across the United States, detection rates were greatest in the West, lower in the Great Plains, and lowest in the East. The MODIS active fire product captures large fires in the U.S. well, but may under-represent fires in areas with frequent cloud cover or rapidly burning, small, and low-intensity fires. We recommend that users of the MODIS active fire data perform individual validations to ensure that all relevant fires are included. ?? 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A survey of atmospheric monitoring systems in U.S. underground coal mines

PubMed Central

Rowland, J.H.; Harteis, S.P.; Yuan, L.

2018-01-01

In 1995 and 2003, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) conducted surveys to determine the number of atmospheric monitoring systems (AMS) that were being used in underground coal mines in the United States. The survey reports gave data for the different AMS manufacturers, the different types of equipment monitored, and the different types of gas sensors and their locations. Since the last survey in 2003, MSHA has changed the regulation requirements for early fire detection along belt haulage entries. As of Dec. 31, 2009, point-type heat sensors are prohibited for use for an early fire detection system. Instead, carbon monoxide (CO) sensors are now required. This report presents results from a new survey and examines how the regulation changes have had an impact on the use of CO sensors in underground coal mines in the United States. The locations and parameters monitored by AMS and CO systems are also discussed. PMID:29674789

Fire-setting performed in adolescence or early adulthood predicts schizophrenia: a register-based follow-up study of pre-trial offenders.

PubMed

Thomson, Annika; Tiihonen, Jari; Miettunen, Jouko; Virkkunen, Matti; Lindberg, Nina

2017-02-01

Aggressive and disruptive behaviours often precede the onset of serious mental illnesses. Fire-setting is a type of crime that is associated with psychotic disorders. The aim of this prospective follow-up study was to investigate if fire-setting performed in adolescence or early adulthood was associated with future diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The consecutive sample consisted of 111 Finnish 15-25-year old males with fire-setting crimes, decreed to a pre-trial forensic psychiatric examination in 1973-1998, and showing no past nor current psychosis at the time of examination. For each firesetter, four age-, gender-, and place of birth-matched controls were randomly selected from the Central Population Register. The subjects were followed until the death of the individual, until they moved abroad, or until the end of 2012. Fourteen firesetters (12.6%) and five controls (1.1%) were diagnosed with either schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder later in life, corresponding to a hazard ratio of 12.5. The delay between the fire-setting offense and the future diagnosis was on average nearly 10 years. Young male offenders undergoing a forensic psychiatric examination because of fire-setting crimes had a significant propensity for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Accurate assessments should be made both during imprisonment and later in life to detect possible psychotic signs in these individuals.

Use of MODIS-Derived Fire Radiative Energy to Estimate Smoke Aerosol Emissions over Different Ecosystems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ichoku, Charles; Kaufman, Yoram J.

2003-01-01

Biomass burning is the main source of smoke aerosols and certain trace gases in the atmosphere. However, estimates of the rates of biomass consumption and emission of aerosols and trace gases from fires have not attained adequate reliability thus far. Traditional methods for deriving emission rates employ the use of emission factors e(sub x), (in g of species x per kg of biomass burned), which are difficult to measure from satellites. In this era of environmental monitoring from space, fire characterization was not a major consideration in the design of the early satellite-borne remote sensing instruments, such as AVHRR. Therefore, although they are able to provide fire location information, they were not adequately sensitive to variations in fire strength or size, because their thermal bands used for fire detection saturated at the lower end of fire radiative temperature range. As such, hitherto, satellite-based emission estimates employ proxy techniques using satellite derived fire pixel counts (which do not express the fire strength or rate of biomass consumption) or burned areas (which can only be obtained after the fire is over). The MODIS sensor, recently launched into orbit aboard EOS Terra (1999) and Aqua (2002) satellites, have a much higher saturation level and can, not only detect the fire locations 4 times daily, but also measures the at-satellite fire radiative energy (which is a measure of the fire strength) based on its 4 micron channel temperature. Also, MODIS measures the optical thickness of smoke and other aerosols. Preliminary analysis shows appreciable correlation between the MODIS-derived rates of emission of fire radiative energy and smoke over different regions across the globe. These relationships hold great promise for deriving emission coefficients, which can be used for estimating smoke aerosol emissions from MODIS active fire products. This procedure has the potential to provide more accurate emission estimates in near real-time, providing opportunities for various disaster management applications such as alerts, evacuation and, smoke dispersion forecasting.

Barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) behaviour after recent fire events; integrating caribou telemetry data with Landsat fire detection techniques.

PubMed

Rickbeil, Gregory J M; Hermosilla, Txomin; Coops, Nicholas C; White, Joanne C; Wulder, Michael A

2017-03-01

Fire regimes are changing throughout the North American boreal forest in complex ways. Fire is also a major factor governing access to high-quality forage such as terricholous lichens for barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus). Additionally, fire alters forest structure which can affect barren-ground caribou's ability to navigate in a landscape. Here, we characterize how the size and severity of fires are changing across five barren-ground caribou herd ranges in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada. Additionally, we demonstrate how time since fire, fire severity, and season result in complex changes in caribou behavioural metrics estimated using telemetry data. Fire disturbances were identified using novel gap-free Landsat surface reflectance composites from 1985 to 2011 across all herd ranges. Burn severity was estimated using the differenced normalized burn ratio. Annual area burned and burn severity were assessed through time for each herd and related to two behavioural metrics: velocity and relative turning angle. Neither annual area burned nor burn severity displayed any temporal trend within the study period. However, certain herds, such as the Ahiak/Beverly, have more exposure to fire than other herds (i.e. Cape Bathurst had a maximum forested area burned of less than 4 km 2 ). Time since fire and burn severity both significantly affected velocity and relative turning angles. During fall, winter, and spring, fire virtually eliminated foraging-focused behaviour for all 26 years of analysis while more severe fires resulted in a marked increase in movement-focused behaviour compared to unburnt patches. Between seasons, caribou used burned areas as early as 1-year postfire, demonstrating complex, nonlinear reactions to time since fire, fire severity, and season. In all cases, increases in movement-focused behaviour were detected postfire. We conclude that changes in caribou behaviour immediately postfire are primarily driven by changes in forest structure rather than changes in terricholous lichen availability. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

46 CFR 193.05-1 - Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol...) OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH VESSELS FIRE PROTECTION EQUIPMENT Fire Detecting and Extinguishing Equipment, Where Required § 193.05-1 Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems. (a) Fire detecting, manual...

46 CFR 193.05-1 - Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol...) OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH VESSELS FIRE PROTECTION EQUIPMENT Fire Detecting and Extinguishing Equipment, Where Required § 193.05-1 Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems. (a) Fire detecting, manual...

46 CFR 193.05-1 - Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol...) OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH VESSELS FIRE PROTECTION EQUIPMENT Fire Detecting and Extinguishing Equipment, Where Required § 193.05-1 Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems. (a) Fire detecting, manual...

46 CFR 193.05-1 - Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol...) OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH VESSELS FIRE PROTECTION EQUIPMENT Fire Detecting and Extinguishing Equipment, Where Required § 193.05-1 Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems. (a) Fire detecting, manual...

46 CFR 95.05-1 - Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol... AND MISCELLANEOUS VESSELS FIRE PROTECTION EQUIPMENT Fire Detecting and Extinguishing Equipment, Where Required § 95.05-1 Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems. (a) Fire detecting, manual...

46 CFR 95.05-1 - Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol... AND MISCELLANEOUS VESSELS FIRE PROTECTION EQUIPMENT Fire Detecting and Extinguishing Equipment, Where Required § 95.05-1 Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems. (a) Fire detecting, manual...

46 CFR 193.05-1 - Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol...) OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH VESSELS FIRE PROTECTION EQUIPMENT Fire Detecting and Extinguishing Equipment, Where Required § 193.05-1 Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems. (a) Fire detecting, manual...

46 CFR 95.05-1 - Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol... AND MISCELLANEOUS VESSELS FIRE PROTECTION EQUIPMENT Fire Detecting and Extinguishing Equipment, Where Required § 95.05-1 Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems. (a) Fire detecting, manual...

Fire flame detection based on GICA and target tracking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rong, Jianzhong; Zhou, Dechuang; Yao, Wei; Gao, Wei; Chen, Juan; Wang, Jian

2013-04-01

To improve the video fire detection rate, a robust fire detection algorithm based on the color, motion and pattern characteristics of fire targets was proposed, which proved a satisfactory fire detection rate for different fire scenes. In this fire detection algorithm: (a) a rule-based generic color model was developed based on analysis on a large quantity of flame pixels; (b) from the traditional GICA (Geometrical Independent Component Analysis) model, a Cumulative Geometrical Independent Component Analysis (C-GICA) model was developed for motion detection without static background and (c) a BP neural network fire recognition model based on multi-features of the fire pattern was developed. Fire detection tests on benchmark fire video clips of different scenes have shown the robustness, accuracy and fast-response of the algorithm.

Mrc1 Marks Early-Firing Origins and Coordinates Timing and Efficiency of Initiation in Fission Yeast ▿ †

PubMed Central

Hayano, Motoshi; Kanoh, Yutaka; Matsumoto, Seiji; Masai, Hisao

2011-01-01

How early- and late-firing origins are selected on eukaryotic chromosomes is largely unknown. Here, we show that Mrc1, a conserved factor required for stabilization of stalled replication forks, selectively binds to the early-firing origins in a manner independent of Cdc45 and Hsk1 kinase in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. In mrc1Δ cells (and in swi1Δ cells to some extent), efficiency of firing is stimulated, and its timing is advanced selectively at those origins that are normally bound by Mrc1. In contrast, the late or inefficient origins which are not bound by Mrc1 are not activated in mrc1Δ cells. The enhanced firing and precocious Cdc45 loading at Mrc1-bound early-firing origins are not observed in a checkpoint mutant of mrc1, suggesting that non-checkpoint function is involved in maintaining the normal program of early-firing origins. We propose that prefiring binding of Mrc1 is an important marker of early-firing origins which are precociously activated by the absence of this protein. PMID:21518960

Multisensor Network System for Wildfire Detection Using Infrared Image Processing

PubMed Central

Bosch, I.; Serrano, A.; Vergara, L.

2013-01-01

This paper presents the next step in the evolution of multi-sensor wireless network systems in the early automatic detection of forest fires. This network allows remote monitoring of each of the locations as well as communication between each of the sensors and with the control stations. The result is an increased coverage area, with quicker and safer responses. To determine the presence of a forest wildfire, the system employs decision fusion in thermal imaging, which can exploit various expected characteristics of a real fire, including short-term persistence and long-term increases over time. Results from testing in the laboratory and in a real environment are presented to authenticate and verify the accuracy of the operation of the proposed system. The system performance is gauged by the number of alarms and the time to the first alarm (corresponding to a real fire), for different probability of false alarm (PFA). The necessity of including decision fusion is thereby demonstrated. PMID:23843734

Multisensor network system for wildfire detection using infrared image processing.

PubMed

Bosch, I; Serrano, A; Vergara, L

2013-01-01

This paper presents the next step in the evolution of multi-sensor wireless network systems in the early automatic detection of forest fires. This network allows remote monitoring of each of the locations as well as communication between each of the sensors and with the control stations. The result is an increased coverage area, with quicker and safer responses. To determine the presence of a forest wildfire, the system employs decision fusion in thermal imaging, which can exploit various expected characteristics of a real fire, including short-term persistence and long-term increases over time. Results from testing in the laboratory and in a real environment are presented to authenticate and verify the accuracy of the operation of the proposed system. The system performance is gauged by the number of alarms and the time to the first alarm (corresponding to a real fire), for different probability of false alarm (PFA). The necessity of including decision fusion is thereby demonstrated.

Quantifying soil surface change in degraded drylands: shrub encroachment and effects of fire and vegetation removal in a desert grassland

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sankey, Joel B.; Ravi, Sujith; Wallace, Cynthia S.A.; Webb, Robert H.; Huxman, Travis E.

2012-01-01

Woody plant encroachment, a worldwide phenomenon, is a major driver of land degradation in desert grasslands. Woody plant encroachment by shrub functional types ultimately leads to the formation of a patchy landscape with fertile shrub patches interspaced with nutrient-depleted bare soil patches. This is considered to be an irreversible process of land and soil degradation. Recent studies have indicated that in the early stages of shrub encroachment, when there is sufficient herbaceous connectivity, fires (prescribed or natural) might provide some reversibility to the shrub encroachment process by negatively affecting shrub demography and homogenizing soil resources across patches within weeks to months after burning. A comprehensive understanding of longer term changes in microtopography and spatial patterning of soil properties following fire in shrub-encroached grasslands is desirable. Here, we investigate the changes in microtopography with LiDAR (light detection and ranging), vegetation recovery, and spatial pattering of soil properties in replicated burned, clipped, and control areas in a shrub-grass transition zone in the northern Chihuahuan Desert four years after prescribed fire or clipping. Results indicate a greater homogeneity in soil, microtopography, and vegetation patterning on burned relative to clipped and control treatments. Findings provide further evidence that disturbance by prescribed fire may allow for reversal of the shrub encroachment process, if the event occurs in the early stages of the vegetation shift. Improved understanding of longer-term effects of fire and associated changes in soil patterning can inform the use and role of fire in the context of changing disturbance regimes and climate.

Twenty Years After the 1988 Yellowstone Fires: Lessons About Disturbance and Ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Romme, W.H.; Boyce, M.S.; Gresswell, R.; Merrill, E.H.; Minshall, G.W.; Whitlock, C.; Turner, M.G.

2011-01-01

The 1988 Yellowstone fires were among the first in what has proven to be an upsurge in large severe fires in the western USA during the past 20 years. At the time of the fires, little was known about the impacts of such a large severe disturbance because scientists had had few previous opportunities to study such an event. Ecologists predicted short- and long-term effects of the 1988 fires on vegetation, biogeochemistry, primary productivity, wildlife, and aquatic ecosystems based on scientific understanding of the time. Twenty-plus years of subsequent study allow these early predictions to be evaluated. Most of the original predictions were at least partially supported, but some predictions were refuted, others nuanced, and a few postfire phenomena were entirely unexpected. Post-1988 Yellowstone studies catalyzed advances in ecology focused on the importance of spatial and temporal heterogeneity, contingent influences, and multiple interacting drivers. Post-1988 research in Yellowstone also has changed public perceptions of fire as an ecological process and attitudes towards fire management. Looking ahead to projected climate change and more frequent large fires, the well-documented ecological responses to the 1988 Yellowstone fires provide a foundation for detecting and evaluating potential changes in fire regimes of temperate mountainous regions. ?? 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Indonesian fire activity and smoke pollution in 2015 show persistent nonlinear sensitivity to El Niño-induced drought.

PubMed

Field, Robert D; van der Werf, Guido R; Fanin, Thierry; Fetzer, Eric J; Fuller, Ryan; Jethva, Hiren; Levy, Robert; Livesey, Nathaniel J; Luo, Ming; Torres, Omar; Worden, Helen M

2016-08-16

The 2015 fire season and related smoke pollution in Indonesia was more severe than the major 2006 episode, making it the most severe season observed by the NASA Earth Observing System satellites that go back to the early 2000s, namely active fire detections from the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS), MODIS aerosol optical depth, Terra Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) carbon monoxide (CO), Aqua Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) CO, Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol index, and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) CO. The MLS CO in the upper troposphere showed a plume of pollution stretching from East Africa to the western Pacific Ocean that persisted for 2 mo. Longer-term records of airport visibility in Sumatra and Kalimantan show that 2015 ranked after 1997 and alongside 1991 and 1994 as among the worst episodes on record. Analysis of yearly dry season rainfall from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) and rain gauges shows that, due to the continued use of fire to clear and prepare land on degraded peat, the Indonesian fire environment continues to have nonlinear sensitivity to dry conditions during prolonged periods with less than 4 mm/d of precipitation, and this sensitivity appears to have increased over Kalimantan. Without significant reforms in land use and the adoption of early warning triggers tied to precipitation forecasts, these intense fire episodes will reoccur during future droughts, usually associated with El Niño events.

Indonesian fire activity and smoke pollution in 2015 show persistent nonlinear sensitivity to El Niño-induced drought

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Field, Robert D.; van der Werf, Guido R.; Fanin, Thierry; Fetzer, Eric J.; Fuller, Ryan; Jethva, Hiren; Levy, Robert; Livesey, Nathaniel J.; Luo, Ming; Torres, Omar; Worden, Helen M.

2016-08-01

The 2015 fire season and related smoke pollution in Indonesia was more severe than the major 2006 episode, making it the most severe season observed by the NASA Earth Observing System satellites that go back to the early 2000s, namely active fire detections from the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS), MODIS aerosol optical depth, Terra Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) carbon monoxide (CO), Aqua Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) CO, Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol index, and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) CO. The MLS CO in the upper troposphere showed a plume of pollution stretching from East Africa to the western Pacific Ocean that persisted for 2 mo. Longer-term records of airport visibility in Sumatra and Kalimantan show that 2015 ranked after 1997 and alongside 1991 and 1994 as among the worst episodes on record. Analysis of yearly dry season rainfall from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) and rain gauges shows that, due to the continued use of fire to clear and prepare land on degraded peat, the Indonesian fire environment continues to have nonlinear sensitivity to dry conditions during prolonged periods with less than 4 mm/d of precipitation, and this sensitivity appears to have increased over Kalimantan. Without significant reforms in land use and the adoption of early warning triggers tied to precipitation forecasts, these intense fire episodes will reoccur during future droughts, usually associated with El Niño events.

Indonesian Fire Activity and Smoke Pollution in 2015 Show Persistent Nonlinear Sensitivity to El Niño-induced Drought

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Field, Robert D.; van der Werf, Guido R.; Fanin, Thierry; Fetzer, Eric; Fuller, Ryan; Jethva, Hiren; Levy, Robert; Livesey, Nathaniel; Luo, Ming; Torres, Omar;

Indonesian fire activity and smoke pollution in 2015 show persistent nonlinear sensitivity to El Niño-induced drought

PubMed Central

Field, Robert D.; van der Werf, Guido R.; Fanin, Thierry; Fetzer, Eric J.; Fuller, Ryan; Jethva, Hiren; Levy, Robert; Livesey, Nathaniel J.; Luo, Ming; Torres, Omar; Worden, Helen M.

2016-01-01

The 2015 fire season and related smoke pollution in Indonesia was more severe than the major 2006 episode, making it the most severe season observed by the NASA Earth Observing System satellites that go back to the early 2000s, namely active fire detections from the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS), MODIS aerosol optical depth, Terra Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) carbon monoxide (CO), Aqua Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) CO, Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol index, and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) CO. The MLS CO in the upper troposphere showed a plume of pollution stretching from East Africa to the western Pacific Ocean that persisted for 2 mo. Longer-term records of airport visibility in Sumatra and Kalimantan show that 2015 ranked after 1997 and alongside 1991 and 1994 as among the worst episodes on record. Analysis of yearly dry season rainfall from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) and rain gauges shows that, due to the continued use of fire to clear and prepare land on degraded peat, the Indonesian fire environment continues to have nonlinear sensitivity to dry conditions during prolonged periods with less than 4 mm/d of precipitation, and this sensitivity appears to have increased over Kalimantan. Without significant reforms in land use and the adoption of early warning triggers tied to precipitation forecasts, these intense fire episodes will reoccur during future droughts, usually associated with El Niño events. PMID:27482096

Combining satellite-based fire observations and ground-based lightning detections to identify lightning fires across the conterminous USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bar-Massada, A.; Hawbaker, T.J.; Stewart, S.I.; Radeloff, V.C.

2012-01-01

Lightning fires are a common natural disturbance in North America, and account for the largest proportion of the area burned by wildfires each year. Yet, the spatiotemporal patterns of lightning fires in the conterminous US are not well understood due to limitations of existing fire databases. Our goal here was to develop and test an algorithm that combined MODIS fire detections with lightning detections from the National Lightning Detection Network to identify lightning fires across the conterminous US from 2000 to 2008. The algorithm searches for spatiotemporal conjunctions of MODIS fire clusters and NLDN detected lightning strikes, given a spatiotemporal lag between lightning strike and fire ignition. The algorithm revealed distinctive spatial patterns of lightning fires in the conterminous US While a sensitivity analysis revealed that the algorithm is highly sensitive to the two thresholds that are used to determine conjunction, the density of fires it detected was moderately correlated with ground based fire records. When only fires larger than 0.4 km2 were considered, correlations were higher and the root-mean-square error between datasets was less than five fires per 625 km2 for the entire study period. Our algorithm is thus suitable for detecting broad scale spatial patterns of lightning fire occurrence, and especially lightning fire hotspots, but has limited detection capability of smaller fires because these cannot be consistently detected by MODIS. These results may enhance our understanding of large scale patterns of lightning fire activity, and can be used to identify the broad scale factors controlling fire occurrence.

Oil Fires in Libya

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-01-28

The oil refinery fires in Libya that were started by attacks on oil terminals in Libya in very early January continue. The stream of black smoke that emanates from the refinery has grown tremendously as the fires caused by the initial shelling have spread to giant storage tanks. These fires are reported to be raging in Sidra, on the coast between Sirte and Benghazi. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red. The initial image of the fires taken on January 07, 2016 can be found here for comparison: www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2016/terra-captures-im... NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

46 CFR 108.405 - Fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Fire detection system. 108.405 Section 108.405 Shipping... EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.405 Fire detection system. (a) Each fire detection system and each smoke detection system on a unit must— (1) Be approved by the Commandant; and (2) Have a visual...

Fire Signatures of Materials Used in Spacecraft Construction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Christina

2003-01-01

The focus of my work this summer was fire safety, specifically determining fire signatures from the combustion of materials commonly found in the construction of spacecraft. This project was undertaken with the aim of addressing concerns for health and safety onboard spacecraft. Under certain conditions, burning electronics produce surprisingly large amounts of acrid smoke, release fine airborne particles and expel condensable aerosols. Similarly, some wire insulation and packing material evolves smoke when in contact with a hot surface. In the limited, enclosed space available on spacecraft, these combustion products may pose a nuisance at the very least - at worst, a hazard to health or equipment. There is also a concern for fire safety in early detection on spacecraft. Our goal for the summer was to determine the most effective methods to test the materials, develop a protocol for sampling, and generate samples for analysis. We restricted our testing to electronic components, packaging and insulation materials, and wire insulation materials.

Microcomputer keeps watch at Emerald Mine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1987-04-01

Where there's smoke, there's fire. Take the old adage a step further: ''Where there's carbon monoxide, there's likely to be a fire.'' That's the principle behind the mine monitoring system being used at the Emerald Mine operated by Emway Resources. Instead of watching for smoke or temperature rises, the system uses carbon monoxide (CO) sensors to detect fires - before they break out. CO, a gaseous product of incomplete combustion, is present in the early stages of a fire. Carried by the mine ventilation air, CO can be quickly traced by electrochemical gas sensors that are wired to a centralmore » computer. When preset levels are reached, alarms can alert mine personnel of the trouble. The Emerald Mine is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, near Waynesburg, and mines the Pittsburgh Seam, the nation's most heavily mined seam. Emerald is one of a number of progressive mines that are turning to computers to improve safety and productivity.« less

Imported fire ants in the southeast

Treesearch

David F. Williams

1998-01-01

Two species of imported fire ants were introduced into the U.S. at Mobile, Alabama. The black imported fire ant, Solenopsis richteri Forel, was introduced around the early 1900's while the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren entered in the late 1930' or early 1940's. The red imported fire ant is the most...

Diesel oil pool fire characteristic under natural ventilation conditions in tunnels with roof openings.

PubMed

Wang, Yanfu; Jiang, Juncheng; Zhu, Dezhi

2009-07-15

In order to research the fire characteristic under natural ventilation conditions in tunnels with roof openings, full-scale experiment of tunnel fire is designed and conducted. All the experimental data presented in this paper can be further applied for validation of numerical simulation models and reduced-scale experimental results. The physical model of tunnel with roof openings and the mathematical model of tunnel fire are presented in this paper. The tunnel fire under the same conditions as experiment is simulated using CFD software. From the results, it can be seen that most smoke is discharged directly off the tunnel through roof openings, so roof openings are favorable for exhausting smoke. But along with the decrease of smoke temperatures, some smoke may backflow and mix with the smoke-free layer below, which leads to fall in visibility and is unfavorable for personnel evacuation. So it is necessary to research more efficient ways for improving the smoke removal efficiency, such as early fire detection systems, adequate warning signs and setting tunnel cap.

Monitoring crop and vegetation condition using the fused dense time-series landsat-like imagery

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Since the launch of the first Landsat satellite in the early 1970s, Landsat has been widely used in many applications such as land cover and land use change monitoring, crop yield estimation, forest fire detection, and global ecosystem carbon cycle studies. Medium resolution sensors like Landsat hav...

77 FR 58081 - Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Listing of Substitutes for Ozone-Depleting Substances-Fire...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-19

... protection options including new, improved technology for early warning and smoke detection. Thus, EPA is... require state, local, or tribal governments to change their regulations. Thus, Executive Order 13132 does... governments to change their regulations. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this action. G...

46 CFR 161.002-2 - Types of fire-protective systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., but not be limited to, automatic fire and smoke detecting systems, manual fire alarm systems, sample extraction smoke detection systems, watchman's supervisory systems, and combinations of these systems. (b) Automatic fire detecting systems. For the purpose of this subpart, automatic fire and smoke detecting...

46 CFR 161.002-2 - Types of fire-protective systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., but not be limited to, automatic fire and smoke detecting systems, manual fire alarm systems, sample extraction smoke detection systems, watchman's supervisory systems, and combinations of these systems. (b) Automatic fire detecting systems. For the purpose of this subpart, automatic fire and smoke detecting...

Fire decreases arthropod abundance but increases diversity: Early and late season prescribed fire effects in a Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ferrenberg, Scott; Schwilk, Dylan W.; Knapp, Eric E.; Groth, Eric; Keeley, Jon E.

2006-01-01

Prior to fire suppression in the 20th century, the mixed-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A., historically burned in frequent fires that typically occurred during the late summer and early fall. Fire managers have been attempting to restore natural ecosystem processes through prescription burning, and have often favored burning during the fall in order to mimic historical fire regimes. Increasingly, however, prescription burning is also being done during the late spring and early summer in order to expand the window of opportunity for needed fuel reduction burning. The effect of prescribed fires outside of the historical fire season on forest arthropods is not known. The objective of this study was to compare the short-term effects of prescribed fires ignited in the early and late fire season on forest floor arthropods. Arthropod abundance and diversity were assessed using pitfall trapping in replicated burn units in Sequoia National Park, California. Overall, abundance of arthropods was lower in the burn treatments than in the unburned control. However, diversity tended to be greater in the burn treatments. Fire also altered the relative abundances of arthropod feeding guilds. No significant differences in arthropod community structure were found between early and late season burn treatments. Instead, changes in the arthropod community appeared to be driven largely by changes in fuel loading, vegetation, and habitat heterogeneity, all of which differed more between the burned and unburned treatments than between early and late season burn treatments.

46 CFR 108.405 - Fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Fire detection system. 108.405 Section 108.405 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.405 Fire detection system. (a) Each fire detection system and...

46 CFR 108.405 - Fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Fire detection system. 108.405 Section 108.405 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.405 Fire detection system. (a) Each fire detection system and...

46 CFR 108.405 - Fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Fire detection system. 108.405 Section 108.405 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.405 Fire detection system. (a) Each fire detection system and...

46 CFR 108.405 - Fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Fire detection system. 108.405 Section 108.405 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.405 Fire detection system. (a) Each fire detection system and...

46 CFR 108.404 - Selection of fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Selection of fire detection system. 108.404 Section 108... DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.404 Selection of fire detection system. (a) If a... space. (b) The fire detection system must be designed to minimize false alarms. ...

46 CFR 108.413 - Fusible element fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Fusible element fire detection system. 108.413 Section... UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.413 Fusible element fire detection system. (a) A fusible element fire detection system may be installed. (b) The arrangements for the system...

46 CFR 71.25-20 - Fire-detecting and extinguishing equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Fire-detecting and extinguishing equipment. 71.25-20... INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION Annual Inspection § 71.25-20 Fire-detecting and extinguishing equipment. (a) At... detecting and extinguishing equipment: (1) All hand portable fire extinguishers and semiportable fire...

Fire on the early western landscape: An annotated record of wildland fires 1776-1900

Treesearch

George E. Gruell

1985-01-01

Scientific and historical literature was searched for documented accounts of early fires in the '"interior West" - Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and eastern Oregon. One hundred and forty-five accounts of fires by 44 observers were found. The majority of accounts described fires in progress. A smaller proportion referred to burned areas...

Prescribed fires as ecological surrogates for wildfires: A stream and riparian perspective

USGS Publications Warehouse

Arkle, R.S.; Pilliod, D.S.

2010-01-01

Forest managers use prescribed fire to reduce wildfire risk and to provide resource benefits, yet little information is available on whether prescribed fires can function as ecological surrogates for wildfire in fire-prone landscapes. Information on impacts and benefits of this management tool on stream and riparian ecosystems is particularly lacking. We used a beyond-BACI (Before, After, Control, Impact) design to investigate the effects of a prescribed fire on a stream ecosystem and compared these findings to similar data collected after wildfire. For 3 years after prescribed fire treatment, we found no detectable changes in periphyton, macroinvertebrates, amphibians, fish, and riparian and stream habitats compared to data collected over the same time period in four unburned reference streams. Based on changes in fuels, plant and litter cover, and tree scorching, this prescribed fire was typical of those being implemented in ponderosa pine forests throughout the western U.S. However, we found that the extent and severity of riparian vegetation burned was substantially lower after prescribed fire compared to nearby wildfires. The early-season prescribed fire did not mimic the riparian or in-stream ecological effects observed following a nearby wildfire, even in catchments with burn extents similar to the prescribed fire. Little information exists on the effects of long-term fire exclusion from riparian forests, but a "prescribed fire regime" of repeatedly burning upland forests while excluding fire in adjacent riparian forests may eliminate an important natural disturbance from riparian and stream habitats.

46 CFR 108.407 - Detectors for electric fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Detectors for electric fire detection system. 108.407... DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.407 Detectors for electric fire detection system. (a) Each detector in an electric fire detection system must be located where— (1) No...

Probabilistic discrimination between liquid rainfall events, hailstorms, biomass burning and industrial fires from C-Band Radar Polarimetric Variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valencia, J. M.; Sepúlveda, J.; Hoyos, C.; Herrera, L.

2017-12-01

Characterization and identification of fire and hailstorm events using weather radar data in a tropical complex topography region is an important task in risk management and agriculture. Polarimetric variables from a C-Band Dual polarization weather radar have potential uses in particle classification, due to the relationship their sensitivity to shape, spatial orientation, size and fall behavior of particles. In this sense, three forest fires and two chemical fires were identified for the Áburra Valley regions. Measurements were compared between each fire event type and with typical data radar retrievals for liquid precipitation events. Results of this analysis show different probability density functions for each type of event according to the particles present in them. This is very important and useful result for early warning systems to avoid precipitation false alarms during fire events within the study region, as well as for the early detection of fires using radar retrievals in remote cases. The comparative methodology is extended to hailstorm cases. Complementary sensors like laser precipitation sensors (LPM) disdrometers and meteorological stations were used to select dates of solid precipitation occurrence. Then, in this dates weather radar data variables were taken in pixels surrounding the stations and solid precipitation polar values were statistically compared with liquid precipitation values. Spectrum precipitation measured by LPM disdrometer helps to define typical features like particles number, fall velocities and diameters for both precipitation types. In addition, to achieve a complete hailstorm characterization, other meteorological variables were analyzed: wind field from meteorological stations and radar wind profiler, profiling data from Micro Rain Radar (MRR), and thermodynamic data from a microwave radiometer.

46 CFR 27.203 - What are the requirements for fire detection on towing vessels?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... detection on towing vessels? You must have a fire-detection system installed on your vessel to detect engine... use an existing engine-room-monitoring system (with fire-detection capability) instead of a fire-detection system, if the monitoring system is operable and complies with this section. You must ensure that...

Active fire detection using a peat fire radiance model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kushida, K.; Honma, T.; Kaku, K.; Fukuda, M.

2011-12-01

The fire fractional area and radiances at 4 and 11 μm of active fires in Indonesia were estimated using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) images. Based on these fire information, a stochastic fire model was used for evaluating two fire detection algorithms of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). One is single-image stochastic fire detection, and the other is multitemporal stochastic fire detection (Kushida, 2010 - IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens. Lett.). The average fire fractional area per one 1 km2 ×1 km2 pixel was 1.7%; this value corresponds to 32% of that of Siberian and Mongolian boreal forest fires. The average radiances at 4 and 11 μm of active fires were 7.2 W/(m2.sr.μm) and 11.1 W/(m2.sr.μm); these values correspond to 47% and 91% of those of Siberian and Mongolian boreal forest fires, respectively. In order to get false alarms less than 20 points per 106 km2 area, for the Siberian and Mongolian boreal forest fires, omission errors (OE) of 50-60% and about 40% were expected for the detections by using the single and multitemporal images, respectively. For Indonesian peat fires, OE of 80-90% was expected for the detections by using the single images. For the peat-fire detections by using the multitemporal images, OE of about 40% was expected, provided that the background radiances were estimated from past multitemporal images with less than the standard deviation of 1K. The analyses indicated that it was difficult to obtain sufficient active-fire information of Indonesian peat fires from single MODIS images for the fire fighting, and that the use of the multitemporal images was important.

Fire Detection Organizing Questions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

Verified models of fire precursor transport in low and partial gravity: a. Development of models for large-scale transport in reduced gravity. b. Validated CFD simulations of transport of fire precursors. c. Evaluation of the effect of scale on transport and reduced gravity fires. Advanced fire detection system for gaseous and particulate pre-fire and fire signaturesa: a. Quantification of pre-fire pyrolysis products in microgravity. b. Suite of gas and particulate sensors. c. Reduced gravity evaluation of candidate detector technologies. d. Reduced gravity verification of advanced fire detection system. e. Validated database of fire and pre-fire signatures in low and partial gravity.

34 CFR 668.49 - Institutional fire safety policies and fire statistics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... fire. Fire safety system: Any mechanism or system related to the detection of a fire, the warning resulting from a fire, or the control of a fire. This may include sprinkler systems or other fire extinguishing systems, fire detection devices, stand-alone smoke alarms, devices that alert one to the presence...

34 CFR 668.49 - Institutional fire safety policies and fire statistics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... fire. Fire safety system: Any mechanism or system related to the detection of a fire, the warning resulting from a fire, or the control of a fire. This may include sprinkler systems or other fire extinguishing systems, fire detection devices, stand-alone smoke alarms, devices that alert one to the presence...

34 CFR 668.49 - Institutional fire safety policies and fire statistics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... fire. Fire safety system: Any mechanism or system related to the detection of a fire, the warning resulting from a fire, or the control of a fire. This may include sprinkler systems or other fire extinguishing systems, fire detection devices, stand-alone smoke alarms, devices that alert one to the presence...

34 CFR 668.49 - Institutional fire safety policies and fire statistics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... fire. Fire safety system: Any mechanism or system related to the detection of a fire, the warning resulting from a fire, or the control of a fire. This may include sprinkler systems or other fire extinguishing systems, fire detection devices, stand-alone smoke alarms, devices that alert one to the presence...

Active Fire Mapping Program

MedlinePlus

Active Fire Mapping Program Current Large Incidents (Home) New Large Incidents Fire Detection Maps MODIS Satellite Imagery VIIRS Satellite Imagery Fire Detection GIS Data Fire Data in Google Earth ...

Analysis of the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer contextual algorithm for small fire detection

Treesearch

W. Wang; J.J. Qu; X. Hao; Y. Liu

2009-01-01

In the southeastern United States, most wildland fires are of low intensity. Asubstantial number of these fires cannot be detected by the MODIS contextual algorithm. Toimprove the accuracy of fire detection for this region, the remote-sensed characteristics ofthese fires have to be systematically...

Fire decreases arthropod abundance but increases diversity: early and late season prescribed fire effects in a Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest

Treesearch

Scott M. Ferrenberg; Dylan W. Schwilk; Eric E. Knapp; Eric Groth; Jon E. Keeley

2006-01-01

Prior to fire suppression in the 20th century, the mixed-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A., historically burned in frequent fires that typically occurred during the late summer and early fall. Fire managers have been attempting to restore natural ecosystem processes through prescription burning, and have often favored burning during the fall in...

46 CFR 108.409 - Location and spacing of tubing in pneumatic fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... detection system. 108.409 Section 108.409 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED... and spacing of tubing in pneumatic fire detection system. (a) All tubing in a pneumatic fire detection... exposed in the space. (c) A pneumatic fire detection system must be set to activate after approximately a...

A Contextual Fire Detection Algorithm for Simulated HJ-1B Imagery.

PubMed

Qian, Yonggang; Yan, Guangjian; Duan, Sibo; Kong, Xiangsheng

2009-01-01

The HJ-1B satellite, which was launched on September 6, 2008, is one of the small ones placed in the constellation for disaster prediction and monitoring. HJ-1B imagery was simulated in this paper, which contains fires of various sizes and temperatures in a wide range of terrestrial biomes and climates, including RED, NIR, MIR and TIR channels. Based on the MODIS version 4 contextual algorithm and the characteristics of HJ-1B sensor, a contextual fire detection algorithm was proposed and tested using simulated HJ-1B data. It was evaluated by the probability of fire detection and false alarm as functions of fire temperature and fire area. Results indicate that when the simulated fire area is larger than 45 m(2) and the simulated fire temperature is larger than 800 K, the algorithm has a higher probability of detection. But if the simulated fire area is smaller than 10 m(2), only when the simulated fire temperature is larger than 900 K, may the fire be detected. For fire areas about 100 m(2), the proposed algorithm has a higher detection probability than that of the MODIS product. Finally, the omission and commission error were evaluated which are important factors to affect the performance of this algorithm. It has been demonstrated that HJ-1B satellite data are much sensitive to smaller and cooler fires than MODIS or AVHRR data and the improved capabilities of HJ-1B data will offer a fine opportunity for the fire detection.

14 CFR 460.13 - Smoke detection and fire suppression.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Smoke detection and fire suppression. 460... Crew § 460.13 Smoke detection and fire suppression. An operator or crew must have the ability to detect smoke and suppress a cabin fire to prevent incapacitation of the flight crew. ...

14 CFR 460.13 - Smoke detection and fire suppression.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Smoke detection and fire suppression. 460... Crew § 460.13 Smoke detection and fire suppression. An operator or crew must have the ability to detect smoke and suppress a cabin fire to prevent incapacitation of the flight crew. ...

14 CFR 460.13 - Smoke detection and fire suppression.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Smoke detection and fire suppression. 460... Crew § 460.13 Smoke detection and fire suppression. An operator or crew must have the ability to detect smoke and suppress a cabin fire to prevent incapacitation of the flight crew. ...

14 CFR 460.13 - Smoke detection and fire suppression.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Smoke detection and fire suppression. 460... Crew § 460.13 Smoke detection and fire suppression. An operator or crew must have the ability to detect smoke and suppress a cabin fire to prevent incapacitation of the flight crew. ...

14 CFR 460.13 - Smoke detection and fire suppression.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Smoke detection and fire suppression. 460... Crew § 460.13 Smoke detection and fire suppression. An operator or crew must have the ability to detect smoke and suppress a cabin fire to prevent incapacitation of the flight crew. ...

46 CFR 161.002-9 - Automatic fire detecting system, power supply.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Automatic fire detecting system, power supply. 161.002-9 Section 161.002-9 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT...-9 Automatic fire detecting system, power supply. The power supply for an automatic fire detecting...

46 CFR 161.002-9 - Automatic fire detecting system, power supply.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Automatic fire detecting system, power supply. 161.002-9 Section 161.002-9 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT...-9 Automatic fire detecting system, power supply. The power supply for an automatic fire detecting...

Combining Radar and Optical Data for Forest Disturbance Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ranson, K. Jon; Smith, David E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Disturbance is an important factor in determining the carbon balance and succession of forests. Until the early 1990's researchers have focused on using optical or thermal sensors to detect and map forest disturbances from wild fires, logging or insect outbreaks. As part of a NASA Siberian mapping project, a study evaluated the capability of three different radar sensors (ERS, JERS and Radarsat) and an optical sensor (Landsat 7) to detect fire scars, logging and insect damage in the boreal forest. This paper describes the data sets and techniques used to evaluate the use of remote sensing to detect disturbance in central Siberian forests. Using images from each sensor individually and combined an assessment of the utility of using these sensors was developed. Transformed Divergence analysis and maximum likelihood classification revealed that Landsat data was the single best data type for this purpose. However, the combined use of the three radar and optical sensors did improve the results of discriminating these disturbances.

Smoke detection in low-G fires

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Urban, David L.; Griffin, Devon W.; Gard, Melissa Y.; Hoy, Michael

1995-01-01

Fires in spacecraft are considered a credible risk. To respond to this risk, NASA flew fire detectors on Skylab and the Space Shuttle (STS) and included them in the design for International Space Station Alpha (ISSA). In previous missions (Mercury, Gemini and Apollo), the crew quarters were so cramped that it was not considered credible that the astronauts could fail to observe a fire. The Skylab nodule included approximately 20 UV fire detectors. The space shuttle has 9 ionization detectors in the mid deck and flight deck and Spacelab has six additional ionization detectors. The planned detectors for ISSA are laser-diode, forward-scattering, smoke or particulate detectors. Current plans for the ISSA call for two detectors in the open area of the module and detectors in racks that have both cooling air flow and electrical power. Due to the complete absence of data concerning the nature of particulate and radiant emission from low-g fires, all three of these detector systems were designed based upon 1-g test data. As planned mission durations and complexity increase and the volume of spacecraft increases, the need for and importance of effective, crew independent, fire detection grows significantly. This requires more knowledge concerning low-gravity fires and how they might be detected. To date, no combustion-generated particulate samples have been collected for well-developed microgravity flames. All of the extant data come from drop tower tests and therefore only correspond to the early stages of a fire. The fuel sources were restricted to laminar gas-jet diffusion flames and rapidly overheated wire insulation. These gas-jet drop tower tests indicate, through thermophoretic sampling, that soot primaries and aggregates (groups of primary particles) in micro-g may be significantly larger than those in normal-g (ng). This raises new scientific questions about soot processes as well as practical issues for particulate detection/alarm threshold levels used in on-orbit smoke detectors. Furthermore, it is widely speculated but unverified that the aggregates will grow to very large scales in a microgravity fire of longer duration than available on the ground. Preliminary tests in the 2.2 second drop tower suggest that particulate generated by overheated wire insulation will also be larger in microgravity than in normal gravity. TEM grids downstream of the fire region in the WIF experiment as well as visual observation of long string-like aggregates, further confirm this suggestion. The combined impact of these limited results and theoretical predictions is that direct knowledge of low-g combustion particulate as opposed to extrapolation from 1-g data is needed for a more confident design of smoke detectors for spacecraft.

Improving Nocturnal Fire Detection with the VIIRS Day-Night Band

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Polivka, Thomas N.; Wang, Jun; Ellison, Luke T.; Hyer, Edward J.; Ichoku, Charles M.

2016-01-01

Building on existing techniques for satellite remote sensing of fires, this paper takes advantage of the day-night band (DNB) aboard the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) to develop the Firelight Detection Algorithm (FILDA), which characterizes fire pixels based on both visible-light and infrared (IR) signatures at night. By adjusting fire pixel selection criteria to include visible-light signatures, FILDA allows for significantly improved detection of pixels with smaller and/or cooler subpixel hotspots than the operational Interface Data Processing System (IDPS) algorithm. VIIRS scenes with near-coincident Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection (ASTER) overpasses are examined after applying the operational VIIRS fire product algorithm and including a modified "candidate fire pixel selection" approach from FILDA that lowers the 4-µm brightness temperature (BT) threshold but includes a minimum DNB radiance. FILDA is shown to be effective in detecting gas flares and characterizing fire lines during large forest fires (such as the Rim Fire in California and High Park fire in Colorado). Compared with the operational VIIRS fire algorithm for the study period, FILDA shows a large increase (up to 90%) in the number of detected fire pixels that can be verified with the finer resolution ASTER data (90 m). Part (30%) of this increase is likely due to a combined use of DNB and lower 4-µm BT thresholds for fire detection in FILDA. Although further studies are needed, quantitative use of the DNB to improve fire detection could lead to reduced response times to wildfires and better estimate of fire characteristics (smoldering and flaming) at night.

14 CFR 25.858 - Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire... Construction Fire Protection § 25.858 Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection systems. If certification with cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection provisions is requested, the following...

14 CFR 25.858 - Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire... Construction Fire Protection § 25.858 Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection systems. If certification with cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection provisions is requested, the following...

14 CFR 25.858 - Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire... Construction Fire Protection § 25.858 Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection systems. If certification with cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection provisions is requested, the following...

14 CFR 25.858 - Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire... Construction Fire Protection § 25.858 Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection systems. If certification with cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection provisions is requested, the following...

Applications of Living Fire PRA models to Fire Protection Significance Determination Process in Taiwan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

De-Cheng, Chen; Chung-Kung, Lo; Tsu-Jen, Lin

2004-07-01

The living fire probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) models for all three operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Taiwan had been established in December 2000. In that study, a scenario-based PRA approach was adopted to systematically evaluate the fire and smoke hazards and associated risks. Using these fire PRA models developed, a risk-informed application project had also been completed in December 2002 for the evaluation of cable-tray fire-barrier wrapping exemption. This paper presents a new application of the fire PRA models to fire protection issues using the fire protection significance determination process (FP SDP). The fire protection issues studied may involvemore » the selection of appropriate compensatory measures during the period when an automatic fire detection or suppression system in a safety-related fire zone becomes inoperable. The compensatory measure can either be a 24-hour fire watch or an hourly fire patrol. The living fire PRA models were used to estimate the increase in risk associated with the fire protection issue in terms of changes in core damage frequency (CDF) and large early release frequency (LERF). In compliance with SDP at-power and the acceptance guidelines specified in RG 1.174, the fire protection issues in question can be grouped into four categories; red, yellow, white and green, in accordance with the guidelines developed for FD SDP. A 24-hour fire watch is suggested only required for the yellow condition, while an hourly fire patrol may be adopted for the white condition. More limiting requirement is suggested for the red condition, but no special consideration is needed for the green condition. For the calculation of risk measures, risk impacts from any additional fire scenarios that may have been introduced, as well as more severe initiating events and fire damages that may accompany the fire protection issue should be considered carefully. Examples are presented in this paper to illustrate the evaluation process. (authors)« less

No Moving Parts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Under a NASA SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research), Research International developed the solid state micromachined pump used for cooling electronics in space, circulation of heat transfer fluids on spacecraft, and monitoring fire and gas hazards aboard naval warships. Incorporating Lewis Research Center's pumping technology, commercial applications for this product include both detection of toxins and pollutants in coal mines, and early warning smoke detectors for industrial applications.

Colour based fire detection method with temporal intensity variation filtration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trambitckii, K.; Anding, K.; Musalimov, V.; Linß, G.

2015-02-01

Development of video, computing technologies and computer vision gives a possibility of automatic fire detection on video information. Under that project different algorithms was implemented to find more efficient way of fire detection. In that article colour based fire detection algorithm is described. But it is not enough to use only colour information to detect fire properly. The main reason of this is that in the shooting conditions may be a lot of things having colour similar to fire. A temporary intensity variation of pixels is used to separate them from the fire. These variations are averaged over the series of several frames. This algorithm shows robust work and was realised as a computer program by using of the OpenCV library.

A Contextual Fire Detection Algorithm for Simulated HJ-1B Imagery

PubMed Central

Qian, Yonggang; Yan, Guangjian; Duan, Sibo; Kong, Xiangsheng

2009-01-01

The HJ-1B satellite, which was launched on September 6, 2008, is one of the small ones placed in the constellation for disaster prediction and monitoring. HJ-1B imagery was simulated in this paper, which contains fires of various sizes and temperatures in a wide range of terrestrial biomes and climates, including RED, NIR, MIR and TIR channels. Based on the MODIS version 4 contextual algorithm and the characteristics of HJ-1B sensor, a contextual fire detection algorithm was proposed and tested using simulated HJ-1B data. It was evaluated by the probability of fire detection and false alarm as functions of fire temperature and fire area. Results indicate that when the simulated fire area is larger than 45 m2 and the simulated fire temperature is larger than 800 K, the algorithm has a higher probability of detection. But if the simulated fire area is smaller than 10 m2, only when the simulated fire temperature is larger than 900 K, may the fire be detected. For fire areas about 100 m2, the proposed algorithm has a higher detection probability than that of the MODIS product. Finally, the omission and commission error were evaluated which are important factors to affect the performance of this algorithm. It has been demonstrated that HJ-1B satellite data are much sensitive to smaller and cooler fires than MODIS or AVHRR data and the improved capabilities of HJ-1B data will offer a fine opportunity for the fire detection. PMID:22399950

33 CFR 149.414 - What are the requirements for a fire detection and alarm system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... national consensus standard, as that term is defined in 29 CFR 1910.2, for fire detection and fire alarm... fire detection and alarm system? 149.414 Section 149.414 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... EQUIPMENT Firefighting and Fire Protection Equipment Firefighting Requirements § 149.414 What are the...

33 CFR 149.414 - What are the requirements for a fire detection and alarm system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... national consensus standard, as that term is defined in 29 CFR 1910.2, for fire detection and fire alarm... fire detection and alarm system? 149.414 Section 149.414 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... EQUIPMENT Firefighting and Fire Protection Equipment Firefighting Requirements § 149.414 What are the...

33 CFR 149.414 - What are the requirements for a fire detection and alarm system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... national consensus standard, as that term is defined in 29 CFR 1910.2, for fire detection and fire alarm... fire detection and alarm system? 149.414 Section 149.414 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... EQUIPMENT Firefighting and Fire Protection Equipment Firefighting Requirements § 149.414 What are the...

33 CFR 149.414 - What are the requirements for a fire detection and alarm system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... national consensus standard, as that term is defined in 29 CFR 1910.2, for fire detection and fire alarm... fire detection and alarm system? 149.414 Section 149.414 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... EQUIPMENT Firefighting and Fire Protection Equipment Firefighting Requirements § 149.414 What are the...

Analysis of the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer contextual algorithm for small fire detection, Journal of Applied Remote Sensing Vol.3

Treesearch

W. Wang; J.J. Qu; X. Hao; Y. Liu

2009-01-01

In the southeastern United States, most wildland fires are of low intensity. A substantial number of these fires cannot be detected by the MODIS contextual algorithm. To improve the accuracy of fire detection for this region, the remote-sensed characteristics of these fires have to be...

2015 Indonesian fire activity and smoke pollution show persistent non-linear sensitivity to El Niño-induced drought

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Field, R. D.; van der Werf, G.; Fanin, T.; Fetzer, E. J.; Fuller, R. A.; Jethva, H. T.; Levy, R. C.; Livesey, N. J.; Luo, M.; Torres, O.; Worden, H. M.

2016-12-01

The 2015 fire season and related smoke pollution in Indonesia was more severe than the major 2006 episode, making it the most severe season observed by the NASA Earth Observing System satellites that go back to the early 2000s, namely active fire detections from the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS), MODIS aerosol optical depth, Terra Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) carbon monoxide (CO), Aqua Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) CO, Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol index, and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) CO. The MLS CO in the upper troposphere showed a plume of pollution stretching from East Africa to the western Pacific Ocean that persisted for two months. Longer-term records of airport visibility in Sumatra and Kalimantan show that 2015 ranked after 1997 and alongside 1991 and 1994 as among the worst episodes on record. Analysis of yearly dry season rainfall from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) and rain gauges shows that, due to the continued use of fire to clear and prepare land on degraded peat, the Indonesian fire environment continues to have non-linear sensitivity to dry conditions during prolonged periods with less than 4mm/day of precipitation, and this sensitivity appears to have increased over Kalimantan. Without significant reforms in land use and the adoption of early warning triggers tied to precipitation forecasts, these intense fire episodes will re-occur during future droughts, usually associated with El Niño events. Characterization of this signifcant event was only possible with EOS data, from the A-train instruments especially.

Detection and Characterization of Low Temperature Peat Fires during the 2015 Fire Catastrophe in Indonesia Using a New High-Sensitivity Fire Monitoring Satellite Sensor (FireBird)

PubMed Central

Atwood, Elizabeth C.; Englhart, Sandra; Lorenz, Eckehard; Halle, Winfried; Wiedemann, Werner; Siegert, Florian

2016-01-01

Vast and disastrous fires occurred on Borneo during the 2015 dry season, pushing Indonesia into the top five carbon emitting countries. The region was affected by a very strong El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate phenomenon, on par with the last severe event in 1997/98. Fire dynamics in Central Kalimantan were investigated using an innovative sensor offering higher sensitivity to a wider range of fire intensities at a finer spatial resolution (160 m) than heretofore available. The sensor is onboard the TET-1 satellite, part of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) FireBird mission. TET-1 images (acquired every 2–3 days) from the middle infrared were used to detect fires continuously burning for almost three weeks in the protected peatlands of Sebangau National Park as well as surrounding areas with active logging and oil palm concessions. TET-1 detection capabilities were compared with MODIS active fire detection and Landsat burned area algorithms. Fire dynamics, including fire front propagation speed and area burned, were investigated. We show that TET-1 has improved detection capabilities over MODIS in monitoring low-intensity peatland fire fronts through thick smoke and haze. Analysis of fire dynamics revealed that the largest burned areas resulted from fire front lines started from multiple locations, and the highest propagation speeds were in excess of 500 m/day (all over peat > 2m deep). Fires were found to occur most often in concessions that contained drainage infrastructure but were not cleared prior to the fire season. Benefits of implementing this sensor system to improve current fire management techniques are discussed. Near real-time fire detection together with enhanced fire behavior monitoring capabilities would not only improve firefighting efforts, but also benefit analysis of fire impact on tropical peatlands, greenhouse gas emission estimations as well as mitigation measures to reduce severe fire events in the future. PMID:27486664

Detection and Characterization of Low Temperature Peat Fires during the 2015 Fire Catastrophe in Indonesia Using a New High-Sensitivity Fire Monitoring Satellite Sensor (FireBird).

PubMed

Atwood, Elizabeth C; Englhart, Sandra; Lorenz, Eckehard; Halle, Winfried; Wiedemann, Werner; Siegert, Florian

2016-01-01

Vast and disastrous fires occurred on Borneo during the 2015 dry season, pushing Indonesia into the top five carbon emitting countries. The region was affected by a very strong El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate phenomenon, on par with the last severe event in 1997/98. Fire dynamics in Central Kalimantan were investigated using an innovative sensor offering higher sensitivity to a wider range of fire intensities at a finer spatial resolution (160 m) than heretofore available. The sensor is onboard the TET-1 satellite, part of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) FireBird mission. TET-1 images (acquired every 2-3 days) from the middle infrared were used to detect fires continuously burning for almost three weeks in the protected peatlands of Sebangau National Park as well as surrounding areas with active logging and oil palm concessions. TET-1 detection capabilities were compared with MODIS active fire detection and Landsat burned area algorithms. Fire dynamics, including fire front propagation speed and area burned, were investigated. We show that TET-1 has improved detection capabilities over MODIS in monitoring low-intensity peatland fire fronts through thick smoke and haze. Analysis of fire dynamics revealed that the largest burned areas resulted from fire front lines started from multiple locations, and the highest propagation speeds were in excess of 500 m/day (all over peat > 2m deep). Fires were found to occur most often in concessions that contained drainage infrastructure but were not cleared prior to the fire season. Benefits of implementing this sensor system to improve current fire management techniques are discussed. Near real-time fire detection together with enhanced fire behavior monitoring capabilities would not only improve firefighting efforts, but also benefit analysis of fire impact on tropical peatlands, greenhouse gas emission estimations as well as mitigation measures to reduce severe fire events in the future.

A multimodal 3D framework for fire characteristics estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toulouse, T.; Rossi, L.; Akhloufi, M. A.; Pieri, A.; Maldague, X.

2018-02-01

In the last decade we have witnessed an increasing interest in using computer vision and image processing in forest fire research. Image processing techniques have been successfully used in different fire analysis areas such as early detection, monitoring, modeling and fire front characteristics estimation. While the majority of the work deals with the use of 2D visible spectrum images, recent work has introduced the use of 3D vision in this field. This work proposes a new multimodal vision framework permitting the extraction of the three-dimensional geometrical characteristics of fires captured by multiple 3D vision systems. The 3D system is a multispectral stereo system operating in both the visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectral bands. The framework supports the use of multiple stereo pairs positioned so as to capture complementary views of the fire front during its propagation. Multimodal registration is conducted using the captured views in order to build a complete 3D model of the fire front. The registration process is achieved using multisensory fusion based on visual data (2D and NIR images), GPS positions and IMU inertial data. Experiments were conducted outdoors in order to show the performance of the proposed framework. The obtained results are promising and show the potential of using the proposed framework in operational scenarios for wildland fire research and as a decision management system in fighting.

Microfabricated Chemical Sensors for Aerospace Fire Detection Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Gary W.; Neudeck, Philip G.; Fralick, Gustave; Thomas, Valarie; Makel, D.; Liu, C. C.; Ward, B.; Wu, Q. H.

2001-01-01

The detection of fires on-board commercial aircraft is extremely important for safety reasons. Although dependable fire detection equipment presently exists within the cabin, detection of fire within the cargo hold has been less reliable and susceptible to false alarms. A second, independent method of fire detection to complement the conventional smoke detection techniques, such as the measurement of chemical species indicative of a fire, will help reduce false alarms and improve aircraft safety. Although many chemical species are indicative of a fire, two species of particular interest are CO and CO2. This paper discusses microfabricated chemical sensor development tailored to meet the needs of fire safety applications. This development is based on progress in three types of technology: 1) Micromachining and microfabrication (Microsystem) technology to fabricate miniaturized sensors. 2) The use of nanocrystalline materials to develop sensors with improved stability combined with higher sensitivity. 3) The development of high temperature semiconductors, especially silicon carbide. The individual sensor being developed and their level of maturity will be presented.

Fire detection system using random forest classification for image sequences of complex background

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Onecue; Kang, Dong-Joong

2013-06-01

We present a fire alarm system based on image processing that detects fire accidents in various environments. To reduce false alarms that frequently appeared in earlier systems, we combined image features including color, motion, and blinking information. We specifically define the color conditions of fires in hue, saturation and value, and RGB color space. Fire features are represented as intensity variation, color mean and variance, motion, and image differences. Moreover, blinking fire features are modeled by using crossing patches. We propose an algorithm that classifies patches into fire or nonfire areas by using random forest supervised learning. We design an embedded surveillance device made with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene housing for stable fire detection in outdoor environments. The experimental results show that our algorithm works robustly in complex environments and is able to detect fires in real time.

Application of data fusion technology based on D-S evidence theory in fire detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Zhishan; Chen, Musheng

2015-12-01

Judgment and identification based on single fire characteristic parameter information in fire detection is subject to environmental disturbances, and accordingly its detection performance is limited with the increase of false positive rate and false negative rate. The compound fire detector employs information fusion technology to judge and identify multiple fire characteristic parameters in order to improve the reliability and accuracy of fire detection. The D-S evidence theory is applied to the multi-sensor data-fusion: first normalize the data from all sensors to obtain the normalized basic probability function of the fire occurrence; then conduct the fusion processing using the D-S evidence theory; finally give the judgment results. The results show that the method meets the goal of accurate fire signal identification and increases the accuracy of fire alarm, and therefore is simple and effective.

The Detection Method of Fire Abnormal Based on Directional Drilling in Complex Conditions of Mine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huijun, Duan; Shijun, Hao; Jie, Feng

2018-06-01

In the light of more and more urgent hidden fire abnormal detection problem in complex conditions of mine, a method which is used directional drilling technology is put forward. The method can avoid the obstacles in mine, and complete the fire abnormal detection. This paper based on analyzing the trajectory control of directional drilling, measurement while drilling and the characteristic of open branch process, the project of the directional drilling is formulated combination with a complex condition mine, and the detection of fire abnormal is implemented. This method can provide technical support for fire prevention, which also can provide a new way for fire anomaly detection in the similar mine.

Research Plan for Fire Signatures and Detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

Viewgraphs on the prevention, suppression, and detection of fires aboard a spacecraft is presented. The topics include: 1) Fire Prevention, Detection, and Suppression Sub-Element Products; 2) FPDS Organizing Questions; 3) FPDS Organizing Questions; 4) Signatures, Sensors, and Simulations; 5) Quantification of Fire and Pre-Fire Signatures; 6) Smoke; 7) DAFT Hardware; 8) Additional Benefits of DAFT; 9) Development and Characterization of Sensors 10) Simulation of the Transport of Smoke and Fire Precursors; and 11) FPDS Organizing Questions.

Web service tools in the era of forest fire management and elimination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poursanidis, Dimitris; Kochilakis, Giorgos; Chrysoulakis, Nektarios; Varella, Vasiliki; Kotroni, Vassiliki; Eftychidis, Giorgos; Lagouvardos, Kostas

2014-10-01

Wildfires in forests and forested areas in South Europe, North America, Central Asia and Australia are a diachronic threat with crucial ecological, economic and social impacts. Last decade the frequency, the magnitude and the intensity of fires have increased even more because of the climate change. An efficient response to such disasters requires an effective planning, with an early detection system of the ignition area and an accurate prediction of fire propagation to support the rapid response mechanisms. For this reason, information systems able to predict and visualize the behavior of fires, are valuable tools for fire fighting. Such systems, able also to perform simulations that evaluate the fire development scenarios, based on weather conditions, become valuable Decision Support Tools for fire mitigation planning. A Web-based Information System (WIS) developed in the framework of the FLIRE (Floods and fire risk assessment and management) project, a LIFE+ co-funded by the European Commission research, is presented in this study. The FLIRE WIS use forest fuel maps which have been developed by using generalized fuel maps, satellite data and in-situ observations. Furthermore, it leverages data from meteorological stations and weather forecast from numerical models to feed the fire propagation model with the necessary for the simulations inputs and to visualize the model's results for user defined time periods and steps. The user has real-time access to FLIRE WIS via any web browser from any platform (PC, Laptop, Tablet, Smartphone).

46 CFR 95.05-1 - Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... provided a smoke detecting or other suitable type fire detecting system. (c) Enclosed spaces which are “specially suitable for vehicles” shall be fitted with an approved fire or smoke detecting system. [CGFR 66...

46 CFR 95.05-1 - Fire detecting, manual alarm, and supervised patrol systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... provided a smoke detecting or other suitable type fire detecting system. (c) Enclosed spaces which are “specially suitable for vehicles” shall be fitted with an approved fire or smoke detecting system. [CGFR 66...

46 CFR 78.47-13 - Fire detecting and manual alarm, automatic sprinkler, and smoke detecting alarm bells.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., and smoke detecting alarm bells. 78.47-13 Section 78.47-13 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF.... § 78.47-13 Fire detecting and manual alarm, automatic sprinkler, and smoke detecting alarm bells. (a) The fire detecting and manual alarm automatic sprinklers, and smoke detecting alarm bells in the...

46 CFR 78.47-13 - Fire detecting and manual alarm, automatic sprinkler, and smoke detecting alarm bells.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., and smoke detecting alarm bells. 78.47-13 Section 78.47-13 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF.... § 78.47-13 Fire detecting and manual alarm, automatic sprinkler, and smoke detecting alarm bells. (a) The fire detecting and manual alarm automatic sprinklers, and smoke detecting alarm bells in the...

46 CFR 78.47-13 - Fire detecting and manual alarm, automatic sprinkler, and smoke detecting alarm bells.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., and smoke detecting alarm bells. 78.47-13 Section 78.47-13 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF.... § 78.47-13 Fire detecting and manual alarm, automatic sprinkler, and smoke detecting alarm bells. (a) The fire detecting and manual alarm automatic sprinklers, and smoke detecting alarm bells in the...

46 CFR 78.47-13 - Fire detecting and manual alarm, automatic sprinkler, and smoke detecting alarm bells.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., and smoke detecting alarm bells. 78.47-13 Section 78.47-13 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF.... § 78.47-13 Fire detecting and manual alarm, automatic sprinkler, and smoke detecting alarm bells. (a) The fire detecting and manual alarm automatic sprinklers, and smoke detecting alarm bells in the...

46 CFR 78.47-13 - Fire detecting and manual alarm, automatic sprinkler, and smoke detecting alarm bells.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., and smoke detecting alarm bells. 78.47-13 Section 78.47-13 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF.... § 78.47-13 Fire detecting and manual alarm, automatic sprinkler, and smoke detecting alarm bells. (a) The fire detecting and manual alarm automatic sprinklers, and smoke detecting alarm bells in the...

46 CFR 108.404 - Selection of fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Selection of fire detection system. 108.404 Section 108.404 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.404 Selection of fire detection system. (a) If a...

46 CFR 108.413 - Fusible element fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Fusible element fire detection system. 108.413 Section 108.413 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.413 Fusible element fire detection system...

46 CFR 108.413 - Fusible element fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Fusible element fire detection system. 108.413 Section 108.413 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.413 Fusible element fire detection system...

46 CFR 108.404 - Selection of fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Selection of fire detection system. 108.404 Section 108.404 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.404 Selection of fire detection system. (a) If a...

46 CFR 108.413 - Fusible element fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Fusible element fire detection system. 108.413 Section 108.413 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.413 Fusible element fire detection system...

46 CFR 108.404 - Selection of fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Selection of fire detection system. 108.404 Section 108.404 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.404 Selection of fire detection system. (a) If a...

46 CFR 108.404 - Selection of fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Selection of fire detection system. 108.404 Section 108.404 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.404 Selection of fire detection system. (a) If a...

46 CFR 108.413 - Fusible element fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Fusible element fire detection system. 108.413 Section 108.413 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.413 Fusible element fire detection system...

Detection, monitoring, and quantitative analysis of wildfires with the BIRD satellite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oertel, Dieter A.; Briess, Klaus; Lorenz, Eckehard; Skrbek, Wolfgang; Zhukov, Boris

2004-02-01

Increasing concern about environment and interest to avoid losses led to growing demands on space borne fire detection, monitoring and quantitative parameter estimation of wildfires. The global change research community intends to quantify the amount of gaseous and particulate matter emitted from vegetation fires, peat fires and coal seam fires. The DLR Institute of Space Sensor Technology and Planetary Exploration (Berlin-Adlershof) developed a small satellite called BIRD (Bi-spectral Infrared Detection) which carries a sensor package specially designed for fire detection. BIRD was launched as a piggy-back satellite on October 22, 2001 with ISRO"s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). It is circling the Earth on a polar and sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 572 km and it is providing unique data for detailed analysis of high temperature events on Earth surface. The BIRD sensor package is dedicated for high resolution and reliable fire recognition. Active fire analysis is possible in the sub-pixel domain. The leading channel for fire detection and monitoring is the MIR channel at 3.8 μm. The rejection of false alarms is based on procedures using MIR/NIR (Middle Infra Red/Near Infra Red) and MIR/TIR (Middle Infra Red/Thermal Infra Red) radiance ratio thresholds. Unique results of BIRD wildfire detection and analysis over fire prone regions in Australia and Asia will be presented. BIRD successfully demonstrates innovative fire recognition technology for small satellites which permit to retrieve quantitative characteristics of active burning wildfires, such as the equivalent fire temperature, fire area, radiative energy release, fire front length and fire front strength.

Efficient video-equipped fire detection approach for automatic fire alarm systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Myeongsu; Tung, Truong Xuan; Kim, Jong-Myon

2013-01-01

This paper proposes an efficient four-stage approach that automatically detects fire using video capabilities. In the first stage, an approximate median method is used to detect video frame regions involving motion. In the second stage, a fuzzy c-means-based clustering algorithm is employed to extract candidate regions of fire from all of the movement-containing regions. In the third stage, a gray level co-occurrence matrix is used to extract texture parameters by tracking red-colored objects in the candidate regions. These texture features are, subsequently, used as inputs of a back-propagation neural network to distinguish between fire and nonfire. Experimental results indicate that the proposed four-stage approach outperforms other fire detection algorithms in terms of consistently increasing the accuracy of fire detection in both indoor and outdoor test videos.

Investigation of the sensitivity of MIS-sensor to thermal decomposition products of cables insulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filipchuk, D. V.; Litvinov, A. V.; Etrekova, M. O.; Nozdrya, D. A.

2017-12-01

Sensitivity of the MIS-sensor to products of thermal decomposition of insulation and jacket of the most common types of cables is investigated. It is shown that hydrogen is evolved under heating the insulation to temperatures not exceeding 250 °C. Registration of the evolved hydrogen by the MIS-sensor can be used for detection of fires at an early stage.

33 CFR 149.421 - What is the requirement for a previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port? 149.421 Section 149.421 Navigation... Requirements § 149.421 What is the requirement for a previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port? An existing fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port need not meet the...

33 CFR 149.421 - What is the requirement for a previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port? 149.421 Section 149.421 Navigation... Requirements § 149.421 What is the requirement for a previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port? An existing fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port need not meet the...

33 CFR 149.421 - What is the requirement for a previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port? 149.421 Section 149.421 Navigation... Requirements § 149.421 What is the requirement for a previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port? An existing fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port need not meet the...

33 CFR 149.421 - What is the requirement for a previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port? 149.421 Section 149.421 Navigation... Requirements § 149.421 What is the requirement for a previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port? An existing fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port need not meet the...

33 CFR 149.421 - What is the requirement for a previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port? 149.421 Section 149.421 Navigation... Requirements § 149.421 What is the requirement for a previously approved fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port? An existing fire detection and alarm system on a deepwater port need not meet the...

Soil nutrients and microbial activity after early and late season prescribed burns in a Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest

Treesearch

Sarah T. Hamman; Ingrid C. Burke; Eric E. Knapp

2008-01-01

Restoring the natural fire regime to forested systems that have experienced fire exclusion throughout the past century can be a challenge due to the heavy fuel loading conditions. Fire is being re-introduced to mixed conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada through both early season and late season prescribed burns, even though most fires historically occurred in the late...

Fire Monitoring from the New Generation of US Polar and Geostationary Satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Csiszar, I.; Justice, C. O.; Prins, E.; Schroeder, W.; Schmidt, C.; Giglio, L.

2012-04-01

Sensors on the new generation of US operational environmental satellites will provide measurements suitable for active fire detection and characterization. The NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite, launched on October 28, 2011, carries the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), which is expected to continue the active fire data record from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the NASA Earth Observing System Terra and Aqua Satellites. Early evaluation of the VIIRS active fire product, including comparison to near-simultaneous MODIS data, is underway. The new generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) series, starting with GOES-R to be launched in 2015, will carry the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), providing higher spatial and temporal resolution than the current GOES imager. The ABI will also include a dedicated band to provide radiance observations over a wider dynamic range to detect and characterize hot targets. In this presentation we discuss details of the monitoring capabilities from both VIIRS and ABI and the current status of the corresponding algorithm development and testing efforts. An integral part of this activity is explicit product validation, utilizing high resolution satellite and airborne imagery as reference data. The new capabilities also represent challenges to establish continuity with data records from heritage missions, and to coordinate compatible international missions towards a global multi-platform fire monitoring system. These objectives are pursued by the Fire Mapping and Monitoring Implementation Team of the Global Observation of Forest and Land Cover Dynamics (GOFC-GOLD) program, which also provides coordinated contribution to relevant initiatives by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS) and the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS).

Improving battery safety by early detection of internal shorting with a bifunctional separator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Hui; Zhuo, Denys; Kong, Desheng; Cui, Yi

2014-10-01

Lithium-based rechargeable batteries have been widely used in portable electronics and show great promise for emerging applications in transportation and wind-solar-grid energy storage, although their safety remains a practical concern. Failures in the form of fire and explosion can be initiated by internal short circuits associated with lithium dendrite formation during cycling. Here we report a new strategy for improving safety by designing a smart battery that allows internal battery health to be monitored in situ. Specifically, we achieve early detection of lithium dendrites inside batteries through a bifunctional separator, which offers a third sensing terminal in addition to the cathode and anode. The sensing terminal provides unique signals in the form of a pronounced voltage change, indicating imminent penetration of dendrites through the separator. This detection mechanism is highly sensitive, accurate and activated well in advance of shorting and can be applied to many types of batteries for improved safety.

Urban-wildland fires: how California and other regions of the US can learn from Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stephens, Scott L; Adams, Mark A; Handmer, John; Kearns, Faith R; Leicester, Bob; Leonard, Justin; Moritz, Max A

2009-01-01

Most urban-wildland interface (UWI) fires in California and the other regions of the US are managed in a similar fashion: fire agencies anticipate the spread of fire, mandatory evacuations are ordered, and professional fire services move in and attempt to suppress the fires. This approach has not reduced building losses in California. Conversely, losses and the associated suite of environmental impacts, including reduced air quality, have dramatically increased over the last three decades. In contrast to California, Australia has developed a more effective 'Prepare, stay and defend, or leave early' policy. Using this approach, trained residents decide whether they will stay and actively defend their well-prepared property or leave early before a fire threatens them. Australian strategies have the distinct advantage of engaging and preparing those most affected by such fires: homeowners. Investing more in fire suppression alone, the common response after large UWI fires in California, will not reduce losses. US society has attempted to accommodate many of the natural hazards inherent to the landscapes that we inhabit; by examining the Australian model, we may approach a more sustainable coexistence with fire as well. However, it should be noted that some California communities are so vulnerable that a 'Prepare and leave early' strategy may be the only option.

7 CFR 301.81-11 - Imported fire ant detection, control, exclusion, and enforcement program for nurseries producing...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Imported fire ant detection, control, exclusion, and..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES Imported Fire Ant Quarantine and Regulations § 301.81-11 Imported fire ant detection, control, exclusion, and enforcement program for nurseries producing...

7 CFR 301.81-11 - Imported fire ant detection, control, exclusion, and enforcement program for nurseries producing...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Imported fire ant detection, control, exclusion, and..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES Imported Fire Ant Quarantine and Regulations § 301.81-11 Imported fire ant detection, control, exclusion, and enforcement program for nurseries producing...

7 CFR 301.81-11 - Imported fire ant detection, control, exclusion, and enforcement program for nurseries producing...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Imported fire ant detection, control, exclusion, and..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES Imported Fire Ant Quarantine and Regulations § 301.81-11 Imported fire ant detection, control, exclusion, and enforcement program for nurseries producing...

7 CFR 301.81-11 - Imported fire ant detection, control, exclusion, and enforcement program for nurseries producing...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Imported fire ant detection, control, exclusion, and..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES Imported Fire Ant Quarantine and Regulations § 301.81-11 Imported fire ant detection, control, exclusion, and enforcement program for nurseries producing...

Stratifying Tropical Fires by Land Cover: Insights into Amazonian Fires, Aerosol Loading, and Regional Deforestation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

TenHoeve, J. E.; Remer, L. A.; Jacobson, M. Z.

2010-01-01

This study analyzes changes in the number of fires detected on forest, grass, and transition lands during the 2002-2009 biomass burning seasons using fire detection data and co-located land cover classifications from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). We find that the total number of detected fires correlates well with MODIS mean aerosol optical depth (AOD) from year to year, in accord with other studies. However, we also show that the ratio of forest to savanna fires varies substantially from year to year. Forest fires have trended downward, on average, since the beginning of 2006 despite a modest increase in 2007. Our study suggests that high particulate matter loading detected in 2007 was likely due to a large number of savanna/agricultural fires that year. Finally, we illustrate that the correlation between annual Brazilian deforestation estimates and MODIS fires is considerably higher when fires are stratified by MODIS-derived land cover classifications.

Weather Observation Systems and Efficiency of Fighting Forest Fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khabarov, N.; Moltchanova, E.; Obersteiner, M.

2007-12-01

Weather observation is an essential component of modern forest fire management systems. Satellite and in-situ based weather observation systems might help to reduce forest loss, human casualties and destruction of economic capital. In this paper, we develop and apply a methodology to assess the benefits of various weather observation systems on reductions of burned area due to early fire detection. In particular, we consider a model where the air patrolling schedule is determined by a fire hazard index. The index is computed from gridded daily weather data for the area covering parts Spain and Portugal. We conduct a number of simulation experiments. First, the resolution of the original data set is artificially reduced. The reduction of the total forest burned area associated with air patrolling based on a finer weather grid indicates the benefit of using higher spatially resolved weather observations. Second, we consider a stochastic model to simulate forest fires and explore the sensitivity of the model with respect to the quality of input data. The analysis of combination of satellite and ground monitoring reveals potential cost saving due to a "system of systems effect" and substantial reduction in burned area. Finally, we estimate the marginal improvement schedule for loss of life and economic capital as a function of the improved fire observing system.

Survey of Fire Detection Technologies and System Evaluation/Certification Methodologies and Their Suitability for Aircraft Cargo Compartments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cleary, T.; Grosshandler, W.

1999-01-01

As part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) initiated program on global civil aviation, NIST is assisting Federal Aviation Administration in its research to improve fire detection in aircraft cargo compartments. Aircraft cargo compartment detection certification methods have been reviewed. The Fire Emulator-Detector Evaluator (FE/DE) has been designed to evaluate fire detection technologies such as new sensors, multi-element detectors, and detectors that employ complex algorithms. The FE/DE is a flow tunnel that can reproduce velocity, temperature, smoke, and Combustion gas levels to which a detector might be exposed during a fire. A scientific literature survey and patent search have been conducted relating to existing and emerging fire detection technologies, and the potential use of new fire detection strategies in cargo compartment areas has been assessed. In the near term, improved detector signal processing and multi-sensor detectors based on combinations of smoke measurements, combustion gases and temperature are envisioned as significantly impacting detector system performance.

Progress Report: Stratton Ecological Research Site - An Experimental Approach to Assess Effects of Various Grazing Treatments on Vegetation and Wildlife Communities Across Managed Burns and Habitat Controls

USGS Publications Warehouse

Erickson, Heidi J.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Hobbs, N. Thompson

2009-01-01

Understanding how management practices affect wildlife is fundamental to wise decisions for conservation of public lands. Prescribed fire and grazing timing are two management tools frequently used within publicly owned sagebrush ecosystems. We conducted a variety of surveys in order to assess the impacts of grazing timing strategies (early summer before peak green-up, mid-summer at peak green-up, and late summer after peak green-up) in conjunction with prescribed fire on avian and small mammal populations in a high-elevation sagebrush ecosystem. Avian surveys resulted in a large detection sample size for three bird species: Brewer's sparrow (Spizella breweri), horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), and vesper sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus). Brewer's sparrows had the lowest number of detections within the mid-summer grazing treatment compared to early and late summer grazing treatments, while horned larks and vesper sparrows had higher detection frequencies within the late summer grazing treatment. Summer and fall sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) pellet counts revealed that the greatest over-winter and over-summer use by sage-grouse occurred within the early summer grazing treatment with minimal use of burn treatment areas across all grazing treatments. Deer-mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) represented approximately 90 percent of small mammals captured and were most prevalent within the mid-summer grazing treatment. Sagebrush cover was greatest within the mid-summer grazing treatment. We monitored 50 and 103 nests in 2007 and 2008, respectively. The apparent success rate for shrub-obligate nesting species was 58 percent in 2007 and 63 percent in 2008. This research will support management of sagebrush ecosystems by providing public land managers with direct comparisons of wildlife response to management regimes.

A decision support system for managing forest fire casualties.

PubMed

Bonazountas, Marc; Kallidromitou, Despina; Kassomenos, Pavlos; Passas, Nikos

2007-09-01

Southern Europe is exposed to anthropogenic and natural forest fires. These result in loss of lives, goods and infrastructure, but also deteriorate the natural environment and degrade ecosystems. The early detection and combating of such catastrophes requires the use of a decision support system (DSS) for emergency management. The current literature reports on a series of efforts aimed to deliver DSSs for the management of the forest fires by utilising technologies like remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS), yet no integrated system exists. This manuscript presents the results of scientific research aiming to the development of a DSS for managing forest fires. The system provides a series of software tools for the assessment of the propagation and combating of forest fires based on Arc/Info, ArcView, Arc Spatial Analyst, Arc Avenue, and Visual C++ technologies. The system integrates GIS technologies under the same data environment and utilises a common user interface to produce an integrated computer system based on semi-automatic satellite image processing (fuel maps), socio-economic risk modelling and probabilistic models that would serve as a useful tool for forest fire prevention, planning and management. Its performance has been demonstrated via real time up-to-date accurate information on the position and evolution of the fire. The system can assist emergency assessment, management and combating of the incident. A site demonstration and validation has been accomplished for the island of Evoia, Greece, an area particularly vulnerable to forest fires due to its ecological characteristics and prevailing wind patterns.

OCULUS fire: a command and control system for fire management with crowd sourcing and social media interconnectivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomopoulos, Stelios C. A.; Kyriazanos, Dimitris M.; Astyakopoulos, Alkiviadis; Dimitros, Kostantinos; Margonis, Christos; Thanos, Giorgos Konstantinos; Skroumpelou, Katerina

2016-05-01

AF3 (Advanced Forest Fire Fighting2) is a European FP7 research project that intends to improve the efficiency of current fire-fighting operations and the protection of human lives, the environment and property by developing innovative technologies to ensure the integration between existing and new systems. To reach this objective, the AF3 project focuses on innovative active and passive countermeasures, early detection and monitoring, integrated crisis management and advanced public information channels. OCULUS Fire is the innovative control and command system developed within AF3 as a monitoring, GIS and Knowledge Extraction System and Visualization Tool. OCULUS Fire includes (a) an interface for real-time updating and reconstructing of maps to enable rerouting based on estimated hazards and risks, (b) processing of GIS dynamic re-construction and mission re-routing, based on the fusion of airborne, satellite, ground and ancillary geolocation data, (c) visualization components for the C2 monitoring system, displaying and managing information arriving from a variety of sources and (d) mission and situational awareness module for OCULUS Fire ground monitoring system being part of an Integrated Crisis Management Information System for ground and ancillary sensors. OCULUS Fire will also process and visualise information from public information channels, social media and also mobile applications by helpful citizens and volunteers. Social networking, community building and crowdsourcing features will enable a higher reliability and less false alarm rates when using such data in the context of safety and security applications.

Forest Fire Advanced System Technology (FFAST): A Conceptual Design for Detection and Mapping

Treesearch

J. David Nichols; John R. Warren

1987-01-01

The Forest Fire Advanced System Technology (FFAST) project is developing a data system to provide near-real-time forest fire information to fire management at the fire Incident Command Post (ICP). The completed conceptual design defined an integrated forest fire detection and mapping system that is based upon technology available in the 1990's. System component...

Advanced Fire Detector for Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kutzner, Joerg

2012-01-01

A document discusses an optical carbon monoxide sensor for early fire detection. During the sensor development, a concept was implemented to allow reliable carbon monoxide detection in the presence of interfering absorption signals. Methane interference is present in the operating wavelength range of the developed prototype sensor for carbon monoxide detection. The operating parameters of the prototype sensor have been optimized so that interference with methane is minimized. In addition, simultaneous measurement of methane is implemented, and the instrument automatically corrects the carbon monoxide signal at high methane concentrations. This is possible because VCSELs (vertical cavity surface emitting lasers) with extended current tuning capabilities are implemented in the optical device. The tuning capabilities of these new laser sources are sufficient to cover the wavelength range of several absorption lines. The delivered carbon monoxide sensor (COMA 1) reliably measures low carbon monoxide levels even in the presence of high methane signals. The signal bleed-over is determined during system calibration and is then accounted for in the system parameters. The sensor reports carbon monoxide concentrations reliably for (interfering) methane concentrations up to several thousand parts per million.

Assessment of Post Forest Fire Landslides in Uttarakhand Himalaya, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, N.; Singh, R. B.

2017-12-01

According to Forest Survey of India-State Forest Report (2015), the total geographical area of Uttarakhand is 53, 483 covers km2 out of which 24,402 km2 area covers under total forest covers. As noticed during last week of April, 2016 forest of Uttarakhand mountains was gutted down due to major incidences of fire. This incident caused huge damage to different species of flora-fauna, human being, livestock, property and destruction of mountain ecosystem. As per media reports, six people were lost their lives and recorded several charred carcasses of livestock's due to this incident. The forest fire was affected the eleven out of total thirteen districts which roughly covers the 0.2% (approx.) of total vegetation covers.The direct impact of losses are easy to be estimated but indirect impacts of this forest fire are yet to be occurred. The threat of post Forest fire induced landslides during rainfall is themain concern. Since, after forest fire top soil and rocks are loose due to loss of vegetation as binding and protecting agent against rainfall. Therefore, the pore water pressure and weathering will be very high during rainy season which can cause many landslides in regions affected by forest fire. The demarcation of areas worse affected by forest fire is necessary for issuing alerts to habitations and important infrastructures. These alerts will be based upon region specific probable rainfall forecasting through Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). The main objective is to develop a tool for detecting early forest fire and to create awareness amongst mountain community, researchers and concerned government agencies to take an appropriate measures to minimize the incidences of Forest fire and impact of post forest fire landslides in future through implementation of sustainable mountain strategy.

Bugaboo Fire Rages in Georgia and Florida

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

Subtropical Storm Andrea apparently did little to quench numerous large wildfires burning in the U.S. Southeast in early May 2007. On May 11, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Terra satellite captured this image, the remnants of the storm had dwindled to a small ball of clouds in the Atlantic Ocean, and huge plumes of smoke snaked across Georgia, Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico. Areas where MODIS detected actively burning fires are outlined in red. A huge fire is burning in and near the Okefenokee Swamp, which straddles the state line between Georgia and Florida. For logistical purposes, fire officials are calling the part of the fire in Florida the Florida Bugaboo Fire and the part in Georgia the Bugaboo Scrub Fire. The distinction is simply administrative, however; in reality, it is single, continuous swath of burning timber, swamp land, grass, and scrubland. The blaze was more than 133,000 thousand acres as of May 11, and it appeared to be spreading on virtually all perimeters at the time of the image, with active fire locations detected in a circle that surrounds an already burned (or partially burned) area. According to reports form the Southern Area Coordination Center, the fire grew by at least 20,000 acres on May 10. Numerous communities were threatened and hundreds of people were evacuated, while parts of Interstate 10 were closed to all but emergency vehicles. To the northeast of the Bugaboo Fire, other large wildfires were burning in Georgia as well. The Floyds Prairie Fire, to the immediate north, was threatening endangered species and their habitat, while farther north the 116,000-plus-acre Sweat Farm Road/Big Turnaround Complex Fire was still burning in the area south of the city of Waycross, nearly a month after the fires first started in mid-April. Southern Georgia and Florida are in the grip of moderate to extreme drought. The state line area where the Bugaboo Fire is burning is one of the areas in extreme drought. The extremely dry fuels, including easily flammable pine forests and plantations, and the rugged, isolated stretches of terrain, make fire officials think that these fires will continue to burn for a long time. Although extreme fire behavior may decline, smoldering and creeping fire will probably continue until heavy rain - possibly a hurricane - drenches the area. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides the image in additional resolutions. The group also provides twice-daily subset images of the United States in a variety of resolutions and formats, including and infrared-enhanced version that emphasizes the burn scars.

Detection and analysis of high-temperature events in the BIRD mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhukov, Boris; Briess, Klaus; Lorenz, Eckehard; Oertel, Dieter; Skrbek, Wolfgang

2005-01-01

The primary mission objective of a new small Bi-spectral InfraRed Detection (BIRD) satellite is detection and quantitative analysis of high-temperature events like fires and volcanoes. An absence of saturation in the BIRD infrared channels makes it possible to improve false alarm rejection as well as to retrieve quantitative characteristics of hot targets, including their effective fire temperature, area and the radiative energy release. Examples are given of detection and analysis of wild and coal seam fires, of volcanic activity as well as of oil fires in Iraq. The smallest fires detected by BIRD, which were verified on ground, had an area of 12m2 at daytime and 4m2 at night.

33 CFR 149.414 - What are the requirements for a fire detection and alarm system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What are the requirements for a fire detection and alarm system? 149.414 Section 149.414 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... national consensus standard, as that term is defined in 29 CFR 1910.2, for fire detection and fire alarm...

GIS applied to location of fires detection towers in domain area of tropical forest.

PubMed

Eugenio, Fernando Coelho; Rosa Dos Santos, Alexandre; Fiedler, Nilton Cesar; Ribeiro, Guido Assunção; da Silva, Aderbal Gomes; Juvanhol, Ronie Silva; Schettino, Vitor Roberto; Marcatti, Gustavo Eduardo; Domingues, Getúlio Fonseca; Alves Dos Santos, Gleissy Mary Amaral Dino; Pezzopane, José Eduardo Macedo; Pedra, Beatriz Duguy; Banhos, Aureo; Martins, Lima Deleon

2016-08-15

In most countries, the loss of biodiversity caused by the fires is worrying. In this sense, the fires detection towers are crucial for rapid identification of fire outbreaks and can also be used in environmental inspection, biodiversity monitoring, telecommunications mechanisms, telemetry and others. Currently the methodologies for allocating fire detection towers over large areas are numerous, complex and non-standardized by government supervisory agencies. Therefore, this study proposes and evaluates different methodologies to best location of points to install fire detection towers considering the topography, risk areas, conservation units and heat spots. Were used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques and unaligned stratified systematic sampling for implementing and evaluating 9 methods for allocating fire detection towers. Among the methods evaluated, the C3 method was chosen, represented by 140 fire detection towers, with coverage of: a) 67% of the study area, b) 73.97% of the areas with high risk, c) 70.41% of the areas with very high risk, d) 70.42% of the conservation units and e) 84.95% of the heat spots in 2014. The proposed methodology can be adapted to areas of other countries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

36 CFR 1234.12 - What are the fire safety requirements that apply to records storage facilities?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... records storage facilities? (a) The fire detection and protection systems must be designed or reviewed by a licensed fire protection engineer. If the system was not designed by a licensed fire protection... engineer that describes the design intent of the fire detection and suppression system, detailing the...

36 CFR 1234.12 - What are the fire safety requirements that apply to records storage facilities?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... records storage facilities? (a) The fire detection and protection systems must be designed or reviewed by a licensed fire protection engineer. If the system was not designed by a licensed fire protection... engineer that describes the design intent of the fire detection and suppression system, detailing the...

Ultraviolet Source For Testing Hydrogen-Fire Detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Gregory A.; Larson, William E.; Youngquist, Robert C.; Moerk, John S.; Haskell, William D.; Cox, Robert B.; Polk, Jimmy D.; Stout, Stephen J.; Strobel, James P.

1995-01-01

Hand-held portable unit emits ultraviolet light similar to that emitted by hydrogen burning in air. Developed for use in testing optoelectronic hydrogen-fire detectors, which respond to ultraviolet light at wavelengths from 180 to 240 nanometers. Wavelength range unique in that within it, hydrogen fires emit small but detectable amounts of radiation, light from incandescent lamps and Sun almost completely absent, and air sufficiently transmissive to enable detection of hydrogen fire from distance. Consequently, this spectral region favorable for detecting hydrogen fires while minimizing false alarms.

Evaluation and Testing of Rail Transit Undercar Fire Detection and Suppression Systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1989-08-01

This document presents the results of a comprehensive review and evaluation of transit undercar fire detection and suppression methods. The evaluation of fire detection method resulted in a recommendation that continuous wire type linear thermal dete...

14 CFR 25.858 - Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... detection systems. 25.858 Section 25.858 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT... Construction Fire Protection § 25.858 Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection systems. If... must be met for each cargo or baggage compartment with those provisions: (a) The detection system must...

Early fire history near Papineau lake, Ontario

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Richard P. Guyette

1996-01-01

Research that defines the role of fire in upland red oak-pine ecosystems in central Ontario is being conducted by the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Silviculture program. Site-specific fire histories are being developed that document fire frequency, fire behavior, fire effects on forest regeneration and grwoth, and the influnce of human activites on fire disturbances. This...

Comparison of Available Technologies for Fire Spots Detection via Linear Heat Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miksa, František; Nemlaha, Eduard

2016-12-01

It is very demanding to detect fire spots under difficult conditions with high occurrence of interfering external factors such as large distances, airflow difficultly, high dustiness, high humidity, etc. Spot fire sensors do not meet the requirements due to the aforementioned conditions as well as large distances. Therefore, the detection of a fire spot via linear heat sensing cables is utilized.

36 CFR § 1234.12 - What are the fire safety requirements that apply to records storage facilities?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... records storage facilities? (a) The fire detection and protection systems must be designed or reviewed by a licensed fire protection engineer. If the system was not designed by a licensed fire protection... engineer that describes the design intent of the fire detection and suppression system, detailing the...

Early detection of mine fire in underground by using smell detectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ohga, Kotaro; Higuchi, Kiyoshi

1995-12-31

In our laboratory, a new detection system using smell detectors was developed to detect the spontaneous combustion of coal and the combustion of other materials used underground. Laboratory experiments were carried out on several kinds of coals, including South African coals, and machine oil, wood and rubber used in belt conveyers. The following results were obtained: (1) Spontaneous combustion of coal can be detected earlier by smell detectors than by conventional CO detection methods. (2) There were no differences in the results using different kinds of coal. (3) Combustion d other materials can also be detected earlier by this systemmore » than by conventional detectors for gas and smoke. (4) Use of this detection system enables one to discern the source of the combustion gases, whether it be coal, wood, oil or rubber.« less

The Cooney Ridge Fire Experiment: An early operation to relate pre-, active, and post-fire field and remotely sensed measurements

Treesearch

Andrew T. Hudak; Patrick H. Freeborn; Sarah A. Lewis; Sharon M. Hood; Helen Y. Smith; Colin C. Hardy; Robert J. Kremens; Bret W. Butler; Casey Teske; Robert G. Tissell; Lloyd P. Queen; Bryce L. Nordgren; Benjamin C. Bright; Penelope Morgan; Philip J. Riggan; Lee Macholz; Leigh B. Lentile; James P. Riddering; Edward E. Mathews

2018-01-01

The Cooney Ridge Fire Experiment conducted by fire scientists in 2003 was a burnout operation supported by a fire suppression crew on the active Cooney Ridge wildfire incident. The fire experiment included measurements of pre-fire fuels, active fire behavior, and immediate post-fire effects. Heat flux measurements collected at multiple scales with multiple ground and...

Small Fire Detection Algorithm Development using VIIRS 375m Imagery: Application to Agricultural Fires in Eastern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Tianran; Wooster, Martin

2016-04-01

Until recently, crop residues have been the second largest industrial waste product produced in China and field-based burning of crop residues is considered to remain extremely widespread, with impacts on air quality and potential negative effects on health, public transportation. However, due to the small size and perhaps short-lived nature of the individual burns, the extent of the activity and its spatial variability remains somewhat unclear. Satellite EO data has been used to gauge the timing and magnitude of Chinese crop burning, but current approaches very likely miss significant amounts of the activity because the individual burned areas are either too small to detect with frequently acquired moderate spatial resolution data such as MODIS. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on-board Suomi-NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership) satellite launched on October, 2011 has one set of multi-spectral channels providing full global coverage at 375 m nadir spatial resolutions. It is expected that the 375 m spatial resolution "I-band" imagery provided by VIIRS will allow active fires to be detected that are ~ 10× smaller than those that can be detected by MODIS. In this study the new small fire detection algorithm is built based on VIIRS-I band global fire detection algorithm and hot spot detection algorithm for the BIRD satellite mission. VIIRS-I band imagery data will be used to identify agricultural fire activity across Eastern China. A 30 m spatial resolution global land cover data map is used for false alarm masking. The ground-based validation is performed using images taken from UAV. The fire detection result is been compared with active fire product from the long-standing MODIS sensor onboard the TERRA and AQUA satellites, which shows small fires missed from traditional MODIS fire product may count for over 1/3 of total fire energy in Eastern China.

Domains of Risk in the Developmental Continuity of Fire Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCarty, Carolyn A.; McMahon, Robert J.

2005-01-01

Juvenile fire setting is a serious, dangerous, and costly behavior. The majority of research examining youth fire setting has been cross-sectional. We sought to examine early risk attributes that could differentiate fire setters from non-fire setters, in addition to examining their association with the developmental continuity of fire-setting…

Overview of ISS U.S. Fire Detection and Suppression System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitaker, Alana

2003-01-01

This paper presents a general overview of the International Space Station's Fire Detection and Suppression System. The topics include: 1) Introduction to Fire Detection and Suppression (FDS); 2) Description of (FDS) Subsystems; 3) FDS System Component Location and Status; 4) FDS System Capabilities; 5) FDS Automatic and Manual Response; 6) Post Fire Atmosphere Restoration and Air Quality Assessment; and 7) FDS Research Needs. This paper is in viewgraph form.

The national fire and fire surrogate study: early results and future challenges

Treesearch

Thomas A. Waldrop; James McIver

2006-01-01

Fire-adapted ecosystems today have dense plant cover and heavy fuel loads as a result of fire exclusion and other changes in land use practices. Mechanical fuel treatments and prescribed fire are powerful tools for reducing wildfire potential, but the ecological consequences of their use is unknown. The National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study examines the effects of...

"Smoke": Characterization Of Smoke Particulate For Spacecraft Fire Detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Urban, David L.; Mulholland, George W.; Yang, Jiann; Cleary, Thomas G.; Yuan, Zeng-Guang

2003-01-01

The "Smoke" experiment is a flight definition investigation that seeks to increase our understanding of spacecraft fire detection through measurements of particulate size distributions of preignition smokes from typical spacecraft materials. Owing to the catastrophic risk posed by even a very small fire in a spacecraft, the design goal for spacecraft fire detection is to detect the fire as quickly as possible, preferably in the preignition phase before a real flaming fire has developed. Consequently the target smoke for detection is typically not soot (typical of established hydrocarbon fires) but instead, pyrolysis products, and recondensed polymer particles. At the same time, false alarms are extremely costly as the crew and the ground team must respond quickly to every alarm. The U.S. Space Shuttle (STS: Space Transportation System) and the International Space Station (ISS) both use smoke detection as the primary means of fire detection. These two systems were designed in the absence of any data concerning low-gravity smoke particle (and background dust) size distributions. The STS system uses an ionization detector coupled with a sampling pump and the ISS system is a forward light scattering detector operating in the near IR. These two systems have significantly different sensitivities with the ionization detector being most sensitive (on a mass concentration basis) to smaller particulate and the light scattering detector being most sensitive to particulate that is larger than 1 micron. Since any smoke detection system has inherent size sensitivity characteristics, proper design of future smoke detection systems will require an understanding of the background and alarm particle size distributions that can be expected in a space environment.

Fire responses to postglacial climate change and human impact in northern Patagonia (41-43°S).

PubMed

Iglesias, Virginia; Whitlock, Cathy

2014-12-23

Forest/steppe boundaries are among the most dynamic ecosystems on Earth and are highly vulnerable to changes in climate and land use. In this study we examine the postglacial history of the Patagonian forest/steppe ecotone (41-43°S) to better understand its sensitivity to past variations in climate, disturbance, and human activity before European colonization. We present regional trends in vegetation and biomass burning, as detected by generalized additive models fitted to seven pollen and charcoal records, and compare the results with other paleoenvironmental data, as well as archeological and ecological information to (i) estimate postglacial fire trends at regional scales, (ii) assess the evolution of climate-vegetation-fire linkages over the last 18,000 calibrated (cal) years B.P., and (iii) evaluate the role of humans in altering pre-European landscapes and fire regimes. Pollen and charcoal data indicate that biomass burning was relatively low during warm/dry steppe-dominated landscapes in the late glacial/Early Holocene transition and increased as more humid conditions favored forest development after ca. 10,000 cal years B.P. Postglacial fire activity was thus limited by fuel availability associated with sparse vegetation cover rather than by suitable climate conditions. In contrast to extensive burning by European settlers, variations in indigenous population densities were not associated with fluctuations in regional or watershed-scale fire occurrence, suggesting that climate-vegetation-fire linkages in northern Patagonia evolved with minimal or very localized human influences before European settlement.

Fire responses to postglacial climate change and human impact in northern Patagonia (41–43°S)

PubMed Central

Iglesias, Virginia; Whitlock, Cathy

2014-01-01

Forest/steppe boundaries are among the most dynamic ecosystems on Earth and are highly vulnerable to changes in climate and land use. In this study we examine the postglacial history of the Patagonian forest/steppe ecotone (41–43°S) to better understand its sensitivity to past variations in climate, disturbance, and human activity before European colonization. We present regional trends in vegetation and biomass burning, as detected by generalized additive models fitted to seven pollen and charcoal records, and compare the results with other paleoenvironmental data, as well as archeological and ecological information to (i) estimate postglacial fire trends at regional scales, (ii) assess the evolution of climate–vegetation–fire linkages over the last 18,000 calibrated (cal) years B.P., and (iii) evaluate the role of humans in altering pre-European landscapes and fire regimes. Pollen and charcoal data indicate that biomass burning was relatively low during warm/dry steppe-dominated landscapes in the late glacial/Early Holocene transition and increased as more humid conditions favored forest development after ca. 10,000 cal years B.P. Postglacial fire activity was thus limited by fuel availability associated with sparse vegetation cover rather than by suitable climate conditions. In contrast to extensive burning by European settlers, variations in indigenous population densities were not associated with fluctuations in regional or watershed-scale fire occurrence, suggesting that climate–vegetation–fire linkages in northern Patagonia evolved with minimal or very localized human influences before European settlement. PMID:25489077

Fire protection for launch facilities using machine vision fire detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartz, Douglas B.

1993-02-01

Fire protection of critical space assets, including launch and fueling facilities and manned flight hardware, demands automatic sensors for continuous monitoring, and in certain high-threat areas, fast-reacting automatic suppression systems. Perhaps the most essential characteristic for these fire detection and suppression systems is high reliability; in other words, fire detectors should alarm only on actual fires and not be falsely activated by extraneous sources. Existing types of fire detectors have been greatly improved in the past decade; however, fundamental limitations of their method of operation leaves open a significant possibility of false alarms and restricts their usefulness. At the Civil Engineering Laboratory at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, a new type of fire detector is under development which 'sees' a fire visually, like a human being, and makes a reliable decision based on known visual characteristics of flames. Hardware prototypes of the Machine Vision (MV) Fire Detection System have undergone live fire tests and demonstrated extremely high accuracy in discriminating actual fires from false alarm sources. In fact, this technology promises to virtually eliminate false activations. This detector could be used to monitor fueling facilities, launch towers, clean rooms, and other high-value and high-risk areas. Applications can extend to space station and in-flight shuttle operations as well; fiber optics and remote camera heads enable the system to see around obstructed areas and crew compartments. The capability of the technology to distinguish fires means that fire detection can be provided even during maintenance operations, such as welding.

Fire protection for launch facilities using machine vision fire detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartz, Douglas B.

1993-01-01

Fire protection of critical space assets, including launch and fueling facilities and manned flight hardware, demands automatic sensors for continuous monitoring, and in certain high-threat areas, fast-reacting automatic suppression systems. Perhaps the most essential characteristic for these fire detection and suppression systems is high reliability; in other words, fire detectors should alarm only on actual fires and not be falsely activated by extraneous sources. Existing types of fire detectors have been greatly improved in the past decade; however, fundamental limitations of their method of operation leaves open a significant possibility of false alarms and restricts their usefulness. At the Civil Engineering Laboratory at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, a new type of fire detector is under development which 'sees' a fire visually, like a human being, and makes a reliable decision based on known visual characteristics of flames. Hardware prototypes of the Machine Vision (MV) Fire Detection System have undergone live fire tests and demonstrated extremely high accuracy in discriminating actual fires from false alarm sources. In fact, this technology promises to virtually eliminate false activations. This detector could be used to monitor fueling facilities, launch towers, clean rooms, and other high-value and high-risk areas. Applications can extend to space station and in-flight shuttle operations as well; fiber optics and remote camera heads enable the system to see around obstructed areas and crew compartments. The capability of the technology to distinguish fires means that fire detection can be provided even during maintenance operations, such as welding.

46 CFR 108.407 - Detectors for electric fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Detectors for electric fire detection system. 108.407 Section 108.407 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.407 Detectors for electric fire...

46 CFR 108.407 - Detectors for electric fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Detectors for electric fire detection system. 108.407 Section 108.407 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.407 Detectors for electric fire...

46 CFR 108.407 - Detectors for electric fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Detectors for electric fire detection system. 108.407 Section 108.407 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.407 Detectors for electric fire...

46 CFR 108.407 - Detectors for electric fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Detectors for electric fire detection system. 108.407 Section 108.407 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.407 Detectors for electric fire...

29 CFR 1910.164 - Fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... fire detectors and fire detection systems are tested and adjusted as often as needed to maintain proper reliability and operating condition except that factory calibrated detectors need not be adjusted after...) The employer shall also assure that fire detectors that need to be cleaned of dirt, dust, or other...

29 CFR 1910.164 - Fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... fire detectors and fire detection systems are tested and adjusted as often as needed to maintain proper reliability and operating condition except that factory calibrated detectors need not be adjusted after...) The employer shall also assure that fire detectors that need to be cleaned of dirt, dust, or other...

29 CFR 1910.164 - Fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... fire detectors and fire detection systems are tested and adjusted as often as needed to maintain proper reliability and operating condition except that factory calibrated detectors need not be adjusted after...) The employer shall also assure that fire detectors that need to be cleaned of dirt, dust, or other...

29 CFR 1910.164 - Fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... fire detectors and fire detection systems are tested and adjusted as often as needed to maintain proper reliability and operating condition except that factory calibrated detectors need not be adjusted after...) The employer shall also assure that fire detectors that need to be cleaned of dirt, dust, or other...

29 CFR 1910.164 - Fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... fire detectors and fire detection systems are tested and adjusted as often as needed to maintain proper reliability and operating condition except that factory calibrated detectors need not be adjusted after...) The employer shall also assure that fire detectors that need to be cleaned of dirt, dust, or other...

An Enhanced Smoke Detection Using MODIS Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Y.; Qu, J.; Xiong, X.; Hao, X.; Wang, W.; Wang, L.

2005-12-01

Smoke emitted from wildfire fires or prescribed fires is one of the major pollutions that pose a risk to human health and affect the air quality significantly. The remote sensing technique has been demonstrated as an efficient approach for detecting and tracing smoke plume. As a mixture pollutant, smoke does not have stable spectral signature because of diversified component mixing levels in different situation, but it has some particular characteristics different from others such as cloud, soil, water and so on. In earlier studies, we have already developed a multi-threshold algorithm to detect smoke in the eastern United States by combining both MODIS reflective solar bands and thermal emissive bands measurements. In order to apply out approach to global scale, we have enhanced the smoke detection algorithm by taking the land surface type into account. Smoke pixels will be output as well as the confidence in the quality of product in final result. In addition, smoke detection is also helpful to fire detection. With current fire detection algorithm, some small and cool fires can not be detected. However, understanding the features and spread direction of smoke can provide us a potential way to identify these fires.

30 CFR 250.1629 - Additional production and fuel gas system requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... structure. (4) Fire- and gas-detection system. (i) Fire (flame, heat, or smoke) sensors shall be installed... explosive limit. One approved method of providing adequate ventilation is a change of air volume each 5... detection systems shall be capable of continuous monitoring. Fire-detection systems and portions of...

30 CFR 250.1629 - Additional production and fuel gas system requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... structure. (4) Fire- and gas-detection system. (i) Fire (flame, heat, or smoke) sensors shall be installed... explosive limit. One approved method of providing adequate ventilation is a change of air volume each 5... detection systems shall be capable of continuous monitoring. Fire-detection systems and portions of...

46 CFR 28.155 - Excess fire detection and protection equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Excess fire detection and protection equipment. 28.155... protection equipment. Installation of fire detection and protection equipment in excess of that required by the regulations in this subchapter is permitted provided that the excess equipment does not endanger...

The formation of fire residues associated with hunter-gatherers in humid tropical environments: A geo-ethnoarchaeological perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friesem, David E.; Lavi, Noa; Madella, Marco; Boaretto, Elisabetta; Ajithparsad, P.; French, Charles

2017-09-01

Tropical forests have been an important human habitat and played a significant role in early human dispersal and evolution. Likewise, the use of fire, besides being one of the exceptional characteristics of humans, serves as a marker for human evolution. While the use of fire by prehistoric hunter-gatherers is relatively well documented in arid and temperate environments, the archaeological evidence in humid tropical environment is to date very limited. We first review the archaeological evidence for hunter-gatherer use of fire in humid tropical environments and suggest that better understanding of formation processes is required. We present a geo-ethnoarchaeological study from South India, involving ethnography, excavations and laboratory-based analyses in order to build a new framework to study fire residues in humid tropical forests associated with hunter-gatherer's use of fire. Ethnographic observations point to a dynamic and ephemeral use of hearths. Hearths location were dictated by the social and ever-changing social dynamics of the site. The hearths deposited small amount of residues which were later swept on a daily basis, re-depositing ash and charcoal in waste areas and leaving only a microscopic signal in the original location. Particular acidic conditions and intensive biological activity within tropical sediments result in the complete dissolution of ash and bones while favouring the preservation of charcoal and phytoliths. Consequently, the identification of fire residues in humid tropical forests and the reconstruction of the human use of fire must involve multi-proxy microscopic analysis to detect its micro-signatures.

Teach Children Fire Will Burn.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Children's Bureau (DHEW), Washington, DC.

This handbook, addressed to parents and others responsible for the safety of children, presents information on fire hazards, prevention and protection. Emphasizing an early start to fire safety training, it outlines the basic facts of fire safety education, listing the most frequent causes of fire and suggesting the organization of a Family Fire…

Fire Safety for Retired Adults: Participant's Coursebook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker (Bonnie) and Associates, Inc., Crofton, MD.

The risk of dying from fire increases substantially among older adults. This document contains a collection of fire safety information for elderly people. Information includes procedures to follow in case of fire and early warning technologies such as smoke alarms. The booklet describes potential sources of fires (smoking, home heating, kitchens,…

Fuel reduction and coarse woody debris dynamics with early season and late season prescribed fire in a Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knapp, E.E.; Keeley, J.E.; Ballenger, E.A.; Brennan, T.J.

2005-01-01

Fire exclusion has led to an unnatural accumulation and greater spatial continuity of organic material on the ground in many forests. This material serves both as potential fuel for forest fires and habitat for a large array of forest species. Managers must balance fuel reduction to reduce wildfire hazard with fuel retention targets to maintain other forest functions. This study reports fuel consumption and changes to coarse woody debris attributes with prescribed burns ignited under different fuel moisture conditions. Replicated early season burn, late season burn, and unburned control plots were established in old-growth mixed conifer forest in Sequoia National Park that had not experienced fire for more than 120 years. Early season burns were ignited during June 2002 when fuels were relatively moist, and late season burns were ignited during September/October 2001 when fuels were dry. Fuel loading and coarse woody debris abundance, cover, volume, and mass were evaluated prior to and after the burns. While both types of burns reduced fuel loading, early season burns consumed significantly less of the total dead and down organic matter than late season burns (67% versus 88%). This difference in fuel consumption between burning treatments was significant for most all woody fuel components evaluated, plus the litter and duff layers. Many logs were not entirely consumed - therefore the number of logs was not significantly changed by fire - but burning did reduce log length, cover, volume, and mass. Log cover, volume, and mass were reduced to a lesser extent by early season burns than late season burns, as a result of higher wood moisture levels. Early season burns also spread over less of the ground surface within the burn perimeter (73%) than late season burns (88%), and were significantly patchier. Organic material remaining after a fire can dam sediments and reduce erosion, while unburned patches may help mitigate the impact of fire on fire-sensitive species by creating refugia from which these species can recolonize burned areas. Early season burns may be an effective means of moderating potential ecosystem damage when treating heavy and/or continuous fuels resulting from long periods of fire exclusion, if burning during this season is not detrimental to other forest functions. ?? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

El Niño Could Drive Intense Season for Amazon Fires

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

El Niño conditions in 2015 and early 2016 altered rainfall patterns around the world. In the Amazon, El Niño reduced rainfall during the wet season, leaving the region drier at the start of the 2016 dry season than any year since 2002, according to NASA satellite data. Wildfire risk for the dry season months of July to October this year now exceeds fire risk in 2005 and 2010, drought years when wildfires burned large areas of Amazon rainforest, said Doug Morton, an Earth scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center who helped create the fire forecast. "Severe drought conditions at the start of the dry season set the stage for extreme fire risk in 2016 across the southern Amazon," Morton said. The Amazon fire forecast uses the relationship between climate and active fire detections from NASA satellites to predict fire season severity during the region’s dry season. Developed in 2011 by scientists at University of California, Irvine and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the forecast model is focused particularly on the link between sea surface temperatures and fire activity. Warmer sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific (El Niño) and Atlantic oceans shift rainfall away from the Amazon region, increasing the risk of fires during dry season months. Read more: go.nasa.gov/2937ADt NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Fire Distribution in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo in 2015 with Special Emphasis on Peatland Fires.

PubMed

Miettinen, Jukka; Shi, Chenghua; Liew, Soo Chin

2017-10-01

In this paper, we analyze the spatio-temporal distribution of vegetation fires in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo in the severe El Niño year of 2015, concentrating on the distribution of fires between mineral soils and peatland areas, and between land cover types in peatland areas. The results reveal that 53% of all Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) fire detections were recorded in peatlands that cover only 12% of the study area. However, fire occurrence in the peatland areas was highly dependent on land cover type. Pristine peat swamp forests (PSF) experienced only marginal fire activity (30 fire detections per 1000 km 2 ) compared to deforested undeveloped peatlands (831-915 fire detections per 1000 km 2 ). Our results also highlight the extreme fire vulnerability of the southern Sumatran and Bornean peatlands under strong El Niño conditions: 71% of all peatland hotspots were detected in the provinces of South Sumatra and Central Kalimantan, which contain 29% of peatlands in the study area. Degraded PSF and all deforested peatland land cover types, including managed areas, in the two provinces were severely affected, demonstrating how difficult it is to protect even managed drained agricultural areas from unwanted fires during dry periods. Our results thereby advocate rewetting and rehabilitation as the primary management option for highly fire prone degraded undeveloped peatland areas, whenever feasible, as a means to reduce fire risk during future dry episodes.

Fire Distribution in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo in 2015 with Special Emphasis on Peatland Fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miettinen, Jukka; Shi, Chenghua; Liew, Soo Chin

2017-10-01

In this paper, we analyze the spatio-temporal distribution of vegetation fires in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo in the severe El Niño year of 2015, concentrating on the distribution of fires between mineral soils and peatland areas, and between land cover types in peatland areas. The results reveal that 53% of all Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) fire detections were recorded in peatlands that cover only 12% of the study area. However, fire occurrence in the peatland areas was highly dependent on land cover type. Pristine peat swamp forests (PSF) experienced only marginal fire activity (30 fire detections per 1000 km2) compared to deforested undeveloped peatlands (831-915 fire detections per 1000 km2). Our results also highlight the extreme fire vulnerability of the southern Sumatran and Bornean peatlands under strong El Niño conditions: 71% of all peatland hotspots were detected in the provinces of South Sumatra and Central Kalimantan, which contain 29% of peatlands in the study area. Degraded PSF and all deforested peatland land cover types, including managed areas, in the two provinces were severely affected, demonstrating how difficult it is to protect even managed drained agricultural areas from unwanted fires during dry periods. Our results thereby advocate rewetting and rehabilitation as the primary management option for highly fire prone degraded undeveloped peatland areas, whenever feasible, as a means to reduce fire risk during future dry episodes.

Using NPP-Suomi VIIRS I-band data to delineate high- and low-intensity burn areas for forest fires in interior Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waigl, C. F.; Prakash, A.; Stuefer, M.; Ichoku, C. M.

2016-12-01

The aim of this work is to present and evaluate an algorithm that generates near real-time fire detections suitable for use by fire and related hazard management agencies in Alaska. Our scheme offers benefits over available global products and is sensitive to low-intensity residual burns while at the same time avoiding common sources of false detections as they are observed in the Alaskan boreal forest, such as refective river banks and old fire scars. The algorithm is based on I-band brightness temperature data form the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA's NPP Suomi spacecraft. Using datasets covering the entire 2015 Alaska fire season, we first evaluate the performance of two global fire products: MOD14/MYD14, derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the more recent global VIIRS I-band product. A comparison with the fire perimeter and properties data published by the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center (AICC) shows that both MODIS and VIIRS fire products successfully detect all fires larger than approx. 1000 hectares, with the VIIRS I-band product only moderately outperforming MOD14/MYD14. For smaller fires, the VIIRS I-band product offers higher detection likelihood, but still misses one fifth of the fire events overall. Furthermore, some daytime detections are missing, possibly due to processing difficulties or incomplete data transfer. Second, as an alternative, we present a simple algorithm that uses the normalized difference between the 3.74µm and 11.45 µm VIIRS-I band at-sensor brightness temperatures to map both low- and high-intensity burn areas. Such an approach has the advantage that it makes use of data that is available via the direct readout station operated by Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA). We apply this scheme to known Alaskan boreal forest fires and validate it using GIS data produced by fire management agencies, fire detections from near simultanous Landsat imagery, and sub-pixel analysis. We find that our VIIRS derived fire product more accurately captures the fire spread, can differentiate well between low- and high-intensity burn areas, and has fewer errors of omission compared to the MODIS and VIIRS global fire products.

Efficacy of landscape scale woodland and savanna restoration at multiple spatial and temporal scales

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pittman, H. Tyler; Krementz, David G.

2016-01-01

The loss of historic ecosystem conditions has led forest managers to implement woodland and savanna ecosystem restoration on a landscape scale (≥10,000 ha) in the Ozark Plateau of Arkansas. Managers are attempting to restore and conserve these ecosystems through the reintroduction of disturbance, mainly short-rotation early-growing-season prescribed fire. Short-rotation early-growing season prescribed fire in the Ozarks typically occurs immediately before bud-break, through bud-break, and before leaf-out, and fire events occur on a three-to five-year interval. We examined short-rotation early-growing season prescribed fire as a restoration tool on vegetation characteristics. We collected vegetation measurements at 70 locations annually from 2011 to 2012 in and around the White Rock Ecosystem Restoration Area (WRERA), Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, Arkansas, and used generalized linear models to investigate the impact and efficacy of prescribed fire on vegetation structure. We found the number of large shrubs (>5 cm base diameter) decreased and small shrubs (<5 cm ground diameter) increased with prescribed fire severity. We found that horizontal understory cover from ground level to 1 m in height increased with time-since-prescribed-fire and woody ground cover decreased with the number of prescribed fire treatments. Using LANDFIRE datasets at the landscape scale, we found that since the initiation of a short-rotation early-growing season prescribed fire management regime, forest canopy cover has not reverted to levels characteristic of woodlands and savannas or reached restoration objectives over large areas. Without greater reductions in forest canopy cover and increases in forest-canopy cover heterogeneity, advanced regeneration will be limited in success, and woodland and savanna conditions will not return soon or to the extent desired.

Increased Fire and Toxic Contaminant Detection Responsibility by Use of Distributed, Aspirating Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Youngblood, Wallace W.

1990-01-01

Viewgraphs of increased fire and toxic contaminant detection responsivity by use of distributed, aspirating sensors for space station are presented. Objectives of the concept described are (1) to enhance fire and toxic contaminant detection responsivity in habitable regions of space station; (2) to reduce system weight and complexity through centralized detector/monitor systems; (3) to increase fire signature information from selected locations in a space station module; and (4) to reduce false alarms.

46 CFR 28.825 - Excess fire detection and protection equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Excess fire detection and protection equipment. 28.825... equipment. Instead of meeting the requirements of § 28.155, each vessel to which this subpart applies must meet the following requirements: (a) Installation of fire detection and protection equipment in excess...

Woody vegetation, fuel and fire track the melting of the Scandinavian ice-sheet before 9500 cal yr BP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carcaillet, Christopher; Hörnberg, Greger; Zackrisson, Olle

2012-11-01

New studies indicate the presence of early Holocene ice-free areas far north in Scandinavia. Post-glacial fire and vegetation were investigated based on sedimentary charcoal and pollen from two small lakes in northern Sweden. Accumulation of organic sediment started around 10,900 and 9200 cal yr BP, showing that both lake valleys were ice-free extremely early given their northerly location. Fire events started after 9600 cal yr BP and became less common around the '8.2-ka event'. Woody vegetation provided fuel that contributed to fires. The first vegetation in our pollen record consisted of Hippophae, Dryas, grasses and sedges. Subsequently broadleaved trees (Betula, Salix) increased in abundance and later Pinus, Alnus, ferns and Lycopodium characterized the vegetation. Pollen from Larix, Picea and Malus were also found. The change in vegetation composition was synchronous with the decrease in lake-water pH in the region, indicating ecosystem-scale processes; this occurred during a period of net global and regional warming. The changes in fire frequency and vegetation appear independent of regional trends in precipitation. The reconstructed fire history and vegetation support the scenario of early ice-free areas far north in Scandinavia during early Holocene warming, creating favorable conditions for woody plants and wildfires.

Forest Fire Mapping

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The Fire Logistics Airborne Mapping Equipment (FLAME) system, mounted in a twin-engine and airplane operated by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is an airborne instrument for detecting and pinpointing forest fires that might escape ground detection. The FLAME equipment rack includes the operator interface, a video monitor, the system's control panel and film output. FLAME's fire detection sensor is an infrared line scanner system that identifies fire boundaries. Sensor's information is correlated with the aircraft's position and altitude at the time the infrared imagery is acquired to fix the fire's location on a map. System can be sent to a fire locale anywhere in the U.S. at the request of a regional forester. USFS felt a need for a more advanced system to deliver timely fire information to fire management personnel in the decade of the 1990s. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) conducted a study, jointly sponsored by NASA and USDA, on what advanced technologies might be employed to produce an end-to-end thermal infrared fire detection and mapping system. That led to initiation of the Firefly system, currently in development at JPL and targeted for operational service beginning in 1992. Firefly will employ satellite-reference position fixing and provide performance superior to FLAME.

Modelling a historic oil-tank fire allows an estimation of the sensitivity of the infrared receptors in pyrophilous Melanophila beetles.

PubMed

Schmitz, Helmut; Bousack, Herbert

2012-01-01

Pyrophilous jewel beetles of the genus Melanophila approach forest fires and there is considerable evidence that these beetles can detect fires from great distances of more than 60 km. Because Melanophila beetles are equipped with infrared receptors and are also attracted by hot surfaces it can be concluded that these infrared receptors are used for fire detection.The sensitivity of the IR receptors is still unknown. The lowest threshold published so far is 0.6 W/m(2) which, however, cannot explain the detection of forest fires by IR radiation from distances larger than approximately 10 km. To investigate the possible sensitivity of the IR receptors we assumed that beetles use IR radiation for remote fire detection and we made use of a historic report about a big oil-tank fire in Coalinga, California, in 1924. IR emission of an oil-tank fire can be calculated by "pool fire" simulations which now are used for fire safety and risk analysis. Assuming that beetles were lured to the fire from the nearest forests 25 and 130 km away, our results show that detection from a distance of 25 km requires a threshold of the IR receptors of at least 3×10(-2) W/m(2). According to our investigations most beetles became aware of the fire from a distance of 130 km. In this case the threshold has to be 1.3×10(-4) W/m(2). Because such low IR intensities are buried in thermal noise we suggest that the infrared sensory system of Melanophila beetles utilizes stochastic resonance for the detection of weak IR radiation. Our simulations also suggest that the biological IR receptors might be even more sensitive than uncooled technical IR sensors. Thus a closer look into the mode of operation of the Melanophila IR receptors seems promising for the development of novel IR sensors.

Fire monitoring capability of the joint Landsat and Sentinel 2 constellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, S.; Wright, R.

2017-12-01

Fires are a global hazard. Landsat and Sentinel 2 can monitor the Earth's surface every 2 - 4 days. This provides an important opportunity to complement the operational (lower resolution) fire monitoring systems. Landsat-class sensors can detect small fires that would be missed by MODIS-classed sensors. All large fires start out as small fires. We analyze fire patterns in California from 1984 to 2017 and compare the performance of Landsat-type and MODIS-type sensors. Had an operational Landsat-Sentinel 2 fire detection system been in place at the time of the Soberanes fire last year (i.e. August 2016), the cost of suppressing of this fire event (US $236 million) could potentially have been reduced by an order of magnitude.

Heterogeneity in fire severity within early season and late season prescribed burns in a mixed-conifer forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knapp, E.E.; Keeley, J.E.

2006-01-01

Structural heterogeneity in forests of the Sierra Nevada was historically produced through variation in fire regimes and local environmental factors. The amount of heterogeneity that prescription burning can achieve might now be more limited owing to high fuel loads and increased fuel continuity. Topography, woody fuel loading, and vegetative composition were quantified in plots within replicated early and late season burn units. Two indices of fire severity were evaluated in the same plots after the burns. Scorch height ranged from 2.8 to 25.4 m in early season plots and 3.1 to 38.5 m in late season plots, whereas percentage of ground surface burned ranged from 24 to 96% in early season plots and from 47 to 100% in late season plots. Scorch height was greatest in areas with steeper slopes, higher basal area of live trees, high percentage of basal area composed of pine, and more small woody fuel. Percentage of area burned was greatest in areas with less bare ground and rock cover (more fuel continuity), steeper slopes, and units burned in the fall (lower fuel moisture). Thus topographic and biotic factors still contribute to the abundant heterogeneity in fire severity with prescribed burning, even under the current high fuel loading conditions. Burning areas with high fuel loads in early season when fuels are moister may lead to patterns of heterogeneity in fire effects that more closely approximate the expected patchiness of historical fires.

Spacecraft Fire Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Margle, Janice M. (Editor)

1987-01-01

Fire detection, fire standards and testing, fire extinguishment, inerting and atmospheres, fire-related medical science, aircraft fire safety, Space Station safety concerns, microgravity combustion, spacecraft material flammability testing, and metal combustion are among the topics considered.

Monitoring Of Air Quality Parameters For Construction Of Fire Risk Detection Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romancov, I. I.; Dashkovky, A. G.; Panin, V. F.; Melkov, D. N.

2017-01-01

The analysis of fire developmental process is given, which showed that there are seven stages of fire development, a set of phenomena (factors, signs) of fire risk condition, characterized by a set of defined parameters, corresponds to each stage. Observed that the registration of high staging factors (high ambient temperature, content of CO2, etc.) means the registration of actual low staging fire (thermal destruction of materials gases, fumes, etc.) - fire risk situation. It is shown that the decrease of registered factor staging leads to construction of fire preventive and diagnostic systems as the lower is registered stage, the more uncertain is connection between the fact of its detection and a fire. It is indicated that with development of electronic equipment the staging of fire situations factors used for detection is reducing in whole, and also it is noted that for each control object it is necessary to choose (identify) the optimal factor, in particular, in many ways the optimal factor for aircrafts are smokes and their TV image.

Fail-safe fire detection system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bloam, E. T.

1974-01-01

Fire detection control system continually monitors its own integrity, automatically signals any malfunction, and separately signals fire in any zone being monitored. Should be of interest in fields of chemical and petroleum processing, power generation, equipment testing, and building protection.

Patterns of fire activity over Indonesia and Malaysia from polar and geostationary satellite observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyer, Edward J.; Reid, Jeffrey S.; Prins, Elaine M.; Hoffman, Jay P.; Schmidt, Christopher C.; Miettinen, Jukka I.; Giglio, Louis

2013-03-01

Biomass burning patterns over the Maritime Continent of Southeast Asia are examined using a new active fire detection product based on application of the Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (WF_ABBA) to data from the imagers on the MTSAT geostationary satellites operated by the Japanese space agency JAXA. Data from MTSAT-1R and MTSAT-2 covering 34 months from September 2008 to July 2011 are examined for a study region consisting of Indonesia, Malaysia, and nearby environs. The spatial and temporal distributions of fires detected in the MTSAT WF_ABBA product are described and compared with active fire observations from MODIS MOD14 data. Land cover distributions for the two instruments are examined using a new 250 m land cover product from the National University of Singapore. The two products show broadly similar patterns of fire activity, land cover distribution of fires, and pixel fire radiative power (FRP). However, the MTSAT WF_ABBA data differ from MOD14 in important ways. Relative to MODIS, the MTSAT WF_ABBA product has lower overall detection efficiency, but more fires detected due to more frequent looks, a greater relative fraction of fires in forest and a lower relative fraction of fires in open areas, and significantly higher single-pixel retrieved FRP. The differences in land cover distribution and FRP between the MTSAT and MODIS products are shown to be qualitatively consistent with expectations based on pixel size and diurnal sampling. The MTSAT WF_ABBA data are used to calculate coverage-corrected diurnal cycles of fire for different regions within the study area. These diurnal cycles are preliminary but demonstrate that the fraction of diurnal fire activity sampled by the two MODIS sensors varies significantly by region and vegetation type. Based on the results from comparison of the two fire products, a series of steps is outlined to account for some of the systematic biases in each of these satellite products in order to produce a successful merged fire detection product.

An improved algorithm for small and cool fire detection using MODIS data: A preliminary study in the southeastern United States

Treesearch

Wanting Wang; John J. Qu; Xianjun Hao; Yongqiang Liu; William T. Sommers

2006-01-01

Traditional fire detection algorithms mainly rely on hot spot detection using thermal infrared (TIR) channels with fixed or contextual thresholds. Three solar reflectance channels (0.65 μm, 0.86 μm, and 2.1 μm) were recently adopted into the MODIS version 4 contextual algorithm to improve the active fire detection. In the southeastern United...

Hazardous Gas Detection Sensor Using Broadband Light-Emitting Diode-Based Absorption Spectroscopy for Space Applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Terracciano, Anthony; Thurmond, Kyle; Villar, Michael

As space travel matures and extended duration voyages become increasingly common, it will be necessary to include arrays of early fire detection systems aboard spacefaring vessels, space habitats, and in spacesuits. As gasses that are relevant to combustion and pyrolysis have absorption features in the midinfrared range, it is possible to utilize absorption spectroscopy as a means of detecting and quantifying the concentration of these hazardous compounds. Within this work, a sensor for detecting carbon dioxide has been designed and tested autonomously on a high-altitude balloon flight. The sensor utilizes a 4.2-mm lightemitting diode source, amplitude modulation to characterize speciesmore » concentrations, and frequency modulation to characterize ambient temperature. Future work will include expanding the sensor design to detect other gases, and demonstrating suborbital flight capability.« less

Hazardous Gas Detection Sensor Using Broadband Light-Emitting Diode-Based Absorption Spectroscopy for Space Applications

DOE PAGES

Terracciano, Anthony; Thurmond, Kyle; Villar, Michael; ...

2018-03-12

As space travel matures and extended duration voyages become increasingly common, it will be necessary to include arrays of early fire detection systems aboard spacefaring vessels, space habitats, and in spacesuits. As gasses that are relevant to combustion and pyrolysis have absorption features in the midinfrared range, it is possible to utilize absorption spectroscopy as a means of detecting and quantifying the concentration of these hazardous compounds. Within this work, a sensor for detecting carbon dioxide has been designed and tested autonomously on a high-altitude balloon flight. The sensor utilizes a 4.2-mm lightemitting diode source, amplitude modulation to characterize speciesmore » concentrations, and frequency modulation to characterize ambient temperature. Future work will include expanding the sensor design to detect other gases, and demonstrating suborbital flight capability.« less

Early distinction system of mine fire in underground by using a neural-network system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ohga, Kotaro; Higuchi, Kiyoshi

1996-12-31

In our laboratory, a new detection system using smell detectors was developed to detect the spontaneous combustion of coal and the combustion of other materials used underground. The results of experiments clearly the combustion of materials can be detected earlier by this detection system than by conventional detectors for gas and smoke, and there were significant differences between output data from each smell detector for coal, rubber, oil and wood. In order to discern the source of combustion gases, we have been developing a distinction system using a neural-network system. It has shown successful results in laboratory tests. This papermore » describes our detection system using smell detectors and our distinction system which uses a neural-network system, and presents results of experiments using both systems.« less

Using the NASA NEESPI Portal Data to Study Land, Climate, and Socio-Economic Changes in Northern Eurasia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leptoukh, Gregory; Shen, Suhung; Csiszar, Ivan; Romanov, Peter; Loboda, Tatiana; Gerasimov, Irina

2008-01-01

A large number of fires detected in July of 2003 - a nearly 200-time increase in fire detections compared to other years during 2001-2006. despite the summer monsoon suppression of large fire occurrence. Traditional vegetation indices (NDVI and EVI) included in operational fire danger assessment provide little information on the fuel state in this ecosystem pre- or post-fire. No considerable differences in surface temperature and soil moisture in July were observed between the catastrophic year of 2003 and the two subsequent years of low summer fire occurrence of 2004 and 2005. However, the temporal analysis indicates that dry spring conditions in 2003 (detected through low soil moisture measurements in April and May) may have led to a stressed vegetative state and created conditions conducive to catastrophic fire occurrence.

Glare-reducing goggles for lookouts.

Treesearch

Richard E. McArdle; William G. Morris; Thornton T. Munger

1936-01-01

Detection of forest fires while they are still small is so important in forest protection that studies of the visibility of forest fire smokes from lookout points has been one of the principal phases of the fire studies program of the Pacific Northwest Forest Experiment Station. One phase of fire detection is the personal efficiency of the lookout. The Station has...

Computer evaluation of existing and proposed fire lookouts

Treesearch

Romain M. Mees

1976-01-01

A computer simulation model has been developed for evaluating the fire detection capabilities of existing and proposed lookout stations. The model uses coordinate location of fires and lookouts, tower elevation, and topographic data to judge location of stations, and to determine where a fire can be seen. The model was tested by comparing it with manual detection on a...

Underground Coal-Fires in Xinjiang, China: A Continued Effort in Applying Geophysics to Solve a Local Problem and to Mitigate a Global Hazard

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wuttke, M. W.; Halisch, M.; Tanner, D. C.; Cai, Z. Y.; Zeng, Q.; Wang, C.

2012-04-01

Spontaneous uncontrolled coal seam fires are a well known phenomenon that causes severe environmental problems and severe impact on natural coal reserves. Coal fires are a worldwide phenomenon, but in particular in Xinjiang, that covers 17.3 % of Chinas area and hosts approx 42 % of its coal resources. In Xinjiang since more than 50 years a rigorous strategy for fire fighting on local and regional scale is persued. The Xinjiang Coalfield Fire Fighting Bureau (FFB) has developed technologies and methods to deal with any known fire. Many fires have been extinguished already, but the problem is still there if not even growing. This problem is not only a problem for China due to the loss of valuable energy resources, but it is also a worldwide threat because of the generation of substantial amounts of greenhouse gases. Through the FFB, China is struggling to overcome this, but the activities could be much enhanced by the continuation of the already successful conjoint operations. The last ten years have seen two successful cooperative projects between China and Germany on the field of coal-fire fighting, namely the German Technical Cooperation Project on Coal Fire in Xinjiang and the Sino-German Coal Fire Research Initiative funded by the corresponding ministeries of both countries. A persistent task in the fire fighting is the identification and supervision of areas with higher risks for the ignition of coal fires, the exploration of already ignited fire zones to extinguish the fires and the monitoring of extinguished fires to detect as early as possible process that may foster re-ignition. This can be achieved by modeling both the structures and the processes that are involved. This has also been a promising part of the past cooperation projects, yet to be transformed into a standard application of fire fighting procedures. In this contribution we describe the plans for a new conjoint project between China and Germany where on the basis of field investigations and laboratory measurements realistic dynamical models of fire-zones are constructed to increase the understanding of particular coal-fires, to interpret the surface signatures of the coal-fire in terms of location and propagation and to estimate the output of hazardous exhaust products to evaluate the economic benefit of fire extinction.

Use of an Infrared Thermometer with Laser Targeting in Morphological Scene Change Detection for Fire Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tickle, Andrew J.; Singh, Harjap; Grindley, Josef E.

2013-06-01

Morphological Scene Change Detection (MSCD) is a process typically tasked at detecting relevant changes in a guarded environment for security applications. This can be implemented on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) by a combination of binary differences based around exclusive-OR (XOR) gates, mathematical morphology and a crucial threshold setting. This is a robust technique and can be applied many areas from leak detection to movement tracking, and further augmented to perform additional functions such as watermarking and facial detection. Fire is a severe problem, and in areas where traditional fire alarm systems are not installed or feasible, it may not be detected until it is too late. Shown here is a way of adapting the traditional Morphological Scene Change Detector (MSCD) with a temperature sensor so if both the temperature sensor and scene change detector are triggered, there is a high likelihood of fire present. Such a system would allow integration into autonomous mobile robots so that not only security patrols could be undertaken, but also fire detection.

Spatial temporal clustering for hotspot using kulldorff scan statistic method (KSS): A case in Riau Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudjimartsu, S. A.; Djatna, T.; Ambarwari, A.; Apriliantono

2017-01-01

The forest fires in Indonesia occurs frequently in the dry season. Almost all the causes of forest fires are caused by the human activity itself. The impact of forest fires is the loss of biodiversity, pollution hazard and harm the economy of surrounding communities. To prevent fires required the method, one of them with spatial temporal clustering. Spatial temporal clustering formed grouping data so that the results of these groupings can be used as initial information on fire prevention. To analyze the fires, used hotspot data as early indicator of fire spot. Hotspot data consists of spatial and temporal dimensions can be processed using the Spatial Temporal Clustering with Kulldorff Scan Statistic (KSS). The result of this research is to the effectiveness of KSS method to cluster spatial hotspot in a case within Riau Province and produces two types of clusters, most cluster and secondary cluster. This cluster can be used as an early fire warning information.

The contribution of natural fire management to wilderness fire science

Treesearch

Carol Miller

2014-01-01

When the federal agencies established policies in the late 1960s and early 1970s to allow the use of natural fires in wilderness, they launched a natural fire management experiment in a handful of wilderness areas. As a result, wildland fire has played more of its natural role in wilderness than anywhere else. Much of what we understand about fire ecology comes from...

Characterization of exposure to byproducts from firing lead-free frangible ammunition in an enclosed, ventilated firing range.

PubMed

Grabinski, Christin M; Methner, Mark M; Jackson, Jerimiah M; Moore, Alexander L; Flory, Laura E; Tilly, Trevor; Hussain, Saber M; Ott, Darrin K

2017-06-01

U.S. Air Force small arms firing ranges began using copper-based, lead-free frangible ammunition in the early 2000s due to environmental and health concerns related to the use of lead-based ammunition. Exposure assessments at these firing ranges have routinely detected chemicals and metals in amounts much lower than their mass-based occupational exposure limits, yet, instructors report work-related health concerns including respiratory distress, nausea, and headache. The objective of this study at one firing range was to characterize the aerosol emissions produced by weapons during firing events and evaluate the ventilation system's effectiveness in controlling instructor exposure to these emissions. The ventilation system was assessed by measuring the range static air pressure differential and the air velocity at the firing line. Air flow patterns were near the firing line. Instructor exposure was sampled using a filter-based air sampling method for metals and a wearable, real-time ultrafine particle counter. Area air sampling was simultaneously performed to characterize the particle size distribution, morphology, and composition. In the instructor's breathing zone, the airborne mass concentration of copper was low (range = <1 µg/m 3 to 16 µg/m 3 ), yet the ultrafine (nanoscale) particle number concentration increased substantially during each firing event. Ultrafine particles contained some copper and were complex in morphology and composition. The ventilation assessment found that the average velocity across all shooting lanes was acceptable compared to the recommended guideline (20% of the ideal 0.38 m/s (75 ft/min). However, uniform, downrange airflow pattern requirements were not met. These results suggest that the mass-based occupational exposure limits, as applied to this environment, may not be protective enough to eliminate health complaints reported by instructors whose full-time job involves training personnel on weapons that fire lead-free frangible ammunition. Using an ultrafine particle counter appears to be an alternative method of assessing ventilation effectiveness in removing ultrafine particulate produced during firing events.

Fires Rage Near Malibu, California

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

According to the NBCnews.com, Southern California firefighters were battling a growing, brush-fueled wildfire early Friday that had reached the beach in Ventura County and was pushing toward the upscale city of Malibu, officials said. Dubbed the Springs Fire, this "monster" of a wildfire has been made worse by howling Santa Ana winds and unusually dry vegetation. As of 2 am local time in California on Friday the 3rd, it was within "seven or eight miles" of Malibu, Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Bill Nash said. Weather conditions are not cooperating in the containment of this fire. The Weather Channel has predicted dry winds from offshore that will bring gusts of 40 to 50 miles per hour to the Southern California region on Friday the 3rd which could easily spread the fire. A complication to the winds is the extremely dry plant life left from a season in which only about five inches of rain fell in the area. The Springs Fire grew to 10,000 acres and was ten percent contained as of early Friday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention. Evacuations took place Thursday, and as of Friday morning 15 homes had been damaged. More than 2,000 homes and 100 commercial properties were under threat from the fire and those numbers could grow with weather conditions today (May 3). Currently the fire is burning in a rural area outside of Malibu, but it doesn't have to go very far to get to some expensive homes and more populated areas. It's current direction has it burning down the mountainside toward Malibu. Firefighters expect to receive help from tankers and helicopters in the air Friday morning, according to a release from the Ventura County Fire Department. The cause of the fire remained under investigation Friday. There had been no lightning or other natural fire-starting phenomenon in the area when the blaze began, Nash said. This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite on May 02, 2013. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner with information from NBCnews.com NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Fire in Eastern Hardwood Forests through 14,000 Years

Treesearch

Martin A. Spetich; Roger W. Perry; Craig A. Harper; Stacy L. Clark

2011-01-01

Fire helped shape the structure and species composition of hardwood forests of the eastern United States over the past 14,000 years. Periodic fires were common in much of this area prior to European settlement, and fire-resilient species proliferated. Early European settlers commonly adopted Native American techniques of applying fire to the landscape. As the demand...

Fire and fire ecology: Concepts and principles

Treesearch

Mark A. Cochrane; Kevin C. Ryan

2009-01-01

Fire has been central to terrestrial life ever since early anaerobic microorganisms poisoned the atmosphere with oxygen and multicellular plant life moved onto land. The combination of fuels, oxygen, and heat gave birth to fire on Earth. Fire is not just another evolutionary challenge that life needed to overcome, it is, in fact, a core ecological process across much...

Modelling a Historic Oil-Tank Fire Allows an Estimation of the Sensitivity of the Infrared Receptors in Pyrophilous Melanophila Beetles

PubMed Central

Schmitz, Helmut; Bousack, Herbert

2012-01-01

Pyrophilous jewel beetles of the genus Melanophila approach forest fires and there is considerable evidence that these beetles can detect fires from great distances of more than 60 km. Because Melanophila beetles are equipped with infrared receptors and are also attracted by hot surfaces it can be concluded that these infrared receptors are used for fire detection. The sensitivity of the IR receptors is still unknown. The lowest threshold published so far is 0.6 W/m2 which, however, cannot explain the detection of forest fires by IR radiation from distances larger than approximately 10 km. To investigate the possible sensitivity of the IR receptors we assumed that beetles use IR radiation for remote fire detection and we made use of a historic report about a big oil-tank fire in Coalinga, California, in 1924. IR emission of an oil-tank fire can be calculated by “pool fire” simulations which now are used for fire safety and risk analysis. Assuming that beetles were lured to the fire from the nearest forests 25 and 130 km away, our results show that detection from a distance of 25 km requires a threshold of the IR receptors of at least 3×10−2 W/m2. According to our investigations most beetles became aware of the fire from a distance of 130 km. In this case the threshold has to be 1.3×10−4 W/m2. Because such low IR intensities are buried in thermal noise we suggest that the infrared sensory system of Melanophila beetles utilizes stochastic resonance for the detection of weak IR radiation. Our simulations also suggest that the biological IR receptors might be even more sensitive than uncooled technical IR sensors. Thus a closer look into the mode of operation of the Melanophila IR receptors seems promising for the development of novel IR sensors. PMID:22629433

Help Children--and Families--Learn Basic Fire Safety.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas Child Care, 2001

2001-01-01

Presents tips to help early childhood teachers and caregivers teach young children fire safety. Provides checklist for preventing fires in the kitchen, classrooms, and storage areas. Offers suggestions for classroom learning activities and for educating families about fire safety. Includes annotated bibliography of children's books dealing with…

Progress in Fire Detection and Suppression Technology for Future Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedman, Robert; Urban, David L.

2000-01-01

Fire intervention technology (detection and suppression) is a critical part of the strategy of spacecraft fire safety. This paper reviews the status, trends, and issues in fire intervention, particularly the technology applied to the protection of the International Space Station and future missions beyond Earth orbit. An important contribution to improvements in spacecraft fire safety is the understanding of the behavior of fires in the non-convective (microgravity) environment of Earth-orbiting and planetary-transit spacecraft. A key finding is the strong influence of ventilation flow on flame characteristics, flammability limits and flame suppression in microgravity. Knowledge of these flow effects will aid the development of effective processes for fire response and technology for fire suppression.

Fabrication and evaluation of polymeric early-warning fire-alarm devices. [combustion products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Senturia, S. D.

1975-01-01

The electrical resistivities were investigated of some polymers known to be enhanced by the presence of certain gases. This was done to make a device capable of providing early warning to fire through its response with the gases produced in the early phases of combustion. Eight polymers were investigated: poly(phenyl acetylene), poly(p-aminophenyl acetylene), poly(p-nitrophenyl acetylene), poly(p-formamidophenyl acetylene), poly(ethynyl ferrocene), poly(ethynyl carborane), poly(ethynyl pyridine), and the polymer made from 1,2,3,6 tetramethyl pyridazine. A total of 40 usable thin-film sandwich devices and a total of 70 usable interdigitated-electrode lock-and-key devices were fabricated. The sandwich devices were used for measurements of contact linearity, polymer conductivity, and polymer dielectric constant. The lock-and-key devices were used to determine the response of the polymers to a spectrum of gases that included ammonia, carbon nonoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ethylene, acrolein, water vapor, and normal laboratory air. Strongest responses were to water vapor, ammonia, and acrolein, and depending on the polymer, weaker responses to carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide were observed. A quantitative theory of device operation, capable of accounting for observed device leakage current and sensitivity, was developed. A prototype detection/alarm system was designed and built for use in demonstrating sensor performance.

Effects of fire frequency and season on resprouting of woody plants in southeastern US pine-grassland communities.

PubMed

Robertson, Kevin M; Hmielowski, Tracy L

2014-03-01

Past studies suggest that rates of woody plant resprouting following a "topkilling" disturbance relate to timing of disturbance because of temporal patterns of below-ground carbohydrate storage. Accordingly, we hypothesized that fire-return interval (1 or 2 years) and season of burn (late dormant or early growing season) would influence the change in resprout growth rate from one fire-free interval to the next (Δ growth rate) for broadleaf woody plants in a pine-grassland in Georgia, USA. Resprout growth rate during one fire-free interval strongly predicted growth rate during the following fire-free interval, presumably reflecting root biomass. Length of fire-free interval did not have a significant effect on mean Δ growth rate. Plants burned in the late dormant season (February-March) had a greater positive Δ growth rate than those burned in the early growing season (April-June), consistent with the presumption that root carbohydrates are depleted and thus limiting during spring growth. Plants with resprout growth rates above a certain level had zero or negative Δ growth rates, indicating an equilibrium of maximum resprout size under a given fire-return interval. This equilibrium, as well as relatively reduced resprout growth rate following growing season fires, provide insight into how historic lightning-initiated fires in the early growing season limited woody plant dominance and maintained the herb-dominated structure of pine-grassland communities. Results also indicate tradeoffs between applying prescribed fire at 1- versus 2-year intervals and in the dormant versus growing seasons with the goal of limiting woody vegetation.

36 CFR Appendix B to Part 1234 - Alternative Certified Fire-Safety Detection and Suppression System(s)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... the system at the base of the main sprinkler riser. l. Fire hydrants must be located within 250 feet... Suppression System(s) 1. General. This Appendix B contains information on the Fire-safety Detection and Suppression System(s) tested by NARA through independent live fire testing that are certified to meet the...

36 CFR Appendix B to Part 1234 - Alternative Certified Fire-Safety Detection and Suppression System(s)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... the system at the base of the main sprinkler riser. l. Fire hydrants must be located within 250 feet... Suppression System(s) 1. General. This Appendix B contains information on the Fire-safety Detection and Suppression System(s) tested by NARA through independent live fire testing that are certified to meet the...

36 CFR Appendix B to Part 1234 - Alternative Certified Fire-Safety Detection and Suppression System(s)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... the system at the base of the main sprinkler riser. l. Fire hydrants must be located within 250 feet... Suppression System(s) 1. General. This Appendix B contains information on the Fire-safety Detection and Suppression System(s) tested by NARA through independent live fire testing that are certified to meet the...

Sprinklers/Standpipes/Detection Systems. Fire Service Certification Series. Unit FSCS-FF-11-80.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pribyl, Paul F.

This training unit on sprinklers, standpipes, and detection systems is part of a 17-unit course package written to aid instructors in the development, teaching, and evaluation of fire fighters in the Wisconsin Fire Service Certification Series. The purpose stated for the 6-hour unit is to provide the fire fighter with an understanding of the…

Knowledge-Based Systems Approach to Wilderness Fire Management.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saveland, James M.

The 1988 and 1989 forest fire seasons in the Intermountain West highlight the shortcomings of current fire policy. To fully implement an optimization policy that minimizes the costs and net value change of resources affected by fire, long-range fire severity information is essential, yet lacking. This information is necessary for total mobility of suppression forces, implementing contain and confine suppression strategies, effectively dealing with multiple fire situations, scheduling summer prescribed burning, and wilderness fire management. A knowledge-based system, Delphi, was developed to help provide long-range information. Delphi provides: (1) a narrative of advice on where a fire might spread, if allowed to burn, (2) a summary of recent weather and fire danger information, and (3) a Bayesian analysis of long-range fire danger potential. Uncertainty is inherent in long-range information. Decision theory and judgment research can be used to help understand the heuristics experts use to make decisions under uncertainty, heuristics responsible both for expert performance and bias. Judgment heuristics and resulting bias are examined from a fire management perspective. Signal detection theory and receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis can be used to develop a long-range forecast to improve decisions. ROC analysis mimics some of the heuristics and compensates for some of the bias. Most importantly, ROC analysis displays a continuum of bias from which an optimum operating point can be selected. ROC analysis is especially appropriate for long-range forecasting since (1) the occurrence of possible future events is stated in terms of probability, (2) skill prediction is displayed, (3) inherent trade-offs are displayed, and (4) fire danger is explicitly defined. Statements on the probability of the energy release component of the National Fire Danger Rating System exceeding a critical value later in the fire season can be made early July in the Intermountain West. Delphi was evaluated formally and informally. Continual evaluation and feedback to update knowledge-based systems results in a repository for current knowledge, and a means to devise policy that will augment existing knowledge. Thus, knowledge-based systems can help implement adaptive resource management.

Seasonal variations in methane and nitrous oxide emissions factors in northern Australian savanna woodlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, C. P.(Mick); Cook, Garry; Reisen, Fabienne; Russell-Smith, Jeremy; Maier, Stefan; Schatz, Jon; Yates, Cameron; Watt, Felicity

2010-05-01

Burning of savannas and grasslands consumes more than one third of the total annual biomass burning globally. In Australia, savanna fires emit annually from 2% to 4% of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. This has led to efforts to reduce savanna burning emissions through early season prescribed burning. These programs aim to change the fire seasonality from predominantly high intensity late season fires which are characterized by low levels of patchiness and high burning efficiencies to early-season fires characterized by low intensity, a high degree of patchiness and low burning efficiency. The result is a net reduction in fire area and associated carbon emissions. Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions is predicated on there being little change in methane (CH4) or nitrous oxide (N2O) emission factors (EFs) as the fire season progresses, however, recent analysis of the emission characteristics of African savanna fires by Korontzi et al., indicates CH4-EF, in particular, could decline substantially as the fire season progresses. If this also occurs in Australian savanna woodlands, then the current mitigation strategy could be ineffective. To address the issue a series of field campaigns were undertaken in the savanna woodlands of Western Arnhem land, Australia to quantify the variability in CH4 and N2O EFs throughout the fire season. This study compared CH4 and N2O EFs measured in smoke sampled from prescribed burning in late June/early July with those from late season fires in early October. It concentrated on the two major vegetation classes in Western Arnhemland; eucalypt open woodland, in which the fuel is composed predominantly tree leaf-litter supplemented by senescent native Sorghum, and sandstone heaths which are dominated by Spinifex hummocks. There were no significant differences in CH4 EFs between early or late season fires, however there were substantial differences between vegetation classes. The woodland emitted 0.3% of fuel carbon as CH4 compared to 0.15% in the sandstone heathland and pure Spinifex and Sorghum swords. The lower emission factors from the grasses compared to leaf litter can be entirely explained by higher combustion efficiency of grass fires. Emission of N2O were less dependent on combustion conditions; approximately 0.5% of fuel nitrogen was emitted as N2O, however there were no differences between early and late season fires or between vegetation classes. These results compare favorably with previous studies; the CH4-EF is similar to earlier measurements in open woodland, although the N2O-EF is lower than the value of 0.8% reported in previous work. Therefore we conclude that the proposed mitigation strategy is feasible and but the variation in EF with vegetation class calls for further quantification of EFs across all major vegetation types in the savanna regions.

Infrared-enhanced TV for fire detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, J. R.

1978-01-01

Closed-circuit television is superior to conventional smoke or heat sensors for detecting fires in large open spaces. Single TV camera scans entire area, whereas many conventional sensors and maze of interconnecting wiring might be required to get same coverage. Camera is monitored by person who would trip alarm if fire were detected, or electronic circuitry could process camera signal for fully-automatic alarm system.

Poverty and corruption compromise tropical forest reserves.

PubMed

Wright, S Joseph; Sanchez-Azofeifa, G Arturo; Portillo-Quintero, Carlos; Davies, Diane

2007-07-01

We used the global fire detection record provided by the satellite-based Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to determine the number of fires detected inside 823 tropical and subtropical moist forest reserves and for contiguous buffer areas 5, 10, and 15 km wide. The ratio of fire detection densities (detections per square kilometer) inside reserves to their contiguous buffer areas provided an index of reserve effectiveness. Fire detection density was significantly lower inside reserves than in paired, contiguous buffer areas but varied by five orders of magnitude among reserves. The buffer: reserve detection ratio varied by up to four orders of magnitude among reserves within a single country, and median values varied by three orders of magnitude among countries. Reserves tended to be least effective at reducing fire frequency in many poorer countries and in countries beset by corruption. Countries with the most successful reserves include Costa Rica, Jamaica, Malaysia, and Taiwan and the Indonesian island of Java. Countries with the most problematic reserves include Cambodia, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Sierra Leone and the Indonesian portion of Borneo. We provide fire detection density for 3964 tropical and subtropical reserves and their buffer areas in the hope that these data will expedite further analyses that might lead to improved management of tropical reserves.

Changing Weather Extremes Call for Early Warning of Potential for Catastrophic Fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boer, Matthias M.; Nolan, Rachael H.; Resco De Dios, Víctor; Clarke, Hamish; Price, Owen F.; Bradstock, Ross A.

2017-12-01

Changing frequencies of extreme weather events and shifting fire seasons call for enhanced capability to forecast where and when forested landscapes switch from a nonflammable (i.e., wet fuel) state to the highly flammable (i.e., dry fuel) state required for catastrophic forest fires. Current forest fire danger indices used in Europe, North America, and Australia rate potential fire behavior by combining numerical indices of fuel moisture content, potential rate of fire spread, and fire intensity. These numerical rating systems lack the physical basis required to reliably quantify forest flammability outside the environments of their development or under novel climate conditions. Here, we argue that exceedance of critical forest flammability thresholds is a prerequisite for major forest fires and therefore early warning systems should be based on a reliable prediction of fuel moisture content plus a regionally calibrated model of how forest fire activity responds to variation in fuel moisture content. We demonstrate the potential of this approach through a case study in Portugal. We use a physically based fuel moisture model with historical weather and fire records to identify critical fuel moisture thresholds for forest fire activity and then show that the catastrophic June 2017 forest fires in central Portugal erupted shortly after fuels in the region dried out to historically unprecedented levels.

Improvement of Forest Fire Detection Algorithm Using Brightness Temperature Lapse Rate Correction in HIMAWARI-8 IR Channels: Application to the 6 may 2017 Samcheok City, Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, S. H.; Park, W.; Jung, H. S.

2018-04-01

Forest fires are a major natural disaster that destroys a forest area and a natural environment. In order to minimize the damage caused by the forest fire, it is necessary to know the location and the time of day and continuous monitoring is required until fire is fully put out. We have tried to improve the forest fire detection algorithm by using a method to reduce the variability of surrounding pixels. We focused that forest areas of East Asia, part of the Himawari-8 AHI coverage, are mostly located in mountainous areas. The proposed method was applied to the forest fire detection in Samcheok city, Korea on May 6 to 10, 2017.

Final Report: Fire Prevention, Detection, and Suppression Project, Exploration Technology Development Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruff, Gary A.

2011-01-01

The Fire Prevention, Detection, and Suppression (FPDS) project is a technology development effort within the Exploration Technology Development Program of the Exploration System Missions Directorate (ESMD) that addresses all aspects of fire safety aboard manned exploration systems. The overarching goal for work in the FPDS area is to develop technologies that will ensure crew health and safety on exploration missions by reducing the likelihood of a fire, or, if one does occur, minimizing the risk to the crew, mission, or system. This is accomplished by addressing the areas of (1) fire prevention and material flammability, (2) fire signatures and detection, and (3) fire suppression and response. This report describes the outcomes of this project from the formation of the Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) in October 2005 to September 31, 2010 when the Exploration Technology Development Program was replaced by the Enabling Technology Development and Demonstration Program. NASA s fire safety work will continue under this new program and will build upon the accomplishments described herein.

HOW TO PROVIDE AUTOMATIC FIRE PROTECTION FOR YOUR BUILDING.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Honeywell, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.

THE ADVANTAGES OF PROMPT FIRE DETECTION IS DISCUSSED WITH RESPECT TO THE NATURE AND COST OF FIRES. EQUIPMENT IS DESCRIBED, AND DIAGRAMS OF INSTALLATIONS OF DETECTION AND ALARM SYSTEMS ARE GIVEN FOR SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, COMMERICAL BUILDINGS, INDUSTRIAL PLANTS, AND CAMPUSES. (JT)

Detection, Emission Estimation and Risk Prediction of Forest Fires in China Using Satellite Sensors and Simulation Models in the Past Three Decades—An Overview

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jia-Hua; Yao, Feng-Mei; Liu, Cheng; Yang, Li-Min; Boken, Vijendra K.

2011-01-01

Forest fires have major impact on ecosystems and greatly impact the amount of greenhouse gases and aerosols in the atmosphere. This paper presents an overview in the forest fire detection, emission estimation, and fire risk prediction in China using satellite imagery, climate data, and various simulation models over the past three decades. Since the 1980s, remotely-sensed data acquired by many satellites, such as NOAA/AVHRR, FY-series, MODIS, CBERS, and ENVISAT, have been widely utilized for detecting forest fire hot spots and burned areas in China. Some developed algorithms have been utilized for detecting the forest fire hot spots at a sub-pixel level. With respect to modeling the forest burning emission, a remote sensing data-driven Net Primary productivity (NPP) estimation model was developed for estimating forest biomass and fuel. In order to improve the forest fire risk modeling in China, real-time meteorological data, such as surface temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, have been used as the model input for improving prediction of forest fire occurrence and its behavior. Shortwave infrared (SWIR) and near infrared (NIR) channels of satellite sensors have been employed for detecting live fuel moisture content (FMC), and the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) was used for evaluating the forest vegetation condition and its moisture status. PMID:21909297

Detection, emission estimation and risk prediction of forest fires in China using satellite sensors and simulation models in the past three decades--an overview.

PubMed

Zhang, Jia-Hua; Yao, Feng-Mei; Liu, Cheng; Yang, Li-Min; Boken, Vijendra K

2011-08-01

Forest fires have major impact on ecosystems and greatly impact the amount of greenhouse gases and aerosols in the atmosphere. This paper presents an overview in the forest fire detection, emission estimation, and fire risk prediction in China using satellite imagery, climate data, and various simulation models over the past three decades. Since the 1980s, remotely-sensed data acquired by many satellites, such as NOAA/AVHRR, FY-series, MODIS, CBERS, and ENVISAT, have been widely utilized for detecting forest fire hot spots and burned areas in China. Some developed algorithms have been utilized for detecting the forest fire hot spots at a sub-pixel level. With respect to modeling the forest burning emission, a remote sensing data-driven Net Primary productivity (NPP) estimation model was developed for estimating forest biomass and fuel. In order to improve the forest fire risk modeling in China, real-time meteorological data, such as surface temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, have been used as the model input for improving prediction of forest fire occurrence and its behavior. Shortwave infrared (SWIR) and near infrared (NIR) channels of satellite sensors have been employed for detecting live fuel moisture content (FMC), and the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) was used for evaluating the forest vegetation condition and its moisture status.

Seedbed Requirements For Regenerating Table Mountain Pine With Prescribed Fire

Treesearch

Thomas A. Waldrop; Helen H. Mohr; Patrick H. Brose; Richard B. Baker

1999-01-01

High-intensity, stand-replacement fires have been recommnded to regenerate stands of Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens Lamb.) because its seeds require mineral soil to germinate and seedlings are intolerant of shade. Early prescribed fire efforts resulted in poor regeneration success where crown fires created seedbeds with abundant insolation....

Fire danger rating in the United States of America: An evolution since 1916

Treesearch

Colin C. Hardy; Charles E. Hardy

2007-01-01

Fire scientists in the United States began exploring the relationships of fire-danger and hazard with weather, fuel moisture, and ignition probabilities as early as 1916. Many of the relationships identified then persist today in the form of our National Fire-Danger-Rating System. This paper traces the evolution of fire-danger rating in the United States, including...

Early forest dynamics in stand-replacing fire patches in the northern Sierra Nevada, California, USA

Treesearch

Brandon M. Collins; Gary B. Roller

2013-01-01

There is considerable concern over the occurrence of stand-replacing fire in forest types historically associated with low- to moderate-severity fire. The concern is largely over whether contemporary levels of stand-replacing fire are outside the historical range of variability, and what natural forest recovery is in these forest types following stand-replacing fire....

Recent Developments for Satellite-Based Fire Monitoring in Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abuelgasim, A.; Fraser, R.

2002-05-01

Wildfires in Canadian forests are a major source of natural disturbance. These fires have a tremendous impact on the local environment, humans and wildlife, ecosystem function, weather, and climate. Approximately 9000 fires burn 3 million hectares per year in Canada (based on a 10-year average). While only 2 to 3 percent of these wildfires grow larger than 200 hectares in size, they account for almost 97 percent of the annual area burned. This provides an excellent opportunity to monitor active fires using a combination of low and high resolution sensors for the purpose of determining fire location and burned areas. Given the size of Canada, the use of remote sensing data is a cost-effective way to achieve a synoptic overview of large forest fire activity in near-real time. In 1998 the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) and the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) developed a system for Fire Monitoring, Mapping and Modelling (Fire M3;http://fms.nofc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/FireM3/). Fire M3 automatically identifies, monitors, and maps large forest fires on a daily basis using NOAA AVHRR data. These data are processed daily using the GEOCOMP-N satellite image processing system. This presentation will describe recent developments to Fire M3, included the addition of a set of algorithms tailored for NOAA-16 (N-16) data. The two fire detection algorithms are developed for N-16 day and night-time daily data collection. The algorithms exploit both the multi-spectral and thermal information from the AVHRR daily images. The set of N-16 day and night algorithms was used to generate daily active fire maps across North America for the 2001 fire season. Such a combined approach for fire detection leads to an improved detection rate, although day-time detection based on the new 1.6 um channel was much less effective (note - given the low detection rate with day time imagery, I don't think we can make the statement about capturing the diurnal cycle). Selected validation sites in western Canada and the United States showed reasonable correspondence with the location of fires mapped by CFS and those mapped by the USDA Forest Service using conventional means.

Comparative Soot Diagnostics: Preliminary Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Urban, David L.; Griffin, DeVon W.; Gard, Melissa Y.

1997-01-01

The motivation for the Comparative Soot Diagnostics (CSD) experiment lies in the broad practical importance of understanding combustion generated particulate. Depending upon the circumstances, particulate matter can affect the durability and performance of combustion equipment, can be a pollutant, can be used to detect fires and, in the form of soot, can be the dominant source of radiant energy from flames. The nonbuoyant structure of most flames of practical interest makes understanding of soot processes in low gravity flames important to our ability to predict fire behavior on earth. These studies also have direct applications to fire safety in human-crew spacecraft, since smoke is the indicator used for automated detection in current spacecraft. In the earliest missions (Mercury, Gemini and Apollo), the crew quarters were so cramped that it was considered reasonable that the astronauts would rapidly detect any fire. The Skylab module, however, included approximately 20 UV-sensing fire detectors. The Space Shuttle has 9 particle-ionization smoke detectors in the mid-deck and flight deck and Spacelab has six additional particle-ionization smoke detectors. The designated detectors for the ISS are laser-diode, forward-scattering, smoke or particulate detectors. Current plans for the ISS call for two detectors in the open area of the module, and detectors in racks that have both cooling air flow and electrical power. Due to the complete absence of data concerning the nature of particulate and radiant emission from incipient and fully developed low-g fires, all three of these detector systems were designed based upon l-g test data and experience. As planned mission durations and complexity increase and the volume of spacecraft increases, the need for and importance of effective, crew-independent, fire detection grows significantly. To provide this level of protection, more knowledge is needed concerning low-gravity fire phenomena and, in particular, how they might be detected and suppressed. Prior to CSD, no combustion-generated particulate samples had been collected near the flame zone for well-developed microgravity flames. All of the extant data either came from drop tower tests and therefore only corresponded to the early stages of a fire or were collected far from the flame zone. The fuel sources in the drop tower tests were restricted to laminar gas-jet diffusion flames and very rapidly overheated wire insulation. The gas-jet tests indicated, through thermophoretic sampling, (2) that soot primaries and aggregates (groups of primary particles) in low-gravity may be significantly larger than those in normal gravity (1-g). This raises new scientific questions about soot processes as well as practical issues for particulate size sensitivity and detection alarm threshold levels used in on-orbit smoke detectors. Preliminary tests in the 2.2 second drop tower suggest that particulate generated by overheated wire insulation may be larger in low-g than in 1-g. Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) grids downstream of the fire region in the Wire Insulation Flammability experiment as well as visual observation of long string-like aggregates, further confirm this suggestion. The combined impact of these limited results and theoretical predictions is that, as opposed to extrapolation from l-g data, direct knowledge of low-g combustion particulate is needed for more confident design of smoke detectors for spacecraft. This paper describes the operation and preliminary results of the CSD, a project conceived and developed at NASA Lewis Research Center. The CSD flight experiment was conducted in the Middeck Glovebox Facility (MGBX) on USMP-3. The project is support by NASA Headquarters Microgravity Science and Applications Division and Code Q. The results presented here are from the microgravity portion of the experiment, including the temporal response of the detectors and average sizes of the primary and aggregate particles captured on the thermophoretic probes.

Controls on variations in MODIS fire radiative power in Alaskan boreal forests: implications for fire severity conditions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barrett, Kirsten; Kasischke, Eric S.

2013-01-01

Fire activity in the Alaskan boreal forest, though episodic at annual and intra-annual time scales, has experienced an increase over the last several decades. Increases in burned area and fire severity are not only releasing more carbon to the atmosphere, but likely shifting vegetation composition in the region towards greater deciduous dominance and a reduction in coniferous stands. While some recent studies have addressed qualitative differences between large and small fire years in the Alaskan boreal forest, the ecological effects of a greater proportion of burning occurring during large fire years and during late season fires have not yet been examined. Some characteristics of wildfires that can be detected remotely are related to fire severity and can provide new information on spatial and temporal patterns of burning. This analysis focused on boreal wildfire intensity (fire radiative power, or FRP) contained in the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) daily active fire product from 2003 to 2010. We found that differences in FRP resulted from seasonality and intra-annual variability in fire activity levels, vegetation composition, latitudinal variation, and fire spread behavior. Our studies determined two general categories of active fire detections: new detections associated with the spread of the fire front and residual pixels in areas that had already experienced front burning. Residual pixels had a lower average FRP than front pixels, but represented a high percentage of all pixels during periods of high fire activity (large fire years, late season burning, and seasonal periods of high fire activity). As a result, the FRP from periods of high fire activity was less intense than those from periods of low fire activity. Differences related to latitude were greater than expected, with higher latitudes burning later in the season and at a higher intensity than lower latitudes. Differences in vegetation type indicate that coniferous vegetation is the most fire prone, but deciduous vegetation is not particularly fire resistant, as the proportion of active fire detections in deciduous stands is roughly the same as the fraction of deciduous vegetation in the region. Qualitative differences between periods of high and low fire activity are likely to reflect important differences in fire severity. Large fire years are likely to be more severe, characterized by more late season fires and a greater proportion of residual burning. Given the potential for severe fires to effect changes in vegetation cover, the shift toward a greater proportion of area burning during large fire years may influence vegetation patterns in the region over the medium to long term.

Canadian and Siberian Boreal Fire Activity during ARCTAS Spring and Summer Phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stocks, B. J.; Fromm, M. D.; Soja, A. J.; Servranckx, R.; Lindsey, D.; Hyer, E.

2009-12-01

The summer phase of ARCTAS (Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites) was designed specifically around forest fire activity in the Canadian boreal forest, and located in areas of northern Canada where summer forest fires are ubiquitous. Lightning fires are most often allowed to burn naturally in these regions, and a number of large free-burning fires in northern Saskatchewan in late June/early July 2008 provided excellent targets during the summer phase of ARCTAS. Smoke generated by a large number of early spring fires in Kazakhstan and southern Siberia unexpectedly made a significant contribution to arctic haze during the Alaska-based spring phase of ARCTAS, Numerous smoke plumes were sampled during the spring phase of ARCTAS, creating interest in the origin and characteristics of the fires in the source regions of East Asia. This presentation is designed to connect aircraft and satellite smoke chemistry/transport measurements with ground-based measurements of fire activity during the spring and summer phases of ARCTAS. The Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS) is used to determine forest fire danger conditions in regions of fire activity, and these measurements are in turn used to project fire behavior characteristics. Fuel consumption, spread rates, and frontal fire intensity are calculated using the CFFDRS. Energy release rates at ground level are related to convection/smoke column development and smoke injection heights.

Trace gas and particle emissions from open biomass burning in Mexico

Treesearch

R. J. Yokelson; I. R. Burling; Shawn Urbanski; E. L. Atlas; K. Adachi; P. R. Buseck; C. Wiedinmyer; S. K. Akagi; D. W. Toohey; C. E. Wold

2011-01-01

We report airborne measurements of emission factors (EF) for trace gases and PM2.5 made in southern Mexico in March of 2006 on 6 crop residue fires, 3 tropical dry forest fires, 8 savanna fires, 1 garbage fire, and 7 mountain pine-oak forest fires. The savanna fire EF were measured early in the local dry season and when compared to EF measured late in the African dry...

Early Rockets

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-04-15

During the early introduction of rockets to Europe, they were used only as weapons. Enemy troops in India repulsed the British with rockets. Later, in Britain, Sir William Congreve developed a rocket that could fire to about 9,000 feet. The British fired Congreve rockets against the United States in the War of 1812.

The parallel-sequential field subtraction techniques for nonlinear ultrasonic imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Jingwei; Potter, Jack N.; Drinkwater, Bruce W.

2018-04-01

Nonlinear imaging techniques have recently emerged which have the potential to detect cracks at a much earlier stage and have sensitivity to particularly closed defects. This study utilizes two modes of focusing: parallel, in which the elements are fired together with a delay law, and sequential, in which elements are fired independently. In the parallel focusing, a high intensity ultrasonic beam is formed in the specimen at the focal point. However, in sequential focusing only low intensity signals from individual elements enter the sample and the full matrix of transmit-receive signals is recorded; with elastic assumptions, both parallel and sequential images are expected to be identical. Here we measure the difference between these images formed from the coherent component of the field and use this to characterize nonlinearity of closed fatigue cracks. In particular we monitor the reduction in amplitude at the fundamental frequency at each focal point and use this metric to form images of the spatial distribution of nonlinearity. The results suggest the subtracted image can suppress linear features (e.g., back wall or large scatters) and allow damage to be detected at an early stage.

Fire interest, fire setting and psychopathology in Australian children: a normative study.

PubMed

Dadds, Mark R; Fraser, Jennifer A

2006-01-01

Child and adolescent fire setting is associated with a broad pattern of antisocial behaviour and is associated with huge costs to the Australian community. Assessment and treatment options have principally been tested in clinically referred or incarcerated children and adolescents. Little information is available about fire setting in normal populations and thus opportunities for screening and early intervention are not well developed. In this study, a large sample of 4- to 9-year-old children were assessed using a seven-item fire interest history screen with other measures of antisocial behaviour, children's mental health, parenting style and quality and parenting stress. These were followed-up with parent and teacher report measures and a diagnostic interview at 12 months. The fire history screening tool demonstrated utility in screening for early signs of fire setting. Prevalences of fire interest, and match- and fire-play were low overall but consistently higher for boys than for girls across ages. As expected, fire setting was associated with parental stress and a range of antisocial behaviours including conduct problems, hyperactivity, cruelty to animals and thrill-seeking temperament. In girls, it was also associated with anxiety/depression problems. Fire behaviours in children are related to broader psychopathology and family stress, and can be effectively identified in young children using a brief screening measure.

Remote sensing techniques in monitoring areas affected by forest fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karagianni, Aikaterini Ch.; Lazaridou, Maria A.

2017-09-01

Forest fire is a part of nature playing a key role in shaping ecosystems. However, fire's environmental impacts can be significant, affecting wildlife habitat and timber, human settlements, man-made technical constructions and various networks (road, power networks) and polluting the air with emissions harmful to human health. Furthermore, fire's effect on the landscape may be long-lasting. Monitoring the development of a fire occurs as an important aspect at the management of natural hazards in general. Among the used methods for monitoring, satellite data and remote sensing techniques can be proven of particular importance. Satellite remote sensing offers a useful tool for forest fire detection, monitoring, management and damage assessment. Especially for fire scars detection and monitoring, satellite data derived from Landsat 8 can be a useful research tool. This paper includes critical considerations of the above and concerns in particular an example of the Greek area (Thasos Island). This specific area was hit by fires several times in the past and recently as well (September 2016). Landsat 8 satellite data are being used (pre and post fire imagery) and digital image processing techniques are applied (enhancement techniques, calculation of various indices) for fire scars detection. Visual interpretation of the example area affected by the fires is also being done, contributing to the overall study.

An improved algorithm for wildfire detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakau, K.

2010-12-01

Satellite information of wild fire location has strong demands from society. Therefore, Understanding such demands is quite important to consider what to improve the wild fire detection algorithm. Interviews and considerations imply that the most important improvements are geographical resolution of the wildfire product and classification of fire; smoldering or flaming. Discussion with fire service agencies are performed with fire service agencies in Alaska and fire service volunteer groups in Indonesia. Alaska Fire Service (AFS) makes 3D-map overlaid by fire location every morning. Then, this 3D-map is examined by leaders of fire service teams to decide their strategy to fighting against wild fire. Especially, firefighters of both agencies seek the best walk path to approach the fire. Because of mountainous landscape, geospatial resolution is quite important for them. For example, walking in bush for 1km, as same as one pixel of fire product, is very tough for firefighters. Also, in case of remote wild fire, fire service agencies utilize satellite information to decide when to have a flight observation to confirm the status; expanding, flaming, smoldering or out. Therefore, it is also quite important to provide the classification of fire; flaming or smoldering. Not only the aspect of disaster management, wildfire emits huge amount of carbon into atmosphere as much as one quarter to one half of CO2 by fuel combustion (IPCC AR4). Reduction of the CO2 emission by human caused wildfire is important. To estimate carbon emission from wildfire, special resolution is quite important. To improve sensitivity of wild fire detection, author adopts radiance based wildfire detection. Different from the existing brightness temperature approach, we can easily consider reflectance of background land coverage. Especially for GCOM-C1/SGLI, band to detect fire with 250m resolution is 1.6μm wavelength. In this band, we have much more sunlight reflection. Therefore, we need to consider the way to cancel sunlight reflection. In this study, author utilizes simple linear correction for estimation of infrared emission considering sunlight reflection. As well as bran new core part of wildfire algorithm, we need to eliminate bright reflectance matters, including cloud, desert and sun glint. Also, we need to eliminate the false alarms at coastal area for difference of surface temperature between land and ocean. An existing algorithm MOD14 has same procedure, however, some of these ancillary parts are newly introduced or improved. Snow mask is newly introduced to reduce a bright reflectance with snow and ice covered area. Also, the improved ancillary parts include candidate selection of fire pixel, cloud mask, water body mask. With these improvements, wildfire with dense smoke or wildfire under thin cloud could be detected by this algorithm. This wild fire product is not validated by ground observations yet. However, distribution is well corresponded with wildfire location in same periods. Unfortunately, this algorithm also detects false alarm in urban area same as existing one. This should be corrected adopting other bands. Current algorithm will be performed in JASMES website.

Functional requirements for an intelligent RPC. [remote power controller for spaceborne electrical distribution system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aucoin, B. M.; Heller, R. P.

1990-01-01

An intelligent remote power controller (RPC) based on microcomputer technology can implement advanced functions for the accurate and secure detection of all types of faults on a spaceborne electrical distribution system. The intelligent RPC will implement conventional protection functions such as overcurrent, under-voltage, and ground fault protection. Advanced functions for the detection of soft faults, which cannot presently be detected, can also be implemented. Adaptive overcurrent protection changes overcurrent settings based on connected load. Incipient and high-impedance fault detection provides early detection of arcing conditions to prevent fires, and to clear and reconfigure circuits before soft faults progress to a hard-fault condition. Power electronics techniques can be used to implement fault current limiting to prevent voltage dips during hard faults. It is concluded that these techniques will enhance the overall safety and reliability of the distribution system.

Limitations imposed on fire PRA methods as the result of incomplete and uncertain fire event data.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nowlen, Steven Patrick; Hyslop, J. S.

2010-04-01

Fire probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) methods utilize data and insights gained from actual fire events in a variety of ways. For example, fire occurrence frequencies, manual fire fighting effectiveness and timing, and the distribution of fire events by fire source and plant location are all based directly on the historical experience base. Other factors are either derived indirectly or supported qualitatively based on insights from the event data. These factors include the general nature and intensity of plant fires, insights into operator performance, and insights into fire growth and damage behaviors. This paper will discuss the potential methodology improvements thatmore » could be realized if more complete fire event reporting information were available. Areas that could benefit from more complete event reporting that will be discussed in the paper include fire event frequency analysis, analysis of fire detection and suppression system performance including incipient detection systems, analysis of manual fire fighting performance, treatment of fire growth from incipient stages to fully-involved fires, operator response to fire events, the impact of smoke on plant operations and equipment, and the impact of fire-induced cable failures on plant electrical circuits.« less

AEGIS: a wildfire prevention and management information system

Treesearch

Kostas Kalabokidis; Alan Ager; Mark Finney; Nikos Athanasis; Palaiologos Palaiologou; Christos Vasilakos

2016-01-01

We describe a Web-GIS wildfire prevention and management platform (AEGIS) developed as an integrated and easy-to-use decision support tool to manage wildland fire hazards in Greece (http://aegis.aegean.gr). The AEGIS platform assists with early fire warning, fire planning, fire control and coordination of firefighting forces by providing online access to...

Prescribed fire research in Pennsylvania

Treesearch

Patrick Brose

2009-01-01

Prescribed fire in Pennsylvania is a relatively new forestry practice because of the State's adverse experience with highly destructive wildfires in the early 1900s. The recent introduction of prescribed fire raises a myriad of questions regarding its correct and safe use. This poster briefly describes the prescribed fire research projects of the Forestry Sciences...

Organizational learning contributes to guidance for managing wildland fires for multiple objectives

Treesearch

Tom Zimmerman; Tim Sexton

2010-01-01

Since the inception of organized fire suppression in the early 1900s, wildland fire management has dramatically evolved in operational complexity; ecological significance; social, economic, and political magnitude; areas and timing of application; and recognition of potentially serious consequences. Throughout the past 100 years, fire management has matured from a...

Frequency and season of prescribed fire affect understory plant communities in longleaf pine stands

Treesearch

James D. Haywood

2012-01-01

Prescribed fire research on the Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana spanned the last 7 decades and led to a greater understanding of fire behavior and the importance of fire in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) stands. Early research focused on management of the bluestem (Andropogon spp. and Schizachyrium...

Timing fire to minimize damage in managing oak ecosystems

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Callie Jo Schweitzer

2015-01-01

The long history of fire in North America spans millennia and is recognized as an important driver in the widespread and long-term dominance of oak species. Early European settlers intensified the occurrence of fire from about 1850 to 1950, with dates varying by region. This resulted in much forest damage and gained fire a negative reputation. The lack of fire for the...

Rx fire laws: tools to protect fire: the `ecological imperative?

Treesearch

Dale Wade; Steven Miller; Johnny Stowe; James Brenner

2006-01-01

The South is the birthplace of statutes and ordinances that both advocate and protect the cultural heritage of woods burning, which has been practiced in this region uninterrupted for more than 10,000 years. We present a brief overview of fire use in the South and discuss why most southern states recognized early on that periodic fire was necessary to sustain fire...

Rates of initial spread of free-burning fires on the National Forests of California

Treesearch

C.A. Abell

1940-01-01

As early as 1914 Coert DuBois and his staff recognized that knowledge of the rates which fires spread was essential to sound fire control planning, strategy, and tactics, and therefore designed the fire report form so that such data might be accumulated. Although the individual fire report form has changed appreciably since that time, the supply of data has grown...

The Hazard Mapping System (HMS)-a Multiplatform Remote Sensing Approach to Fire and Smoke Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kibler, J.; Ruminski, M. G.

2003-12-01

The HMS is a multiplatform remote sensing approach to detecting fires and smoke over the US and adjacent areas of Canada and Mexico that has been in place since June 2002. This system is an integral part of the National Environmental Satellite and Data Information Service (NESDIS) near realtime hazard detection and mitigation efforts. The system utilizes NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's Terra and Aqua spacecraft. Automated detection algorithms are employed for each of the satellites for the fire detects while smoke is added by a satellite image analyst. In June 2003 the HMS underwent an upgrade. A number of features were added for users of the products generated on the HMS. Sectors covering Alaska and Hawaii were added. The use of Geographic Information System (GIS) shape files for smoke analysis is a new feature. Shape files show the progression and time of a single smoke plume as each analysis is drawn and then updated. The analyst now has the ability to view GOES, POES, and MODIS data in a single loop. This allows the fire analyst the ability to easily confirm a fire in three different data sets. The upgraded HMS has faster satellite looping and gives the analyst the ability to design a false color image for a particular region. The GOES satellites provide a relatively coarse 4 km infrared resolution at satellite subpoint for thermal fire detection but provide the advantage of a rapid update cycle. GOES imagery is updated every 15 minutes utilizing both GOES-10 and GOES-12. POES imagery from NOAA-15, NOAA-16 and NOAA-17 and MODIS from Terra and Aqua are employed with each satellite providing twice per day coverage (more frequent over Alaska). While the frequency of imagery is much less than with GOES the higher resolution of these satellites (1 km along the suborbital track) allows for detection of smaller and/or cooler burning fires. Each of the algorithms utilizes a number of temporal, thermal and contextual filters in an attempt to screen out false detects. However, false detects do get processed by the algorithms to varying degrees. Therefore, the automated fire detects from each algorithm are quality controlled by an analyst who scans the imagery and may either accept or delete fire points. The analyst also has the ability to manually add additional fire points based on the imagery. Smoke is outlined by the analyst using visible imagery, primarily GOES which provides 1 km resolution. Occasionally a smoke plume seen in visible imagery is the only indicator of a fire and would be manually added to the fire detect file. The Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) is a forecast model that projects the trajectory and dispersion of a smoke plume over a period of time. The HYSPLIT is run for fires that are selected by the analyst that are seen to be producing a significant smoke plume. The analyst defines a smoke producing area commensurate with the size of the fire and amount of smoke detected. The output is hosted on an Air Resources Lab (ARL) web site which can be accessed from the web site listed below. All of the information is posted to the web page noted below. Besides the interactive GIS presentation users can view the product in graphical jpg format. The analyst edited points as well as the unedited automated fire detects are available for users to view directly on the web page or to download. All of the data is also archived and accessed via ftp.

Evaluation of short-term changes of hydrological response in mountainous basins of the Vitim Plateau (Russia) after forest fires based on data analysis and hydrological modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semenova, O. M.; Lebedeva, L. S.; Nesterova, N. V.; Vinogradova, T. A.

2015-06-01

Twelve mountainous basins of the Vitim Plateau (Eastern Siberia, Russia) with areas ranging from 967 to 18 200 km2 affected by extensive fires in 2003 (from 13 to 78% of burnt area) were delineated based on MODIS Burned Area Product. The studied area is characterized by scarcity of hydrometeorological observations and complex hydrological processes. Combined analysis of monthly series of flow and precipitation was conducted to detect short-term fire impact on hydrological response of the basins. The idea of basin-analogues which have significant correlation of flow with "burnt" watersheds in stationary (pre-fire) period with the assumption that fire impact produced an outlier of established dependence was applied. Available data allowed for qualitative detection of fire-induced changes at two basins from twelve studied. Summer flow at the Amalat and Vitimkan Rivers (22 and 78% proportion of burnt area in 2003, respectively) increased by 40-50% following the fire.The impact of fire on flow from the other basins was not detectable.The hydrological model Hydrograph was applied to simulate runoff formation processes for stationary pre-fire and non-stationary post-fire conditions. It was assumed that landscape properties changed after the fire suggest a flow increase. These changes were used to assess the model parameters which allowed for better model performance in the post-fire period.

Fire Detection Tradeoffs as a Function of Vehicle Parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Urban, David L.; Dietrich, Daniel L.; Brooker, John E.; Meyer, Marit E.; Ruff, Gary A.

2016-01-01

Fire survivability depends on the detection of and response to a fire before it has produced an unacceptable environment in the vehicle. This detection time is the result of interplay between the fire burning and growth rates; the vehicle size; the detection system design; the transport time to the detector (controlled by the level of mixing in the vehicle); and the rate at which the life support system filters the atmosphere, potentially removing the detected species or particles. Given the large differences in critical vehicle parameters (volume, mixing rate and filtration rate) the detection approach that works for a large vehicle (e.g. the ISS) may not be the best choice for a smaller crew capsule. This paper examines the impact of vehicle size and environmental control and life support system parameters on the detectability of fires in comparison to the hazard they present. A lumped element model was developed that considers smoke, heat, and toxic product release rates in comparison to mixing and filtration rates in the vehicle. Recent work has quantified the production rate of smoke and several hazardous species from overheated spacecraft polymers. These results are used as the input data set in the lumped element model in combination with the transport behavior of major toxic products released by overheating spacecraft materials to evaluate the necessary alarm thresholds to enable appropriate response to the fire hazard.

Fire behavior and risk analysis in spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedman, Robert; Sacksteder, Kurt R.

1988-01-01

Practical risk management for present and future spacecraft, including space stations, involves the optimization of residual risks balanced by the spacecraft operational, technological, and economic limitations. Spacecraft fire safety is approached through three strategies, in order of risk: (1) control of fire-causing elements, through exclusion of flammable materials for example; (2) response to incipient fires through detection and alarm; and (3) recovery of normal conditions through extinguishment and cleanup. Present understanding of combustion in low gravity is that, compared to normal gravity behavior, fire hazards may be reduced by the absence of buoyant gas flows yet at the same time increased by ventilation flows and hot particle expulsion. This paper discusses the application of low-gravity combustion knowledge and appropriate aircraft analogies to fire detection, fire fighting, and fire-safety decisions for eventual fire-risk management and optimization in spacecraft.

Development of a fire detection algorithm for the COMS (Communication Ocean and Meteorological Satellite)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Goo; Kim, Dae Sun; Lee, Yang-Won

2013-10-01

The forest fires do much damage to our life in ecological and economic aspects. South Korea is probably more liable to suffer from the forest fire because mountain area occupies more than half of land in South Korea. They have recently launched the COMS(Communication Ocean and Meteorological Satellite) which is a geostationary satellite. In this paper, we developed forest fire detection algorithm using COMS data. Generally, forest fire detection algorithm uses characteristics of 4 and 11 micrometer brightness temperature. Our algorithm additionally uses LST(Land Surface Temperature). We confirmed the result of our fire detection algorithm using statistical data of Korea Forest Service and ASTER(Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) images. We used the data in South Korea On April 1 and 2, 2011 because there are small and big forest fires at that time. The detection rate was 80% in terms of the frequency of the forest fires and was 99% in terms of the damaged area. Considering the number of COMS's channels and its low resolution, this result is a remarkable outcome. To provide users with the result of our algorithm, we developed a smartphone application for users JSP(Java Server Page). This application can work regardless of the smartphone's operating system. This study can be unsuitable for other areas and days because we used just two days data. To improve the accuracy of our algorithm, we need analysis using long-term data as future work.

Early post-fire succession in California chaparral: changes in diversity, density, cover, and biomass

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guo, Q.

2001-01-01

For four consecutive years, following the fires in November 1993, temporal variations in species richness, cover and biomass of component plant groups in early post-fire chaparral succession were monitored on different aspects at the Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve, southern California. Plant groups were categorized based on growth form, life form, ability to fix nitrogen, geographic origin and regeneration strategies. North-facing slopes exhibited higher species richness, higher species turnover rate over time and faster vegetation recovery in terms of biomass accumulation and return to pre-fire species composition. This was probably due to higher species richness and biomass of nitrogen-fixing species found on north-facing slopes in comparison to south-facing slopes. On both north- and south-facing slopes, annuals had the highest species turnover rate, followed by herbaceous perennials and shrubs. In the first four post-fire years, annual species were the largest floristic group, but herbaceous perennials and shrubs were the major contributors to community biomass. Nitrogen-fixing species and exotics contributed significantly to early post-fire community structure. Although the general trends in post-fire succession are clear in terms of temporal changes in the relative proportions of different plant groups, environmental variation and the nature of plant life histories of component species, especially dominant species, could alter such trends significantly.

Early post-fire succession in California chaparral: Changes in diversity, density, cover and biomass

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guo, Q.

2001-01-01

For four consecutive years, following the fires in November 1993, temporal variations in species richness, cover and biomass of component plant groups in early post-fire chaparral succession were monitored on different aspects at the Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve, southern California. Plant groups were categorized based on growth form, life form, ability to fix nitrogen, geographic origin and regeneration strategies. North-facing slopes exhibited higher species richness, higher species turnover rate over time and faster vegetation recovery in terms of biomass accumulation and return to pre-fire species composition. This was probably due to higher species richness and biomass of nitrogen-fixing species found on north-facing slopes in comparison to south-facing slopes. On both north- and south-facing slopes, annuals had the highest species turnover rate, followed by herbaceous perennials and shrubs. In the first four post-fire years, annual species were the largest floristic group, but herbaceous perennials and shrubs were the major contributors to community biomass. Nitrogen-fixing species and exotics contributed significantly to early post-fire community structure. Although the general trends in post-fire succession are clear in terms of temporal changes in the relative proportions of different plant groups, environmental variation and the nature of plant life histories of component species, especially dominant species, could alter such trends significantly.

Comparing different approaches for an effective monitoring of forest fires based on MSG/SEVIRI images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laneve, Giovanni

2010-05-01

The remote sensing sensors on board of geostationary satellite, as consequence of the high frequency of the observations, allow, in principle, the monitoring of these phenomena characterized by a fast dynamics. The only condition for is that the events to be monitored should be enough strong to be recognizable notwithstanding the low spatial resolution of the present geostationary systems (MSG/SEVIRI, GOES Imager, MTSAT). Apart from meteorological phenomena other events, like those associated with forest fires and/or volcanic eruption, are characterized by a very fast dynamics. These events are also associated with a very strong signal that make them observable by geostationary satellite in a quasi-continuous way. However, in order to make possible the detection of small fires by using the low resolution multi-spectral imagery provided by geostationary sensor like SEVIRI (3x3 km2 at the equator) new algorithms, capable to exploit it high observation frequency, has been developed. This paper is devoted to show the results obtained by comparing some of these algorithms trying to highlight their advantages and limits. The algorithms herein considered are these developed by CRPSM (SFIDE®), UNIBAS/CNR (RST-FIRES) and ESA-ESRIN (MDIFRM). In general, the new approaches proposed by each one of them are capable to promptly detect small fires making possible an operational utilization of the satellite based fire detection system in the fire fighting phases. In fact, these algorithms are quite different from these introduced in the past and specifically devoted to fire detection using low resolution multi-spectral imagery on LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellite. Thanks to these differences they are capable of detecting sub-hectare (0.2 ha) forest fires providing an useful instrument for monitoring quasi-continuously forest fires, estimating the FRP (Fire Radiative Power), evaluating the burned biomass, retrieving the emission in the atmosphere.

The analysis of a complex fire event using multispaceborne observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrei, Simona; Carstea, Emil; Marmureanu, Luminita; Ene, Dragos; Binietoglou, Ioannis; Nicolae, Doina; Konsta, Dimitra; Amiridis, Vassilis; Proestakis, Emmanouil

2018-04-01

This study documents a complex fire event that occurred on October 2016, in Middle East belligerent area. Two fire outbreaks were detected by different spacecraft monitoring instruments on board of TERRA, CALIPSO and AURA Earth Observation missions. Link with local weather conditions was examined using ERA Interim Reanalysis and CAMS datasets. The detection of the event by multiple sensors enabled a detailed characterization of fires and the comparison with different observational data.

Systems Engineering Approach To Ground Combat Vehicle Survivability In Urban Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

extinguishing system (AFES), which uses fire wires to detect the presence of fires. The detection of fire automatically triggers the activation of the fire...corresponding wires and connection points also means that it can be more difficult for engineers to integrate distributed architecture systems onto...command signals to the missile via wires trailing behind the missile or via RF signals. See Figure 29 for an illustration of CLOS guidance. Since CLOS

Longleaf pine adaptation to fire: is early height growth pattern critical to fire survival?

Treesearch

G. Geoff Wang; Lauren S. Pile; Benjamin O. Knapp; Huifeng Hu

2016-01-01

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests are fire-dependent ecosystems because frequent surface fires prevent other species from being recruited into the canopy. The successful recruitment of longleaf pine has been attributed mainly to its unique fire adaptation – the grass stage. It is commonly believed that, while in the grass stage, longleaf pine seedlings...

Fall rates of prescribed fire-killed ponderosa pine. Forest Service research paper

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harrington, M.G.

1996-05-01

Fall rates of prescribed fire-killed ponderosa pine were evaluated relative to tree and fire damage characteristics. High crown scorch and short survival time after fire injury were factors leading to a high probability of early tree fall. The role of chemical defense mechanisms is discussed. Results apply to prescribed-fire injured, second-growth ponderosa pine less than 16 inches diameter at breast height.

Fire behavior, weather, and burn severity of the 2007 Anaktuvuk River tundra fire, North Slope, Alaska

Treesearch

Benjamin M. Jones; Crystal A. Kolden; Randi Jandt; John T. Abatzoglu; Frank Urban; Christopher D. Arp

2009-01-01

In 2007, the Anaktuvuk River Fire (ARF) became the largest recorded tundra fire on the North Slope of Alaska. The ARF burned for nearly three months, consuming more than 100,000 ha. At its peak in early September, the ARF burned at a rate of 7000 ha d-1. The conditions potentially responsible for this large tundra fire include modeled record high...

CLB5-dependent activation of late replication origins in S. cerevisiae.

PubMed

Donaldson, A D; Raghuraman, M K; Friedman, K L; Cross, F R; Brewer, B J; Fangman, W L

1998-08-01

Replication origins in chromosomes are activated at specific times during the S phase. We show that the B-type cyclins are required for proper execution of this temporal program. clb5 cells activate early origins but not late origins, explaining the previously described long clb5 S phase. Origin firing appears normal in cIb6 mutants. In clb5 clb6 double mutant cells, the late origin firing defect is suppressed, accounting for the normal duration of the phase despite its delayed onset. Therefore, Clb5p promotes the timely activation of early and late origins, but Clb6p can activate only early origins. In clb5 clb6 mutants, the other B-type cyclins (Clb1-4p) promote an S phase during which both early and late replication origins fire.

Restoring fire suppressed Texas pak woodlands to historic conditions using prescribed fire

Treesearch

Jeff C. Sparks; Michael C. Stambaugh; Eric L. Keith

2012-01-01

Comparable to many oak ecosystems across the eastern United States, oak woodlands in Texas display characteristics of changing composition and structure due to altered fire regimes. Information describing historic fire regimes suggests woodlands underwent relatively frequent and repeated burning prior to major Euro-American influence in the early 19th century. Oak...

Prototype of microbolometer thermal infrared camera for forest fire detection from space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerin, Francois; Dantes, Didier; Bouzou, Nathalie; Chorier, Philippe; Bouchardy, Anne-Marie; Rollin, Joël.

2017-11-01

The contribution of the thermal infrared (TIR) camera to the Earth observation FUEGO mission is to participate; to discriminate the clouds and smoke; to detect the false alarms of forest fires; to monitor the forest fires. Consequently, the camera needs a large dynamic range of detectable radiances. A small volume, low mass and power are required by the small FUEGO payload. These specifications can be attractive for other similar missions.

Fire protection for a Martian colony

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beattie, Robert M., Jr.

The fire prevention failures that occurred in Apollo 1 and Challenger accidents are reviewed and used to discuss fire protection measures that should be taken in a Martian colony. Fire detection systems, classes of fire, and suppression agents are described. The organization of fire fighting personnel appropriate for Mars is addressed.

Acute toxicity of three fire-retardant and two fire-suppressant foam formulations to the early life stages of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gaikowski, Mark P.; Hamilton, Steven J.; Buhl, Kevin J.; McDonald, Susan F.; Summers, Cliff H.; Linder, G.; Krest, S.; Sparling, D.; Little, E.

1996-01-01

Laboratory studies were conducted with five early life stages of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, to determine the acute toxicities of five fire-fighting chemical formulations in standardized soft and hard water. Eyed egg, embryo–larvae, swim-up fry, and 60- and 90-d posthatch juveniles were exposed to three fire retardants (Fire-Trol LCG-R, Fire-Trol GTS-R, and Phos-Chek D75-F) and two fire-suppressant foams (Phos-Chek WD-881 and Silv-Ex). Swim-up fry were generally the most sensitive life stage, whereas the eyed-egg was the least sensitive. Toxicity of fire-fighting formulations was greater in hard water than in soft water for all life stages tested with Fire-Trol GTS-R and Silv-Ex and for 90-d-old juveniles tested with Fire-Trol LCG-R. The fire-suppressant foams were more toxic than the fire retardants. The 96-h median lethal concentrations (LC50s) were ranked from the most toxic to the least toxic formulation as follows (ranges are the lowest and highest 96-h LC50 calculated for each formulation): Phos-Chek WD-881 (11–44 mg/L), Silv-Ex (11–78 mg/L), Phos-Chek D75-F (218–>3,600 mg/L), Fire-Trol GTS-R (207–>6,000 mg/L), and Fire-Trol LCG-R (872–>10,000 mg/L). Toxicity values suggest that accidental entry of fire-fighting chemicals into aquatic environments could adversely affect fish populations.

46 CFR 108.409 - Location and spacing of tubing in pneumatic fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Location and spacing of tubing in pneumatic fire detection system. 108.409 Section 108.409 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.409 Location...

46 CFR 108.409 - Location and spacing of tubing in pneumatic fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Location and spacing of tubing in pneumatic fire detection system. 108.409 Section 108.409 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.409 Location...

46 CFR 108.409 - Location and spacing of tubing in pneumatic fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Location and spacing of tubing in pneumatic fire detection system. 108.409 Section 108.409 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.409 Location...

46 CFR 108.409 - Location and spacing of tubing in pneumatic fire detection system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Location and spacing of tubing in pneumatic fire detection system. 108.409 Section 108.409 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.409 Location...

46 CFR 161.002-9 - Automatic fire detecting system, power supply.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... system must meet the requirements of § 113.10-9 of subchapter J (Electrical Engineering Regulations) of... 46 Shipping 6 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Automatic fire detecting system, power supply. 161.002-9..., CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT Fire-Protective Systems § 161.002...

46 CFR 161.002-9 - Automatic fire detecting system, power supply.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... system must meet the requirements of § 113.10-9 of subchapter J (Electrical Engineering Regulations) of... 46 Shipping 6 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Automatic fire detecting system, power supply. 161.002-9..., CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT Fire-Protective Systems § 161.002...

46 CFR 161.002-9 - Automatic fire detecting system, power supply.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... system must meet the requirements of § 113.10-9 of subchapter J (Electrical Engineering Regulations) of... 46 Shipping 6 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Automatic fire detecting system, power supply. 161.002-9..., CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT Fire-Protective Systems § 161.002...

77 FR 75071 - Special Conditions: Embraer S.A., Model EMB-550 Airplanes; Electrical/Electronic Equipment Bay...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-19

.../Electronic Equipment Bay Fire Detection and Smoke Penetration AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA... where the flightcrew could determine the origin of smoke or fire by a straightforward airplane flight.... The FAA has no requirement for smoke and/or fire detection in the electrical/electronic equipment bays...

78 FR 14007 - Special Conditions: Embraer S.A., Model EMB-550 Airplanes; Electrical/Electronic Equipment Bay...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-04

...; Electrical/Electronic Equipment Bay Fire Detection and Smoke Penetration AGENCY: Federal Aviation... where the flight crew could determine the origin of smoke or fire by a straightforward airplane flight.... The FAA has no requirement for smoke and/or fire detection in the electrical/electronic equipment bays...

Use of multi-sensor active fire detections to map fires in the United States: the future of monitoring trends in burn severity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Picotte, Joshua J.; Coan, Michael; Howard, Stephen M.

2014-01-01

The effort to utilize satellite-based MODIS, AVHRR, and GOES fire detections from the Hazard Monitoring System (HMS) to identify undocumented fires in Florida and improve the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) mapping process has yielded promising results. This method was augmented using regression tree models to identify burned/not-burned pixels (BnB) in every Landsat scene (1984–2012) in Worldwide Referencing System 2 Path/Rows 16/40, 17/39, and 1839. The burned area delineations were combined with the HMS detections to create burned area polygons attributed with their date of fire detection. Within our study area, we processed 88,000 HMS points (2003–2012) and 1,800 Landsat scenes to identify approximately 300,000 burned area polygons. Six percent of these burned area polygons were larger than the 500-acre MTBS minimum size threshold. From this study, we conclude that the process can significantly improve understanding of fire occurrence and improve the efficiency and timeliness of assessing its impacts upon the landscape.

Engineering Software for Interoperability through Use of Enterprise Architecture Techniques

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-03-01

Response Home/ Business Security . To detect flood conditions (i.e. excess water levels) within the monitored area and alert authorities, as necessary...Response; Fire Detection & Response; and Flood Detection & Response. Functional Area Description Intruder Detection & Response Home/ Business ... Security . To monitor and detect unauthorized entry into the secured area and sound alarms/alert authorities, as necessary. Fire Detection

The investigation of identifying method on grass fire by FY-3 VIRR images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Youyan; Han, Tao; Wang, Dawei

2018-03-01

Grassland fire has the characteristics of fierce fire and rapid spreading, and many fires occur in sparsely populated places. Satellite remote sensing has the characteristics of fast imaging period and wide coverage, and plays an important role in the rapid monitoring and evaluation of grassland fire. FY-3 satellite has been widely used since its launch in September 2008, and this paper uses the fire information of Gansu grassland from 2011 to 2016, based on the more mature MODIS and NOAA-AVHRR fire identification method. The results show that the accuracy of FY-3/VIRR satellite data fire detection are higher than that of NOAA-AVHRR satellite, and the accuracy of FY-3/VIRR satellite data is described. There is a greater improvement, the ability to identify slightly worse than the MODIS satellite, the region is relatively large fire detection accuracy is higher.

Wildfire patterns and landscape changes in Mediterranean oak woodlands.

PubMed

Guiomar, N; Godinho, S; Fernandes, P M; Machado, R; Neves, N; Fernandes, J P

2015-12-01

Fire is infrequent in the oak woodlands of southern Portugal (montado) but large and severe fires affected these agro-forestry systems in 2003-2005. We hypothesised transition from forest to shrubland as a fire-driven process and investigated the links between fire incidence and montado change to other land cover types, particularly those related with the presence of pioneer communities (generically designed in this context as "transitions to early-successional communities"). We present a landscape-scale framework for assessing the probability of transition from montado to pioneer communities, considering three sets of explanatory variables: montado patterns in 1990 and prior changes from montado to early-successional communities (occurred between 1960 and 1990), fire patterns, and spatial factors. These three sets of factors captured 78.2% of the observed variability in the transitions from montado to pioneer vegetation. The contributions of fire patterns and spatial factors were high, respectively 60.6% and 43.4%, the influence of montado patterns and former changes in montado being lower (34.4%). The highest amount of explained variation in the occurrence of transitions from montado to early-successional communities was related to the pure effect of fire patterns (19.9%). Low spatial connectedness in montado landscape can increase vulnerability to changes, namely to pioneer vegetation, but the observed changes were mostly explained by fire characteristics and spatial factors. Among all metrics used to characterize fire patterns and extent, effective mesh size provided the best modelling results. Transitions from montado to pioneer communities are more likely in the presence of high values of the effective mesh size of total burned area. This cross-boundary metric is an indicator of the influence of large fires in the distribution of the identified transitions and, therefore, we conclude that the occurrence of large fires in montado increases its probability of transition to shrubland. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Shrub-Steppe Early Succession Following Juniper Cutting and Prescribed Fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bates, Jonathan D.; Davies, Kirk W.; Sharp, Robert N.

2011-03-01

Pinus- Juniperus L. (Piñon-juniper) woodlands of the western United States have expanded in area nearly 10-fold since the late 1800's. Juniperus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis Hook. (western juniper) dominance in sagebrush steppe has several negative consequences, including reductions in herbaceous production and diversity, decreased wildlife habitat, and higher erosion and runoff potentials. Prescribed fire and mechanical tree removal are the main methods used to control J. occidentalis and restore sagebrush steppe. However, mature woodlands become difficult to prescribe burn because of the lack of understory fuels. We evaluated partial cutting of the woodlands (cutting 25-50% of the trees) to increase surface fuels, followed by prescribed fire treatments in late successional J. occidentalis woodlands of southwest Idaho to assess understory recovery. The study was conducted in two different plant associations and evaluated what percentage of the woodland required preparatory cutting to eliminate remaining J. occidentalis by prescribed fire, determined the impacts of fire to understory species, and examined early post-fire successional dynamics. The study demonstrated that late successional J. occidentalis woodlands can be burned after pre-cutting only a portion of the trees. Early succession in the cut-and-burn treatments were dominated by native annual and perennial forbs, in part due to high mortality of perennial bunchgrasses. By the third year after fire the number of establishing perennial grass seedlings indicated that both associations would achieve full herbaceous recovery. Cutting-prescribed fire combinations are an effective means for controlling encroaching late successional J. occidentalis and restoring herbaceous plant communities. However, land managers should recognize that there are potential problems associated with cutting-prescribed fire applications when invasive weeds are present.

Shrub-steppe early succession following juniper cutting and prescribed fire.

PubMed

Bates, Jonathan D; Davies, Kirk W; Sharp, Robert N

2011-03-01

Pinus-Juniperus L. (Piñon-juniper) woodlands of the western United States have expanded in area nearly 10-fold since the late 1800's. Juniperus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis Hook. (western juniper) dominance in sagebrush steppe has several negative consequences, including reductions in herbaceous production and diversity, decreased wildlife habitat, and higher erosion and runoff potentials. Prescribed fire and mechanical tree removal are the main methods used to control J. occidentalis and restore sagebrush steppe. However, mature woodlands become difficult to prescribe burn because of the lack of understory fuels. We evaluated partial cutting of the woodlands (cutting 25-50% of the trees) to increase surface fuels, followed by prescribed fire treatments in late successional J. occidentalis woodlands of southwest Idaho to assess understory recovery. The study was conducted in two different plant associations and evaluated what percentage of the woodland required preparatory cutting to eliminate remaining J. occidentalis by prescribed fire, determined the impacts of fire to understory species, and examined early post-fire successional dynamics. The study demonstrated that late successional J. occidentalis woodlands can be burned after pre-cutting only a portion of the trees. Early succession in the cut-and-burn treatments were dominated by native annual and perennial forbs, in part due to high mortality of perennial bunchgrasses. By the third year after fire the number of establishing perennial grass seedlings indicated that both associations would achieve full herbaceous recovery. Cutting-prescribed fire combinations are an effective means for controlling encroaching late successional J. occidentalis and restoring herbaceous plant communities. However, land managers should recognize that there are potential problems associated with cutting-prescribed fire applications when invasive weeds are present.

A Validation of Remotely Sensed Fires Using Ground Reports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruminski, M. G.; Hanna, J.

2007-12-01

A satellite based analysis of fire detections and smoke emissions for North America is produced daily by NOAA/NESDIS. The analysis incorporates data from the MODIS (Terra and Aqua) and AVHRR (NOAA-15/16/17) polar orbiting instruments and GOES East and West geostationary spacecraft with nominal resolutions of 1km and 4 km for the polar and geostationary platforms respectively. Automated fire detection algorithms are utilized for each of the sensors. Analysts perform a quality control procedure on the automated detects by deleting points that are deemed to be false detects and adding points that the algorithms did not detect. A limited validation of the final quality controlled product was performed using high resolution (30 m) ASTER data in the summer of 2006. Some limitations in using ASTER data are that each scene is only approximately 3600 square km, the data acquisition time is relatively constant at around 1030 local solar time and ASTER is another remotely sensed data source. This study expands on the ASTER validation by using ground reports of prescribed burns in Montana and Idaho for 2003 and 2004. It provides a non-remote sensing data source for comparison. While the ground data do not have the limitations noted above for ASTER there are still limitations. For example, even though the data set covers a much larger area (nearly 600,000 square km) than even several ASTER scenes, it still represents a single region of North America. And while the ground data are not restricted to a narrow time window, only a date is provided with each report, limiting the ability to make detailed conclusions about the detection capabilities for specific instruments, especially for the less temporally frequent polar orbiting MODIS and AVHRR sensors. Comparison of the ground data reports to the quality controlled fire analysis revealed a low rate of overall detection of 23.00% over the entire study period. Examination of the daily detection rates revealed a wide variation, with some days resulting in as little as 5 detects out of 107 reported fires while other days had as many as 84 detections out of 160 reports. Inspection of the satellite imagery from the days with very low detection rates revealed that extensive cloud cover prohibited satellite fire detection. On days when cloud cover was at a minimum, detection rates were substantially higher. An estimate of the fire size was also provided with the ground data set. Statistics will be presented for days with minimal cloud cover which will indicate the probability of detection for fires of various sizes.

Exploring Early Angiosperm Fire Feedbacks using Coupled Experiments and Modelling Approaches to Estimate Cretaceous Palaeofire Behaviour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belcher, Claire; Hudpsith, Victoria

2016-04-01

Using the fossil record we are typically limited to exploring linkages between palaeoecological changes and palaeofire activity by assessing the abundance of charcoals preserved in sediments. However, it is the behaviour of fires that primarily governs their ecological effects. Therefore, the ability to estimate variations in aspects of palaeofire behaviour such as palaeofire intensity and rate of spread would be of key benefit toward understanding the coupled evolutionary history of ecosystems and fire. The Cretaceous Period saw major diversification in land plants. Previously, conifers (gymnosperms) and ferns (pteridophytes) dominated Earth's ecosystems until flowering plants (angiosperms) appear in the fossil record of the Early Cretaceous (~135Ma). We have created surface fire behaviour estimates for a variety of angiosperm invasion scenarios and explored the influence of Cretaceous superambient atmospheric oxygen levels on the fire behaviour occurring in these new Cretaceous ecosystems. These estimates are then used to explore the hypothesis that the early spread of the angiosperms was promoted by the novel fire regimes that they created. In order to achieve this we tested the flammability of Mesozoic analogue fuel types in controlled laboratory experiments using an iCone calorimeter, which measured the ignitability as well as the effective heat of combustion of the fuels. We then used the BehavePlus fire behaviour modelling system to scale up our laboratory results to the ecosystem scale. Our results suggest that fire-angiosperm feedbacks may have occurred in two phases: The first phase being a result of weedy angiosperms providing an additional easily ignitable fuel that enhanced both the seasonality and frequency of surface fires. In the second phase, the addition of shrubby understory fuels likely expanded the number of ecosystems experiencing more intense surface fires, resulting in enhanced mortality and suppressed post-fire recruitment of gymnosperms trees. Both of these were assisted by rising levels of atmospheric oxygen that increased ignitability, surface fire spread rates and fire intensity. Therefore, the expansion and ecological success of the angiosperms appears to have been tied to the coupled influences of the prevailing superambient oxygen levels in the atmosphere and to fuel driven changes in palaeofire behaviour.

Seasonality of Fire Weather Strongly Influences Fire Regimes in South Florida Savanna-Grassland Landscapes

PubMed Central

Platt, William J.; Orzell, Steve L.; Slocum, Matthew G.

2015-01-01

Fire seasonality, an important characteristic of fire regimes, commonly is delineated using seasons based on single weather variables (rainfall or temperature). We used nonparametric cluster analyses of a 17-year (1993–2009) data set of weather variables that influence likelihoods and spread of fires (relative humidity, air temperature, solar radiation, wind speed, soil moisture) to explore seasonality of fire in pine savanna-grassland landscapes at the Avon Park Air Force Range in southern Florida. A four-variable, three-season model explained more variation within fire weather variables than models with more seasons. The three-season model also delineated intra-annual timing of fire more accurately than a conventional rainfall-based two-season model. Two seasons coincided roughly with dry and wet seasons based on rainfall. The third season, which we labeled the fire season, occurred between dry and wet seasons and was characterized by fire-promoting conditions present annually: drought, intense solar radiation, low humidity, and warm air temperatures. Fine fuels consisting of variable combinations of pyrogenic pine needles, abundant C4 grasses, and flammable shrubs, coupled with low soil moisture, and lightning ignitions early in the fire season facilitate natural landscape-scale wildfires that burn uplands and across wetlands. We related our three season model to fires with different ignition sources (lightning, military missions, and prescribed fires) over a 13-year period with fire records (1997–2009). Largest wildfires originate from lightning and military ignitions that occur within the early fire season substantially prior to the peak of lightning strikes in the wet season. Prescribed ignitions, in contrast, largely occur outside the fire season. Our delineation of a pronounced fire season provides insight into the extent to which different human-derived fire regimes mimic lightning fire regimes. Delineation of a fire season associated with timing of natural lightning ignitions should be useful as a basis for ecological fire management of humid savanna-grassland landscapes worldwide. PMID:25574667

Seasonality of fire weather strongly influences fire regimes in South Florida savanna-grassland landscapes.

PubMed

Platt, William J; Orzell, Steve L; Slocum, Matthew G

2015-01-01

Fire seasonality, an important characteristic of fire regimes, commonly is delineated using seasons based on single weather variables (rainfall or temperature). We used nonparametric cluster analyses of a 17-year (1993-2009) data set of weather variables that influence likelihoods and spread of fires (relative humidity, air temperature, solar radiation, wind speed, soil moisture) to explore seasonality of fire in pine savanna-grassland landscapes at the Avon Park Air Force Range in southern Florida. A four-variable, three-season model explained more variation within fire weather variables than models with more seasons. The three-season model also delineated intra-annual timing of fire more accurately than a conventional rainfall-based two-season model. Two seasons coincided roughly with dry and wet seasons based on rainfall. The third season, which we labeled the fire season, occurred between dry and wet seasons and was characterized by fire-promoting conditions present annually: drought, intense solar radiation, low humidity, and warm air temperatures. Fine fuels consisting of variable combinations of pyrogenic pine needles, abundant C4 grasses, and flammable shrubs, coupled with low soil moisture, and lightning ignitions early in the fire season facilitate natural landscape-scale wildfires that burn uplands and across wetlands. We related our three season model to fires with different ignition sources (lightning, military missions, and prescribed fires) over a 13-year period with fire records (1997-2009). Largest wildfires originate from lightning and military ignitions that occur within the early fire season substantially prior to the peak of lightning strikes in the wet season. Prescribed ignitions, in contrast, largely occur outside the fire season. Our delineation of a pronounced fire season provides insight into the extent to which different human-derived fire regimes mimic lightning fire regimes. Delineation of a fire season associated with timing of natural lightning ignitions should be useful as a basis for ecological fire management of humid savanna-grassland landscapes worldwide.

46 CFR 161.002-2 - Types of fire-protective systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., but not be limited to, automatic fire and smoke detecting systems, manual fire alarm systems, sample... unit, fire detectors, smoke detectors, and audible and visual alarms distinct in both respects from the alarms of any other system not indicating fire. (c) Manual fire alarm systems. For the purpose of this...

The influence of aridity and fire on Holocene prairie communities in the eastern Prairie Peninsula

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nelson, D.M.; Feng, S.H.; Grimm, E.C.; Curry, B. Brandon; Slate, J.E.

2006-01-01

The role of climate and fire in the development, maintenance, and species composition of prairie in the eastern axis of the tallgrass Prairie Peninsula intrigued early North American ecologists. However, evaluation of the long-standing hypotheses about the region's environmental history has been hampered by the scarcity of paleorecords. We conducted multiproxy analyses on early and middle Holocene sediments from two Illinois, USA, lakes to assess long-term climatic, vegetational, and fire variability in the region. Sediment mineral composition, carbonate ??18O, ostracode assemblages, and diatom assemblages were integrated to infer fluctuations in moisture availability. Pollen and charcoal ??13C were used to reconstruct vegetation composition, and charcoal influx was used to reconstruct fire. Results indicate that fire-sensitive trees (e.g., Ulmus, Ostrya, Fraxinus, and Acer saccharum) declined and prairie taxa expanded with increased aridity from 10 000 yr BP to 8500 yr BP. Between ???8500 yr BP and ???6200 yr BP, aridity declined, and prairie coexisted with fire-sensitive and fire-tolerant (e.g., Quercus and Carya) trees. After ???6200 yr BP, prairie taxa became dominant, although aridity was not more severe than it was around 8500 yr BP. Along with aridity, fire appears to have played an important role in the establishment and maintenance of prairie communities in the eastern Prairie Peninsula, consistent with the speculations of the early ecologists. Comparison of our data with results from elsewhere in the North American midcontinent indicates that spatial heterogeneity is a characteristic feature of climatic and vegetational variations on millennial time scales. ?? 2006 by the Ecological Society of America.

Bottlenecks in Geospatial Data-Driven Decision-Making for Natural Disaster Management: A Case Study of Forest Fire Prevention and Control in Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berenter, J. S.; Mueller, J. M.; Morrison, I.

2016-12-01

Annual forest fires are a source of great economic and environmental cost in the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), a region of high ecological and historical value in Guatemala's department of Petén. Scarce institutional resources, limited local response capacity, and difficult terrain place a premium on the use of Earth observation data for forest fire management in the MBR, but also present significant institutional barriers to optimizing the value of this data. Drawing upon key informant interviews and a contingent valuation survey of national and local actors conducted during a three-year performance evaluation of the USAID/NASA Regional Visualization and Monitoring System (SERVIR), this paper traces the flow of SERVIR data from acquisition to decision in order to assess the institutional and contextual factors affecting the value of Earth observation data for forest fire management in the MBR. Findings indicate that the use of satellite data for forest fire management in the MBR is widespread and multi-dimensional: historical assessments of land use and land cover, fire scarring, and climate data help central-level fire management agencies identify and regulate fire-sensitive areas; regular monitoring and dissemination of climate data enables coordination between agricultural burning activities and fire early warning systems; and daily satellite detection of thermal anomalies in land surface temperature permits first responders to monitor and react to "hotspot" activity. Findings also suggest, however, that while the decentralized operations of Petén's fire management systems foster the use of Earth observation data, systemic bottlenecks, including budgetary constraints, inadequate data infrastructure and interpretation capacity, and obstacles to regulatory enforcement, impede the flow of information and use of technology and thus impact the value of that data, particularly in remote and under-resourced areas of the MBR. A geographic expansion and fortification of support systems for use of Earth observation data is thus required to maximize the value of data-driven forest fire management in the MBR. Findings further validate a need for continued cooperation between scientific and governance institutions to disseminate and integrate geospatial data into environmental decision-making.

Reintroducing fire into the Blacks Mountain Research Natural Area: effects on fire hazard

Treesearch

Carl N. Skinner

2005-01-01

Frequent, low-intensity, surface fires were an integral ecological process in the Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest (BMEF) prior to the 20th Century. With rare exception, fires have been successfully excluded from BMEF since the early 1900s. The Blacks Mountain Research Natural Area (BMRNA) covers approximately 521 acres of BMEF in 5 compartments of approximately 100...

BK potassium channels facilitate high-frequency firing and cause early spike frequency adaptation in rat CA1 hippocampal pyramidal cells

PubMed Central

Gu, Ning; Vervaeke, Koen; Storm, Johan F

2007-01-01

Neuronal potassium (K+) channels are usually regarded as largely inhibitory, i.e. reducing excitability. Here we show that BK-type calcium-activated K+ channels enhance high-frequency firing and cause early spike frequency adaptation in neurons. By combining slice electrophysiology and computational modelling, we investigated functions of BK channels in regulation of high-frequency firing in rat CA1 pyramidal cells. Blockade of BK channels by iberiotoxin (IbTX) selectively reduced the initial discharge frequency in response to strong depolarizing current injections, thus reducing the early spike frequency adaptation. IbTX also blocked the fast afterhyperpolarization (fAHP), slowed spike rise and decay, and elevated the spike threshold. Simulations with a computational model of a CA1 pyramidal cell confirmed that the BK channel-mediated rapid spike repolarization and fAHP limits activation of slower K+ channels (in particular the delayed rectifier potassium current (IDR)) and Na+ channel inactivation, whereas M-, sAHP- or SK-channels seem not to be important for the early facilitating effect. Since the BK current rapidly inactivates, its facilitating effect diminishes during the initial discharge, thus producing early spike frequency adaptation by an unconventional mechanism. This mechanism is highly frequency dependent. Thus, IbTX had virtually no effect at spike frequencies < 40 Hz. Furthermore, extracellular field recordings demonstrated (and model simulations supported) that BK channels contribute importantly to high-frequency burst firing in response to excitatory synaptic input to distal dendrites. These results strongly support the idea that BK channels play an important role for early high-frequency, rapidly adapting firing in hippocampal pyramidal neurons, thus promoting the type of bursting that is characteristic of these cells in vivo, during behaviour. PMID:17303637

Role of burning season on initial understory vegetation response to prescribed fire in a mixed conifer forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knapp, E.E.; Schwilk, D.W.; Kane, J.M.; Keeley, J.E.

2007-01-01

Although the majority of fires in the western United States historically occurred during the late summer or early fall when fuels were dry and plants were dormant or nearly so, early-season prescribed burns are often ignited when fuels are still moist and plants are actively growing. The purpose of this study was to determine if burn season influences postfire vegetation recovery. Replicated early-season burn, late-season burn, and unburned control units were established in a mixed conifer forest, and understory vegetation was evaluated before and after treatment. Vegetation generally recovered rapidly after prescribed burning. However, late-season burns resulted in a temporary but significant drop in cover and a decline in species richness at the 1 m 2 scale in the following year. For two of the several taxa that were negatively affected by burning, the reduction in frequency was greater after late-season than early-season burns. Early-season burns may have moderated the effect of fire by consuming less fuel and lessening the amount of soil heating. Our results suggest that, when burned under high fuel loading conditions, many plant species respond more strongly to differences in fire intensity and severity than to timing of the burn relative to stage of plant growth. ?? 2007 NRC.

ESA fire_cci product assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heil, Angelika; Yue, Chao; Mouillot, Florent; Storm, Thomas; Chuvieco, Emilio; Ramo Sanchez, Ruben; Kaiser, Johannes W.

2017-04-01

Vegetation fires are a major disturbance in the Earth System. Fires change the biophysical properties and dynamics of ecosystems and alter terrestrial carbon pools. By altering the atmosphere's composition, fire emissions exert a significant climate forcing. To realistically model past and future changes of the Earth System, fire disturbances must be taken into account. Related modelling efforts require consistent global burned area observations covering at least 10 to 20 years. Guided by the specific requirements of a wide range of end users, the ESA fire_cci project has computed a new global burned area dataset. It applies a newly developed spectral change detection algorithm upon the ENVISAT-MERIS archive. The algorithm relies on MODIS active fire information as "seed". It comprises a pixel burned area product (spatial resolution of 333 m) with date detection information and a biweekly grid product at 0.25 degree spatial resolution. We compare fire_cci burned area with other global burned area products (MCD64 Collection 6, MCD45, GFED4, GFED4s and GEOLAND) and a set of active fires data (hotspots from MODIS, TRMM, AATSR and fire radiative power from GFAS). The analysis of patterns of agreement and disagreement between fire_cci and other products provides a better understanding of product characteristics and uncertainties. The intercomparison of the 2005-2011 fire_cci time series shows a close agreement with GFED4 data in terms of global burned area and the general spatial and temporal patterns. Pronounced differences, however, emerge for specific regions or fire events. Burned area mapped by fire_cci tends to be notably higher in regions where small agricultural fires predominate. The improved detection of small agricultural fires by fire_cci can be related to the increased spatial resolution of the MERIS sensor (333 m compared to 500 in MODIS). This is illustrated in detail using the example of the extreme 2006 spring fires in Eastern Europe.

Potential economic impact of introduction and spread of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, in Hawaii

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gutrich, J.J.; VanGelder, E.; Loope, L.

2007-01-01

Globally, many invasive alien species have caused extensive ecological and economic damage from either accidental or intentional introduction. The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, has created billions of dollars in costs annually, spreading as an invasive species across the southern United States. In 1998, the red imported fire ant spread into California creating a highly probable future introduction via shipped products to Hawaii. This paper presents the estimation of potential economic impacts of the red imported fire ant (RIFA) to the state of Hawaii. Evaluation of impacts focuses on the economic sectors of (1) households, (2) agriculture (cattle and crop production), (3) infrastructure (cemeteries, churches, cities, electrical, telephone, and cable services, highways, hospitals and schools), (4) recreation, tourism and business (hotels/resort areas, golf courses, commercial businesses and tourists), and (5) government expenditures (with minimal intervention). The full annual economic costs of the red imported fire ant to Hawaii are estimated (in US$ 2006) to be $211 million/year, comprised of $77 million in damages and expenditures and $134 million in foregone outdoor opportunities to households and tourists. The present value of the projected costs of RIFA over a 20-year period after introduction total $2.5 billion. RIFA invasions across the globe indicate that economic cost-effective action in Hawaii entails implementation of prevention, early detection and rapid response treatment programs for RIFA. ?? 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Strengthening community participation in reducing GHG emission from forest and peatland fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thoha, A. S.; Saharjo, B. H.; Boer, R.; Ardiansyah, M.

2018-02-01

Strengthening community participation is needed to find solutions to encourage community more participate in reducing Green House Gas (GHG) from forest and peatland fire. This research aimed to identify stakeholders that have the role in forest and peatland fire control and to formulate strengthening model of community participation through community-based early warning fire. Stakeholder mapping and action research were used to determine stakeholders that had potential influence and interest and to formulate strengthening model of community participation in reducing GHG from forest and peatland fire. There was found that position of key players in the mapping of stakeholders came from the government institution. The existence of community-based fire control group can strengthen government institution through collaborating with stakeholders having strong interest and influence. Moreover, it was found several local knowledge in Kapuas District about how communities predict drought that have potential value for developing the community-based early warning fire system. Formulated institutional model in this research also can be further developed as a model institution in the preservation of natural resources based on local knowledge. In conclusion, local knowledge and community-based fire groups can be integrated within strengthening model of community participation in reducing GHG from forest and peatland fire.

The changing strength and nature of fire-climate relationships in the northern Rocky Mountains, U.S.A., 1902-2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Littell, Jeremy

2015-01-01

Time-varying fire-climate relationships may represent an important component of fire-regime variability, relevant for understanding the controls of fire and projecting fire activity under global-change scenarios. We used time-varying statistical models to evaluate if and how fire-climate relationships varied from 1902-2008, in one of the most flammable forested regions of the western U.S.A. Fire-danger and water-balance metrics yielded the best combination of calibration accuracy and predictive skill in modeling annual area burned. The strength of fire-climate relationships varied markedly at multi-decadal scales, with models explaining < 40% to 88% of the variation in annual area burned. The early 20th century (1902-1942) and the most recent two decades (1985-2008) exhibited strong fire-climate relationships, with weaker relationships for much of the mid 20th century (1943-1984), coincident with diminished burning, less fire-conducive climate, and the initiation of modern fire fighting. Area burned and the strength of fire-climate relationships increased sharply in the mid 1980s, associated with increased temperatures and longer potential fire seasons. Unlike decades with high burning in the early 20th century, models developed using fire-climate relationships from recent decades overpredicted area burned when applied to earlier periods. This amplified response of fire to climate is a signature of altered fire-climate-relationships, and it implicates non-climatic factors in this recent shift. Changes in fuel structure and availability following 40+ yr of unusually low fire activity, and possibly land use, may have resulted in increased fire vulnerability beyond expectations from climatic factors alone. Our results highlight the potential for non-climatic factors to alter fire-climate relationships, and the need to account for such dynamics, through adaptable statistical or processes-based models, for accurately predicting future fire activity.

The Changing Strength and Nature of Fire-Climate Relationships in the Northern Rocky Mountains, U.S.A., 1902-2008

PubMed Central

Higuera, Philip E.; Abatzoglou, John T.; Littell, Jeremy S.; Morgan, Penelope

2015-01-01

Time-varying fire-climate relationships may represent an important component of fire-regime variability, relevant for understanding the controls of fire and projecting fire activity under global-change scenarios. We used time-varying statistical models to evaluate if and how fire-climate relationships varied from 1902-2008, in one of the most flammable forested regions of the western U.S.A. Fire-danger and water-balance metrics yielded the best combination of calibration accuracy and predictive skill in modeling annual area burned. The strength of fire-climate relationships varied markedly at multi-decadal scales, with models explaining < 40% to 88% of the variation in annual area burned. The early 20th century (1902-1942) and the most recent two decades (1985-2008) exhibited strong fire-climate relationships, with weaker relationships for much of the mid 20th century (1943-1984), coincident with diminished burning, less fire-conducive climate, and the initiation of modern fire fighting. Area burned and the strength of fire-climate relationships increased sharply in the mid 1980s, associated with increased temperatures and longer potential fire seasons. Unlike decades with high burning in the early 20th century, models developed using fire-climate relationships from recent decades overpredicted area burned when applied to earlier periods. This amplified response of fire to climate is a signature of altered fire-climate-relationships, and it implicates non-climatic factors in this recent shift. Changes in fuel structure and availability following 40+ yr of unusually low fire activity, and possibly land use, may have resulted in increased fire vulnerability beyond expectations from climatic factors alone. Our results highlight the potential for non-climatic factors to alter fire-climate relationships, and the need to account for such dynamics, through adaptable statistical or processes-based models, for accurately predicting future fire activity. PMID:26114580

The Changing Strength and Nature of Fire-Climate Relationships in the Northern Rocky Mountains, U.S.A., 1902-2008.

PubMed

Higuera, Philip E; Abatzoglou, John T; Littell, Jeremy S; Morgan, Penelope

2015-01-01

Time-varying fire-climate relationships may represent an important component of fire-regime variability, relevant for understanding the controls of fire and projecting fire activity under global-change scenarios. We used time-varying statistical models to evaluate if and how fire-climate relationships varied from 1902-2008, in one of the most flammable forested regions of the western U.S.A. Fire-danger and water-balance metrics yielded the best combination of calibration accuracy and predictive skill in modeling annual area burned. The strength of fire-climate relationships varied markedly at multi-decadal scales, with models explaining < 40% to 88% of the variation in annual area burned. The early 20th century (1902-1942) and the most recent two decades (1985-2008) exhibited strong fire-climate relationships, with weaker relationships for much of the mid 20th century (1943-1984), coincident with diminished burning, less fire-conducive climate, and the initiation of modern fire fighting. Area burned and the strength of fire-climate relationships increased sharply in the mid 1980s, associated with increased temperatures and longer potential fire seasons. Unlike decades with high burning in the early 20th century, models developed using fire-climate relationships from recent decades overpredicted area burned when applied to earlier periods. This amplified response of fire to climate is a signature of altered fire-climate-relationships, and it implicates non-climatic factors in this recent shift. Changes in fuel structure and availability following 40+ yr of unusually low fire activity, and possibly land use, may have resulted in increased fire vulnerability beyond expectations from climatic factors alone. Our results highlight the potential for non-climatic factors to alter fire-climate relationships, and the need to account for such dynamics, through adaptable statistical or processes-based models, for accurately predicting future fire activity.

Using satellite fire detection to calibrate components of the fire weather index system in Malaysia and Indonesia.

PubMed

Dymond, Caren C; Field, Robert D; Roswintiarti, Orbita; Guswanto

2005-04-01

Vegetation fires have become an increasing problem in tropical environments as a consequence of socioeconomic pressures and subsequent land-use change. In response, fire management systems are being developed. This study set out to determine the relationships between two aspects of the fire problems in western Indonesia and Malaysia, and two components of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System. The study resulted in a new method for calibrating components of fire danger rating systems based on satellite fire detection (hotspot) data. Once the climate was accounted for, a problematic number of fires were related to high levels of the Fine Fuel Moisture Code. The relationship between climate, Fine Fuel Moisture Code, and hotspot occurrence was used to calibrate Fire Occurrence Potential classes where low accounted for 3% of the fires from 1994 to 2000, moderate accounted for 25%, high 26%, and extreme 38%. Further problems arise when there are large clusters of fires burning that may consume valuable land or produce local smoke pollution. Once the climate was taken into account, the hotspot load (number and size of clusters of hotspots) was related to the Fire Weather Index. The relationship between climate, Fire Weather Index, and hotspot load was used to calibrate Fire Load Potential classes. Low Fire Load Potential conditions (75% of an average year) corresponded with 24% of the hotspot clusters, which had an average size of 30% of the largest cluster. In contrast, extreme Fire Load Potential conditions (1% of an average year) corresponded with 30% of the hotspot clusters, which had an average size of 58% of the maximum. Both Fire Occurrence Potential and Fire Load Potential calibrations were successfully validated with data from 2001. This study showed that when ground measurements are not available, fire statistics derived from satellite fire detection archives can be reliably used for calibration. More importantly, as a result of this work, Malaysia and Indonesia have two new sources of information to initiate fire prevention and suppression activities.

Forest Fire Finder - DOAS application to long-range forest fire detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valente de Almeida, Rui; Vieira, Pedro

2017-06-01

Fires are an important factor in shaping Earth's ecosystems. Plant and animal life, in almost every land habitat, are at least partially dependent on the effects of fire. However, their destructive force, which has often proven uncontrollable, is one of our greatest concerns, effectively resulting in several policies in the most important industrialised regions of the globe. This paper aims to comprehensively characterise the Forest Fire Finder (FFF), a forest fire detection system based mainly upon a spectroscopic technique called differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS). The system is designed and configured with the goal of detecting higher-than-the-horizon smoke columns by measuring and comparing scattered sunlight spectra. The article covers hardware and software, as well as their interactions and specific algorithms for day mode operation. An analysis of data retrieved from several installations deployed in the course of the last 5 years is also presented. Finally, this paper features a discussion on the most prominent future improvements planned for the system, as well as its ramifications and adaptations, such as a thermal imaging system for short-range fire seeking or environmental quality control.

Color model and method for video fire flame and smoke detection using Fisher linear discriminant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Yuan; Jie, Li; Jun, Fang; Yongming, Zhang

2013-02-01

Video fire detection is playing an increasingly important role in our life. But recent research is often based on a traditional RGB color model used to analyze the flame, which may be not the optimal color space for fire recognition. It is worse when we research smoke simply using gray images instead of color ones. We clarify the importance of color information for fire detection. We present a fire discriminant color (FDC) model for flame or smoke recognition based on color images. The FDC models aim to unify fire color image representation and fire recognition task into one framework. With the definition of between-class scatter matrices and within-class scatter matrices of Fisher linear discriminant, the proposed models seek to obtain one color-space-transform matrix and a discriminate projection basis vector by maximizing the ratio of these two scatter matrices. First, an iterative basic algorithm is designed to get one-component color space transformed from RGB. Then, a general algorithm is extended to generate three-component color space for further improvement. Moreover, we propose a method for video fire detection based on the models using the kNN classifier. To evaluate the recognition performance, we create a database including flame, smoke, and nonfire images for training and testing. The test experiments show that the proposed model achieves a flame verification rate receiver operating characteristic (ROC I) of 97.5% at a false alarm rate (FAR) of 1.06% and a smoke verification rate (ROC II) of 91.5% at a FAR of 1.2%, and lots of fire video experiments demonstrate that our method reaches a high accuracy for fire recognition.

Fire suppression in human-crew spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedman, Robert; Dietrich, Daniel L.

1991-01-01

Fire extinguishment agents range from water and foam in early-design spacecraft (Halon 1301 in the present Shuttle) to carbon dioxide proposed for the Space Station Freedom. The major challenge to spacecraft fire extinguishment design and operations is from the micro-gravity environment, which minimizes natural convection and profoundly influences combustion and extinguishing agent effectiveness, dispersal, and post-fire cleanup. Discussed here are extinguishment in microgravity, fire-suppression problems anticipated in future spacecraft, and research needs and opportunities.

Factors affecting plant diversity during post-fire recovery and succession of mediterranean-climate shrublands in California, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keeley, J.E.; Fotheringham, C.J.; Baer-Keeley, M.

2005-01-01

Plant community diversity, measured as species richness, is typically highest in the early post-fire years in California shrublands. However, this generalization is overly simplistic and the present study demonstrates that diversity is determined by a complex of temporal and spatial effects. Ninety sites distributed across southern California were studied for 5 years after a series of fires. Characteristics of the disturbance event, in this case fire severity, can alter post-fire diversity, both decreasing and increasing diversity, depending on life form. Spatial variability in resource availability is an important factor explaining patterns of diversity, and there is a complex interaction between landscape features and life form. Temporal variability in resource availability affects diversity, and the diversity peak in the immediate post-fire year (or two) appears to be driven by factors different from subsequent diversity peaks. Early post-fire diversity is influenced by life-history specialization, illustrated by species that spend the bulk of their life cycle as a dormant seed bank, which is then triggered to germinate by fire. Resource fluctuations, precipitation in particular, may be associated with subsequent post-fire diversity peaks. These later peaks in diversity comprise a flora that is compositionally different from the immediate post-fire flora, and their presence may be due to mass effects from population expansion of local populations in adjacent burned areas. ?? 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Improved estimates of biomass burning emissions in the southeast United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nowell, H.; Holmes, C.; Elsner, J.; Hiers, J. K.; Robertson, K.

2017-12-01

Biomass burning is a major source of gas and particle emissions that affects air quality, human health, and climate. Prescribed burns in the southeastern United States consume more biomass and cover a larger area than fires in the rest of the United States combined. Although fires can be detected remotely from thermal infrared emission and changes to surface reflectance, there are multiple issues that make satellite detections difficult in the eastern United States. These include small fire sizes, short duration, low intensity, canopy coverage, and rapid vegetation regrowth. Some attempts have been made to compensate for this bias, for example the small fire product in the Global Fire Emission Database (GFED4.1s) product. The accuracy of GFED and other remotely sensed global fire emission inventories are largely unknown, outside of a few field studies, mainly because there are few independent datasets of fire extent. The Florida Forest Service (FFS) has extensive records on fire type, size, location, and time for both prescribed and wild fires, which have not previously been used to evaluate fire area and emissions. For our study period of 2004 to 2016, we compared FFS burn authorization data against GFED4.1s burned area. When averaged across the state of Florida, there is 4 times more land burned than detected from satellite sensors. When comparing FFS data against high quality records from Apalachicola National Forest, Avon Park Air Force Range, Eglin Air Force Base, Tall Timbers Research Station, and Tyndall Air Force base, the areal discrepancy between these records and FFS reports are +/- 15%, well below the 4 times detection discrepancy between satellites and FFS reports. We have developed a method to statistically correct this satellite bias in fire detections. Treating the FFS burn authorizations as accurate, we have found this bias ratio can be predicted from fire size, land cover type, leaf area, and month. The regression model incorporating these factors can predict greater than 80% of variance in bias ratio across Florida during the summer months with correlations around 0.6 on average. This improved estimate of burned area in Florida will be used in global circulation models to determine the true contribution of prescribed wild fires in the southeast United States to gas and particle emissions.

Fire history, related to climate and land use in three southern Appalachian landscapes in the eastern United States.

PubMed

Flatley, William T; Lafon, Charles W; Grissino-Mayer, Henri D; LaForest, Lisa B

2013-09-01

Fire-maintained ecosystems and associated species are becoming increasingly rare in the southern Appalachian Mountains because of fire suppression policies implemented in the early 20th century. Restoration of these communities through prescribed fire has been hindered by a lack of information on historical fire regimes. To characterize past fire regimes, we collected and absolutely dated the tree rings on cross sections from 242 fire-scarred trees at three different sites in the southern Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. Our objectives were to (1) characterize the historical frequency of fire in southern Appalachian mixed pine-oak forests, (2) assess the impact of interannual climatic variability on the historical occurrence of fire, and (3) determine whether changes in human culture and land use altered the frequency of fire. Results demonstrate that fires burned frequently at all three sites for at least two centuries prior to the implementation of fire suppression and prevention in the early to mid 20th century. Composite mean fire return intervals were 2-4 yr, and point mean fire return intervals were 9-13 yr. Area-wide fires that burned across multiple stands occurred at 6-13-yr intervals. The majority of fires were recorded during the dormant season. Fire occurrence exhibited little relationship with reconstructed annual drought conditions. Also, fire activity did not change markedly during the transition from Native American to Euro-American settlement or during the period of industrial logging at the start of the 20th century. Fire activity declined significantly, however, during the fire suppression period, with a nearly complete absence of fire during recent decades. The characterization of past fire regimes should provide managers with specific targets for restoration of fire-associated communities in the southern Appalachian Mountains. The fire chronologies reported here are among the longest tree-ring reconstructions of fire history compiled for the eastern United States and support the hypothesis that frequent burning has played a long and important role in the development of forests in the southern Appalachian Mountains.

The double slit experiment and the time reversed fire alarm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halabi, Tarek

2011-03-01

When both slits of the double slit experiment are open, closing one paradoxically increases the detection rate at some points on the detection screen. Feynman famously warned that temptation to "understand" such a puzzling feature only draws us into blind alleys. Nevertheless, we gain insight into this feature by drawing an analogy between the double slit experiment and a time reversed fire alarm. Much as closing the slit increases probability of a future detection, ruling out fire drill scenarios, having heard the fire alarm, increases probability of a past fire (using Bayesian inference). Classically, Bayesian inference is associated with computing probabilities of past events. We therefore identify this feature of the double slit experiment with a time reversed thermodynamic arrow. We believe that much of the enigma of quantum mechanics is simply due to some variation of time's arrow.

DoD Is Not Properly Monitoring the Initiation of Maintenance for Facilities at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan (REDACTED)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-30

fire sprinkler system during the initial construction of the RSOI facilities. The construction contract to build the RSOI...International Building Code. Compliant manual and automatic fire alarm and notification systems , portable fire extinguishers, fire sprinkler systems ...automatic fire sprinkler system that was not operational, a fire department connection that was obstructed, and a fire detection system

Detection and characterization of small hot fires: Comparing FireBird, BIRD, S-NPP VIIRS and MODIS capacities over gas flares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruecker, Gernot; Schroeder, Wilfrid; Lorenz, Eckehard; Kaiser, Johannes; Caseiro, Alexandre

2016-04-01

According to recent research, black carbon has the second strongest effect on the earth climate system after carbon dioxide. In high Northern latitudes, industrial gas flares are an important source of black carbon, especially in winter. This fact is particularly relevant for the relatively fast observed climate change in the Arctic since deposition of black carbon changes the albedo of snow and ice, thus leading to a positive feedback cycle. Here we explore gas flare detection and Fire Radiative Power (FRP) retrievals of the German FireBird TET-1 and BIRD Hotspot Recognition Systems (HSRS), the VIIRS sensor on board of the S-NPP satellite, and the MODIS sensor using temporally close to near coincident data acquisitions. Comparison is based on level 2 products developed for fire detection for the different sensors; in the case of S-NPP VIIRS we use two products: the new VIIRS 750m algorithm based on MODIS collection 6, and the 350 m algorithm based on the VIIRS mid-infrared I (Imaging) band, which offers high resolution, but no FRP retrievals. Results indicate that the highest resolution FireBird sensors offer the best detection capacities, though the level two product shows false alarms, followed by the VIIRS 350 m and 750 m algorithms. MODIS has the lowest detection rate. Preliminary results of FRP retrievals show that FireBird and VIIRS algorithms have a good agreement. Given the fact that most gas flaring is at the detection limit for medium to coarse resolution space borne sensors - and hence measurement errors may be high - our results indicates that a quantitative evaluation of gas flaring using these sensors is feasible. Results shall be used to develop a gas flare detection algorithm for Sentinel-3, and a similar methodology will be employed to validate the capacity of Sentinel 3 to detect and characterize small high temperature sources such as gas flares.

77 FR 26191 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reclassifying the Wood Bison Under the Endangered...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-03

... Gates 2000, p. 917; Stephenson et al. 2001, p. 140). During the early 1800s, wood bison numbers were... 1990. More intensive fire management began in Canada in the early 1900s with the philosophy that fire... pregnancy (Gates et al. 2010, p. 30). Naturally acquired immunity reduces the abortion rate with subsequent...

Multiple-Parameter, Low-False-Alarm Fire-Detection Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Gary W.; Greensburg, Paul; McKnight, Robert; Xu, Jennifer C.; Liu, C. C.; Dutta, Prabir; Makel, Darby; Blake, D.; Sue-Antillio, Jill

2007-01-01

Fire-detection systems incorporating multiple sensors that measure multiple parameters are being developed for use in storage depots, cargo bays of ships and aircraft, and other locations not amenable to frequent, direct visual inspection. These systems are intended to improve upon conventional smoke detectors, now used in such locations, that reliably detect fires but also frequently generate false alarms: for example, conventional smoke detectors based on the blockage of light by smoke particles are also affected by dust particles and water droplets and, thus, are often susceptible to false alarms. In contrast, by utilizing multiple parameters associated with fires, i.e. not only obscuration by smoke particles but also concentrations of multiple chemical species that are commonly generated in combustion, false alarms can be significantly decreased while still detecting fires as reliably as older smoke-detector systems do. The present development includes fabrication of sensors that have, variously, micrometer- or nanometer-sized features so that such multiple sensors can be integrated into arrays that have sizes, weights, and power demands smaller than those of older macroscopic sensors. The sensors include resistors, electrochemical cells, and Schottky diodes that exhibit different sensitivities to the various airborne chemicals of interest. In a system of this type, the sensor readings are digitized and processed by advanced signal-processing hardware and software to extract such chemical indications of fires as abnormally high concentrations of CO and CO2, possibly in combination with H2 and/or hydrocarbons. The system also includes a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based particle detector and classifier device to increase the reliability of measurements of chemical species and particulates. In parallel research, software for modeling the evolution of a fire within an aircraft cargo bay has been developed. The model implemented in the software can describe the concentrations of chemical species and of particulate matter as functions of time. A system of the present developmental type and a conventional fire detector were tested under both fire and false-alarm conditions in a Federal Aviation Administration cargo-compartment- testing facility. Both systems consistently detected fires. However, the conventional fire detector consistently generated false alarms, whereas the developmental system did not generate any false alarms.

Colleges Fight Fire With Electronics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

College & University Business, 1968

1968-01-01

Description of various electronic fire detection and alarm systems is presented. Explanation of detective systems includes--(1) fixed-temperature and rate-of-rise heat sensitive devices, (2) smoke detective devices, (3) ionization systems, and (4) infrared and ultraviolet radiation devices. Each system type is evaluated in terms of operation,…

Holocene fire occurrence and alluvial responses at the leading edge of pinyon–juniper migration in the Northern Great Basin, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Weppner, Kerrie N.; Pierce, Jennifer L.; Betancourt, Julio L.

2013-01-01

Fire and vegetation records at the City of Rocks National Reserve (CIRO), south-central Idaho, display the interaction of changing climate, fire and vegetation along the migrating front of single-leaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla) and Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma). Radiocarbon dating of alluvial charcoal reconstructed local fire occurrence and geomorphic response, and fossil woodrat (Neotoma) middens revealed pinyon and juniper arrivals. Fire peaks occurred ~ 10,700–9500, 7200–6700, 2400–2000, 850–700, and 550–400 cal yr BP, whereas ~ 9500–7200, 6700–4700 and ~ 1500–1000 cal yr BP are fire-free. Wetter climates and denser vegetation fueled episodic fires and debris flows during the early and late Holocene, whereas drier climates and reduced vegetation caused frequent sheetflooding during the mid-Holocene. Increased fires during the wetter and more variable late Holocene suggest variable climate and adequate fuels augment fires at CIRO. Utah juniper and single-leaf pinyon colonized CIRO by 3800 and 2800 cal yr BP, respectively, though pinyon did not expand broadly until ~ 700 cal yr BP. Increased fire-related deposition coincided with regional droughts and pinyon infilling ~ 850–700 and 550–400 cal yr BP. Early and late Holocene vegetation change probably played a major role in accelerated fire activity, which may be sustained into the future due to pinyon–juniper densification and cheatgrass invasion.

Fire Effects Information System: New engine, remodeled interior, added options

Treesearch

Jane Kapler Smith

2010-01-01

Some of today's firefighters weren't even born when the Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) (Web site ) "hit the streets" in 1986. Managers might remember using a dial-up connection in the early 1990s to access information on biology, ecology, and fire offered by FEIS.

Results of field testing with the FightSight infrared-based projectile tracking and weapon-fire characterization technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snarski, Steve; Menozzi, Alberico; Sherrill, Todd; Volpe, Chris; Wille, Mark

2010-04-01

This paper describes experimental results from recent live-fire data collects that demonstrate the capability of a prototype system for projectile detection and tracking. This system, which is being developed at Applied Research Associates, Inc., under the FightSight program, consists of a high-speed thermal camera and sophisticated image processing algorithms to detect and track projectiles. The FightSight operational vision is automated situational intelligence to detect, track, and graphically map large-scale firefights and individual shooting events onto command and control (C2) systems in real time (shot location and direction, weapon ID, movements and trends). Gaining information on enemy-fire trajectories allows educated inferences on the enemy's intent, disposition, and strength. Our prototype projectile detection and tracking system has been tested at the Joint Readiness Training Center (Ft Polk, LA) during live-fire convoy and mortar registration exercises, in the summer of 2009. It was also tested during staged military-operations- on-urban-terrain (MOUT) firefight events at Aberdeen Test Center (Aberdeen, MD) under the Hostile Fire Defeat Army Technology Objective midterm experiment, also in the summer of 2009, where we introduced fusion with acoustic and EO sensors to provide 3D localization and near-real time display of firing events. Results are presented in this paper that demonstrate effective and accurate detection and localization of weapon fire (5.56mm, 7.62mm, .50cal, 81/120mm mortars, 40mm) in diverse and challenging environments (dust, heat, day and night, rain, arid open terrain, urban clutter). FightSight's operational capabilities demonstrated under these live-fire data collects can support closecombat scenarios. As development continues, FightSight will be able to feed C2 systems with a symbolic map of enemy actions.

A wireless sensor network deployment for rural and forest fire detection and verification.

PubMed

Lloret, Jaime; Garcia, Miguel; Bri, Diana; Sendra, Sandra

2009-01-01

Forest and rural fires are one of the main causes of environmental degradation in Mediterranean countries. Existing fire detection systems only focus on detection, but not on the verification of the fire. However, almost all of them are just simulations, and very few implementations can be found. Besides, the systems in the literature lack scalability. In this paper we show all the steps followed to perform the design, research and development of a wireless multisensor network which mixes sensors with IP cameras in a wireless network in order to detect and verify fire in rural and forest areas of Spain. We have studied how many cameras, sensors and access points are needed to cover a rural or forest area, and the scalability of the system. We have developed a multisensor and when it detects a fire, it sends a sensor alarm through the wireless network to a central server. The central server selects the closest wireless cameras to the multisensor, based on a software application, which are rotated to the sensor that raised the alarm, and sends them a message in order to receive real-time images from the zone. The camera lets the fire fighters corroborate the existence of a fire and avoid false alarms. In this paper, we show the test performance given by a test bench formed by four wireless IP cameras in several situations and the energy consumed when they are transmitting. Moreover, we study the energy consumed by each device when the system is set up. The wireless sensor network could be connected to Internet through a gateway and the images of the cameras could be seen from any part of the world.

A Wireless Sensor Network Deployment for Rural and Forest Fire Detection and Verification

PubMed Central

Lloret, Jaime; Garcia, Miguel; Bri, Diana; Sendra, Sandra

2009-01-01

Forest and rural fires are one of the main causes of environmental degradation in Mediterranean countries. Existing fire detection systems only focus on detection, but not on the verification of the fire. However, almost all of them are just simulations, and very few implementations can be found. Besides, the systems in the literature lack scalability. In this paper we show all the steps followed to perform the design, research and development of a wireless multisensor network which mixes sensors with IP cameras in a wireless network in order to detect and verify fire in rural and forest areas of Spain. We have studied how many cameras, sensors and access points are needed to cover a rural or forest area, and the scalability of the system. We have developed a multisensor and when it detects a fire, it sends a sensor alarm through the wireless network to a central server. The central server selects the closest wireless cameras to the multisensor, based on a software application, which are rotated to the sensor that raised the alarm, and sends them a message in order to receive real-time images from the zone. The camera lets the fire fighters corroborate the existence of a fire and avoid false alarms. In this paper, we show the test performance given by a test bench formed by four wireless IP cameras in several situations and the energy consumed when they are transmitting. Moreover, we study the energy consumed by each device when the system is set up. The wireless sensor network could be connected to Internet through a gateway and the images of the cameras could be seen from any part of the world. PMID:22291533

An approach of surface coal fire detection from ASTER and Landsat-8 thermal data: Jharia coal field, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Priyom; Guha, Arindam; Kumar, K. Vinod

2015-07-01

Radiant temperature images from thermal remote sensing sensors are used to delineate surface coal fires, by deriving a cut-off temperature to separate coal-fire from non-fire pixels. Temperature contrast of coal fire and background elements (rocks and vegetation etc.) controls this cut-off temperature. This contrast varies across the coal field, as it is influenced by variability of associated rock types, proportion of vegetation cover and intensity of coal fires etc. We have delineated coal fires from background, based on separation in data clusters in maximum v/s mean radiant temperature (13th band of ASTER and 10th band of Landsat-8) scatter-plot, derived using randomly distributed homogeneous pixel-blocks (9 × 9 pixels for ASTER and 27 × 27 pixels for Landsat-8), covering the entire coal bearing geological formation. It is seen that, for both the datasets, overall temperature variability of background and fires can be addressed using this regional cut-off. However, the summer time ASTER data could not delineate fire pixels for one specific mine (Bhulanbararee) as opposed to the winter time Landsat-8 data. The contrast of radiant temperature of fire and background terrain elements, specific to this mine, is different from the regional contrast of fire and background, during summer. This is due to the higher solar heating of background rocky outcrops, thus, reducing their temperature contrast with fire. The specific cut-off temperature determined for this mine, to extract this fire, differs from the regional cut-off. This is derived by reducing the pixel-block size of the temperature data. It is seen that, summer-time ASTER image is useful for fire detection but required additional processing to determine a local threshold, along with the regional threshold to capture all the fires. However, the winter Landsat-8 data was better for fire detection with a regional threshold.

Fire Safety's My Job. Eighth Grade. Fire Safety for Texans: Fire and Burn Prevention Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas State Commission on Fire Protection, Austin.

This booklet comprises the eighth grade component of a series of curriculum guides on fire and burn prevention. Designed to meet the age-specific needs of eighth grade students, its objectives include: (1) focusing on technical aspects of fire hazards and detection, and (2) exploring fire hazards outside the home. Texas essential elements of…

Space station internal environmental and safety concerns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cole, Matthew B.

1987-01-01

Space station environmental and safety concerns, especially those involving fires, are discussed. Several types of space station modules and the particular hazards associated with each are briefly surveyed. A brief history of fire detection and suppression aboard spacecraft is given. Microgravity fire behavior, spacecraft fire detector systems, space station fire suppression equipment and procedures, and fire safety in hyperbaric chambers are discussed.

Post-wildfire logging hinders regeneration and increases fire risk.

PubMed

Donato, D C; Fontaine, J B; Campbell, J L; Robinson, W D; Kauffman, J B; Law, B E

2006-01-20

We present data from a study of early conifer regeneration and fuel loads after the 2002 Biscuit Fire, Oregon, USA, with and without postfire logging. Natural conifer regeneration was abundant after the high-severity fire. Postfire logging reduced median regeneration density by 71%, significantly increased downed woody fuels, and thus increased short-term fire risk. Additional reduction of fuels is necessary for effective mitigation of fire risk. Postfire logging can be counterproductive to the goals of forest regeneration and fuel reduction.

Risks and issues in fire safety on the Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedman, Robert

1993-01-01

A fire in the inhabited portion of a spacecraft is a greatly feared hazard, but fire protection in space operations is complicated by two factors. First, the spacecraft cabin is an enclosed volume, which limits the resources for fire fighting and the options for crew escape. Second, an orbiting spacecraft experiences a balance of forces, creating a near-zero-gravity (microgravity) environment that profoundly affects the characteristics of fire initiation, spread, and suppression. The current Shuttle Orbiter is protected by a fire-detection and suppression system whose requirements are derived of necessity from accepted terrestrial and aircraft standards. While experience has shown that Shuttle fire safety is adequate, designers recognize that improved systems to respond specifically to microgravity fire characteristics are highly desirable. Innovative technology is particularly advisable for the Space Station, a forthcoming space community with a complex configuration and long-duration orbital missions, in which the effectiveness of current fire-protection systems is unpredictable. The development of risk assessments to evaluate the probabilities and consequences of fire incidents in spacecraft are briefly reviewed. It further discusses the important unresolved issues and needs for improved fire safety in the Space Station, including those of material selection, spacecraft atmospheres, fire detection, fire suppression, and post-fire restoration.

The discovery of fire by humans: a long and convoluted process

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Numbers of animal species react to the natural phenomenon of fire, but only humans have learnt to control it and to make it at will. Natural fires caused overwhelmingly by lightning are highly evident on many landscapes. Birds such as hawks, and some other predators, are alert to opportunities to catch animals including invertebrates disturbed by such fires and similar benefits are likely to underlie the first human involvements with fires. Early hominins would undoubtedly have been aware of such fires, as are savanna chimpanzees in the present. Rather than as an event, the discovery of fire use may be seen as a set of processes happening over the long term. Eventually, fire became embedded in human behaviour, so that it is involved in almost all advanced technologies. Fire has also influenced human biology, assisting in providing the high-quality diet which has fuelled the increase in brain size through the Pleistocene. Direct evidence of early fire in archaeology remains rare, but from 1.5 Ma onward surprising numbers of sites preserve some evidence of burnt material. By the Middle Pleistocene, recognizable hearths demonstrate a social and economic focus on many sites. The evidence of archaeological sites has to be evaluated against postulates of biological models such as the ‘cooking hypothesis' or the ‘social brain’, and questions of social cooperation and the origins of language. Although much remains to be worked out, it is plain that fire control has had a major impact in the course of human evolution. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’. PMID:27216521

The discovery of fire by humans: a long and convoluted process.

PubMed

Gowlett, J A J

2016-06-05

Numbers of animal species react to the natural phenomenon of fire, but only humans have learnt to control it and to make it at will. Natural fires caused overwhelmingly by lightning are highly evident on many landscapes. Birds such as hawks, and some other predators, are alert to opportunities to catch animals including invertebrates disturbed by such fires and similar benefits are likely to underlie the first human involvements with fires. Early hominins would undoubtedly have been aware of such fires, as are savanna chimpanzees in the present. Rather than as an event, the discovery of fire use may be seen as a set of processes happening over the long term. Eventually, fire became embedded in human behaviour, so that it is involved in almost all advanced technologies. Fire has also influenced human biology, assisting in providing the high-quality diet which has fuelled the increase in brain size through the Pleistocene. Direct evidence of early fire in archaeology remains rare, but from 1.5 Ma onward surprising numbers of sites preserve some evidence of burnt material. By the Middle Pleistocene, recognizable hearths demonstrate a social and economic focus on many sites. The evidence of archaeological sites has to be evaluated against postulates of biological models such as the 'cooking hypothesis' or the 'social brain', and questions of social cooperation and the origins of language. Although much remains to be worked out, it is plain that fire control has had a major impact in the course of human evolution.This article is part of the themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'. © 2016 The Authors.

46 CFR 78.45-1 - When required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... the following plans: (1) General arrangement plans showing for each deck the fire control stations, the various sections enclosed by fire-resisting bulkheads, together with particulars of the fire alarms, detecting systems, the sprinkler installation (if any), the fire extinguishing appliances, means...

46 CFR 78.45-1 - When required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... the following plans: (1) General arrangement plans showing for each deck the fire control stations, the various sections enclosed by fire-resisting bulkheads, together with particulars of the fire alarms, detecting systems, the sprinkler installation (if any), the fire extinguishing appliances, means...

46 CFR 78.45-1 - When required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... the following plans: (1) General arrangement plans showing for each deck the fire control stations, the various sections enclosed by fire-resisting bulkheads, together with particulars of the fire alarms, detecting systems, the sprinkler installation (if any), the fire extinguishing appliances, means...

46 CFR 78.45-1 - When required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... the following plans: (1) General arrangement plans showing for each deck the fire control stations, the various sections enclosed by fire-resisting bulkheads, together with particulars of the fire alarms, detecting systems, the sprinkler installation (if any), the fire extinguishing appliances, means...

46 CFR 78.45-1 - When required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... the following plans: (1) General arrangement plans showing for each deck the fire control stations, the various sections enclosed by fire-resisting bulkheads, together with particulars of the fire alarms, detecting systems, the sprinkler installation (if any), the fire extinguishing appliances, means...

Configuration of electro-optic fire source detection system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fabian, Ram Z.; Steiner, Zeev; Hofman, Nir

2007-04-01

The recent fighting activities in various parts of the world have highlighted the need for accurate fire source detection on one hand and fast "sensor to shooter cycle" capabilities on the other. Both needs can be met by the SPOTLITE system which dramatically enhances the capability to rapidly engage hostile fire source with a minimum of casualties to friendly force and to innocent bystanders. Modular system design enable to meet each customer specific requirements and enable excellent future growth and upgrade potential. The design and built of a fire source detection system is governed by sets of requirements issued by the operators. This can be translated into the following design criteria: I) Long range, fast and accurate fire source detection capability. II) Different threat detection and classification capability. III) Threat investigation capability. IV) Fire source data distribution capability (Location, direction, video image, voice). V) Men portability. ) In order to meet these design criteria, an optimized concept was presented and exercised for the SPOTLITE system. Three major modular components were defined: I) Electro Optical Unit -Including FLIR camera, CCD camera, Laser Range Finder and Marker II) Electronic Unit -including system computer and electronic. III) Controller Station Unit - Including the HMI of the system. This article discusses the system's components definition and optimization processes, and also show how SPOTLITE designers successfully managed to introduce excellent solutions for other system parameters.

Implementing a combined polar-geostationary algorithm for smoke emissions estimation in near real time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyer, E. J.; Schmidt, C. C.; Hoffman, J.; Giglio, L.; Peterson, D. A.

2013-12-01

Polar and geostationary satellites are used operationally for fire detection and smoke source estimation by many near-real-time operational users, including operational forecast centers around the globe. The input satellite radiance data are processed by data providers to produce Level-2 and Level -3 fire detection products, but processing these data into spatially and temporally consistent estimates of fire activity requires a substantial amount of additional processing. The most significant processing steps are correction for variable coverage of the satellite observations, and correction for conditions that affect the detection efficiency of the satellite sensors. We describe a system developed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) that uses the full raster information from the entire constellation to diagnose detection opportunities, calculate corrections for factors such as angular dependence of detection efficiency, and generate global estimates of fire activity at spatial and temporal scales suitable for atmospheric modeling. By incorporating these improved fire observations, smoke emissions products, such as NRL's FLAMBE, are able to produce improved estimates of global emissions. This talk provides an overview of the system, demonstrates the achievable improvement over older methods, and describes challenges for near-real-time implementation.

Seasonal Variation and Ecosystem Dependence of Emission Factors for Selected Trace Gases and PM2.5 for Southern African Savanna Fires

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Korontzi, S.; Ward, D. E.; Susott, R. A.; Yokelson, R. J.; Justice, C. O.; Hobbs, P. V.; Smithwick, E. A. H.; Hao, W. M.

2003-01-01

In this paper we present the first early dry season (early June-early August) emission factor measurements for carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (Ca), nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC), and particulates with a diameter less than 2.5 microns (pM2.5) for southern African grassland and woodland fires. Seasonal emission factors for grassland fires correlate linearly with the proportion of green grass, used as a surrogate for the fuel moisture content, and are higher for products of incomplete combustion in the early part of the dry season compared with later in the dry season. Models of emission factors for NMHC and PM(sub 2.5) versus modified combustion efficiency (MCE) are statistically different in grassland compared with woodland ecosystems. We compare predictions based on the integration of emissions factors from this study, from the southern African Fire-Atmosphere Research Initiative 1992 (SAFARI-92), and from SAFARI-2000 with those based on the smaller set of ecosystem-specific emission factors to estimate the effects of using regional-average rather than ecosystem-specific emission factors. We also test the validity of using the SAFARI-92 models for emission factors versus MCE to predict the early dry season emission factors measured in this study. The comparison indicates that the largest discrepancies occur at the low end (0.907) and high end (0.972) of MCE values measured in this study. Finally, we combine our models of MCE versus proportion of green grass for grassland fires with emission factors versus MCE for selected oxygenated volatile organic compounds measured in the SAFARI-2000 campaign to derive the first seasonal emission factors for these compounds. The results of this study demonstrate that seasonal variations in savanna fire emissions are important and should be considered in modeling emissions at regional to continental scales.

Detection of Coal Fires: A Case Study Conducted on Indian Coal Seams Using Neural Network and Particle Swarm Optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, B. B.

2016-12-01

India produces majority of its electricity from coal but a huge quantity of coal burns every day due to coal fires and also poses a threat to the environment as severe pollutants. In the present study we had demonstrated the usage of Neural Network based approach with an integrated Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) inversion technique. The Self Potential (SP) data set is used for the early detection of coal fires. The study was conducted over the East Basuria colliery, Jharia Coal Field, Jharkhand, India. The causative source was modelled as an inclined sheet like anomaly and the synthetic data was generated. Neural Network scheme consists of an input layer, hidden layers and an output layer. The input layer corresponds to the SP data and the output layer is the estimated depth of the coal fire. A synthetic dataset was modelled with some of the known parameters such as depth, conductivity, inclination angle, half width etc. associated with causative body and gives a very low misfit error of 0.0032%. Therefore, the method was found accurate in predicting the depth of the source body. The technique was applied to the real data set and the model was trained until a very good correlation of determination `R2' value of 0.98 is obtained. The depth of the source body was found to be 12.34m with a misfit error percentage of 0.242%. The inversion results were compared with the lithologs obtained from a nearby well which corresponds to the L3 coal seam. The depth of the coal fire had exactly matched with the half width of the anomaly which suggests that the fire is widely spread. The inclination angle of the anomaly was 135.510 which resembles the development of the geometrically complex fracture planes. These fractures may be developed due to anisotropic weakness of the ground which acts as passage for the air. As a result coal fires spreads along these fracture planes. The results obtained from the Neural Network was compared with PSO inversion results and were found in complete agreement. PSO technique had already been found a well-established technique to model SP anomalies. Therefore for successful control and mitigation, SP surveys coupled with Neural Network and PSO technique proves to be novel and economical approach along with other existing geophysical techniques. Keywords: PSO, Coal fire, Self-Potential, Inversion, Neural Network

46 CFR 28.325 - Fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... space must be equipped with an independent modular smoke detector or a smoke actuated fire detecting... detector must meet UL 217 and be listed as a “Single Station Smoke Detector—Also suitable for use in...

46 CFR 28.325 - Fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... space must be equipped with an independent modular smoke detector or a smoke actuated fire detecting... detector must meet UL 217 and be listed as a “Single Station Smoke Detector—Also suitable for use in...

46 CFR 28.325 - Fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... space must be equipped with an independent modular smoke detector or a smoke actuated fire detecting... detector must meet UL 217 and be listed as a “Single Station Smoke Detector—Also suitable for use in...

46 CFR 28.325 - Fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... space must be equipped with an independent modular smoke detector or a smoke actuated fire detecting... detector must meet UL 217 and be listed as a “Single Station Smoke Detector—Also suitable for use in...

46 CFR 28.325 - Fire detection systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... space must be equipped with an independent modular smoke detector or a smoke actuated fire detecting... detector must meet UL 217 and be listed as a “Single Station Smoke Detector—Also suitable for use in...

Tree mortality from fire and bark beetles following early and late season prescribed fires in a Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest

Treesearch

Dylan W. Schwilk; Eric E. Knapp; Scott M. Ferrenberg; Jon E. Keeley; Anthony. Caprio

2006-01-01

Over the last century, fire exclusion in the forests of the Sierra Nevada has allowed surface fuels to accumulate and has led to increased tree density. Stand composition has also been altered as shade tolerant tree species crowd out shade intolerant species. To restore forest structure and reduce the risk of large, intense fires, managers have increasingly used...

Weak signal amplification and detection by higher-order sensory neurons

PubMed Central

Longtin, Andre; Maler, Leonard

2016-01-01

Sensory systems must extract behaviorally relevant information and therefore often exhibit a very high sensitivity. How the nervous system reaches such high sensitivity levels is an outstanding question in neuroscience. Weakly electric fish (Apteronotus leptorhynchus/albifrons) are an excellent model system to address this question because detailed background knowledge is available regarding their behavioral performance and its underlying neuronal substrate. Apteronotus use their electrosense to detect prey objects. Therefore, they must be able to detect electrical signals as low as 1 μV while using a sensory integration time of <200 ms. How these very weak signals are extracted and amplified by the nervous system is not yet understood. We studied the responses of cells in the early sensory processing areas, namely, the electroreceptor afferents (EAs) and pyramidal cells (PCs) of the electrosensory lobe (ELL), the first-order electrosensory processing area. In agreement with previous work we found that EAs cannot encode very weak signals with a spike count code. However, PCs can encode prey mimic signals by their firing rate, revealing a huge signal amplification between EAs and PCs and also suggesting differences in their stimulus encoding properties. Using a simple leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) model we predict that the target neurons of PCs in the midbrain torus semicircularis (TS) are able to detect very weak signals. In particular, TS neurons could do so by assuming biologically plausible convergence rates as well as very simple decoding strategies such as temporal integration, threshold crossing, and combining the inputs of PCs. PMID:26843601

Estimation of carbon emissions from wildfires in Alaskan boreal forests using AVHRR data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kasischke, E.S.; French, N.H.F.; Bourgeau-Chavez, L.L

1993-06-01

The objectives of this research study were to evaluate the utility of using AVHRR data for locating and measuring the areal extent of wildfires in the boreal forests of Alaska and to estimate the amount of carbon being released during these fires. Techniques were developed to using the normalized difference vegetation signature derived from AVHRR data to detect and measure the area of fires in Alaska. A model was developed to estimate the amount of biomass/carbon being stored in Alaskan boreal forests, and the amount of carbon released during fires. The AVHRR analysis resulted in detection of > 83% ofmore » all forest fires greater than 2,000 ha in size in the years 1990 and 1991. The areal estimate derived from AVHRR data were 75% of the area mapped by the Alaska Fire Service for these years. Using fire areas and locations for 1954 through 1992, it was determined that on average, 13.0 gm-C-m-2 of boreal forest area is released during fires every year. This estimate is two to six times greater than previous reported estimates. Our conclusions are that the analysis of AVHRR data represents a viable means for detecting and mapping fires in boreal regions on a global basis.« less

Post-fire tree establishment and early cohort development in conifer forests of the western Cascades of Oregon, USA

Treesearch

Alan J. Tepley; Frederick J. Swanson; Thomas A. Spies

2014-01-01

Early-seral ecosystems make important contributions to regional biodiversity by supporting high abundance and diversity of many plant and animal species that are otherwise rare or absent from closed-canopy forests. Therefore, the period of post-fire tree establishment is a key stage in forest stand and ecosystem development that can be viewed in the context of...

Public Response to Wildfire: Is the Australian "Stay and Defend or Leave Early" Approach an Option for Wildfire Management in the United States?

Treesearch

Sarah M. McCaffrey; Alan Rhodes

2009-01-01

In the United States, the increasing costs and negative impacts of wildfires are causing fire managers and policymakers to reexamine traditional approaches to fire management including whether mass evacuation of populations threatened by wildfire is always the most appropriate option. This article examines the Australian "stay and defend or leave early" (SDLE...

Adrenergic receptor-mediated modulation of striatal firing patterns.

PubMed

Ohta, Hiroyuki; Kohno, Yu; Arake, Masashi; Tamura, Risa; Yukawa, Suguru; Sato, Yoshiaki; Morimoto, Yuji; Nishida, Yasuhiro; Yawo, Hiromu

2016-11-01

Although noradrenaline and adrenaline are some of the most important neurotransmitters in the central nervous system, the effects of noradrenergic/adrenergic modulation on the striatum have not been determined. In order to explore the effects of adrenergic receptor (AR) agonists on the striatal firing patterns, we used optogenetic methods which can induce continuous firings. We employed transgenic rats expressing channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) in neurons. The medium spiny neuron showed a slow rising depolarization during the 1-s long optogenetic striatal photostimulation and a residual potential with 8.6-s half-life decay after the photostimulation. As a result of the residual potential, five repetitive 1-sec long photostimulations with 20-s onset intervals cumulatively increased the number of spikes. This 'firing increment', possibly relating to the timing control function of the striatum, was used to evaluate the AR modulation. The β-AR agonist isoproterenol decreased the firing increment between the 1st and 5th stimulation cycles, while the α 1 -AR agonist phenylephrine enhanced the firing increment. Isoproterenol and adrenaline increased the early phase (0-0.5s of the photostimulation) firing response. This adrenergic modulation was inhibited by the β-antagonist propranolol. Conversely, phenylephrine and noradrenaline reduced the early phase response. β-ARs and α 1 -ARs work in opposition controlling the striatal firing initiation and the firing increment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

Changes to Cretaceous surface fire behaviour influenced the spread of the early angiosperms.

PubMed

Belcher, Claire M; Hudspith, Victoria A

2017-02-01

Angiosperms evolved and diversified during the Cretaceous period. Early angiosperms were short-stature weedy plants thought to have increased fire frequency and mortality in gymnosperm forest, aiding their own expansion. However, no explorations have considered whether the range of novel fuel types that diversified throughout the Cretaceous also altered fire behaviour, which should link more strongly to mortality than fire frequency alone. We measured ignitability and heat of combustion in analogue Cretaceous understorey fuels (conifer litter, ferns, weedy and shrubby angiosperms) and used these data to model palaeofire behaviour. Variations in ignition, driven by weedy angiosperms alone, were found to have been a less important feedback to changes in Cretaceous fire activity than previously estimated. Our model estimates suggest that fires in shrub and fern understories had significantly greater fireline intensities than those fuelled by conifer litter or weedy angiosperms, and whilst fern understories supported the most rapid fire spread, angiosperm shrubs delivered the largest amount of heat per unit area. The higher fireline intensities predicted by the models led to estimates of enhanced scorch of the gymnosperm canopy and a greater chance of transitioning to crown fires. Therefore, changes in fire behaviour driven by the addition of new Cretaceous fuel groups may have assisted the angiosperm expansion. © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.

46 CFR 97.36-1 - When required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... the vessel the following plans: (a) General arrangement plans showing for each deck the fire control stations, the various sections enclosed by fire-resisting bulkheads, together with particulars of the fire alarms, detecting systems, the sprinkler installation (if any), the fire extinguishing appliances, means...

46 CFR 97.36-1 - When required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... the vessel the following plans: (a) General arrangement plans showing for each deck the fire control stations, the various sections enclosed by fire-resisting bulkheads, together with particulars of the fire alarms, detecting systems, the sprinkler installation (if any), the fire extinguishing appliances, means...

46 CFR 97.36-1 - When required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... the vessel the following plans: (a) General arrangement plans showing for each deck the fire control stations, the various sections enclosed by fire-resisting bulkheads, together with particulars of the fire alarms, detecting systems, the sprinkler installation (if any), the fire extinguishing appliances, means...

Network-Based Real-time Integrated Fire Detection and Alarm (FDA) System with Building Automation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anwar, F.; Boby, R. I.; Rashid, M. M.; Alam, M. M.; Shaikh, Z.

2017-11-01

Fire alarm systems have become increasingly an important lifesaving technology in many aspects, such as applications to detect, monitor and control any fire hazard. A large sum of money is being spent annually to install and maintain the fire alarm systems in buildings to protect property and lives from the unexpected spread of fire. Several methods are already developed and it is improving on a daily basis to reduce the cost as well as increase quality. An integrated Fire Detection and Alarm (FDA) systems with building automation was studied, to reduce cost and improve their reliability by preventing false alarm. This work proposes an improved framework for FDA system to ensure a robust intelligent network of FDA control panels in real-time. A shortest path algorithmic was chosen for series of buildings connected by fiber optic network. The framework shares information and communicates with each fire alarm panels connected in peer to peer configuration and declare the network state using network address declaration from any building connected in network. The fiber-optic connection was proposed to reduce signal noises, thus increasing large area coverage, real-time communication and long-term safety. Based on this proposed method an experimental setup was designed and a prototype system was developed to validate the performance in practice. Also, the distributed network system was proposed to connect with an optional remote monitoring terminal panel to validate proposed network performance and ensure fire survivability where the information is sequentially transmitted. The proposed FDA system is different from traditional fire alarm and detection system in terms of topology as it manages group of buildings in an optimal and efficient manner.Introduction

Successional changes in trophic interactions support a mechanistic model of post-fire population dynamics.

PubMed

Smith, Annabel L

2018-01-01

Models based on functional traits have limited power in predicting how animal populations respond to disturbance because they do not capture the range of demographic and biological factors that drive population dynamics, including variation in trophic interactions. I tested the hypothesis that successional changes in vegetation structure, which affected invertebrate abundance, would influence growth rates and body condition in the early-successional, insectivorous gecko Nephrurus stellatus. I captured geckos at 17 woodland sites spanning a succession gradient from 2 to 48 years post-fire. Body condition and growth rates were analysed as a function of the best-fitting fire-related predictor (invertebrate abundance or time since fire) with different combinations of the co-variates age, sex and location. Body condition in the whole population was positively affected by increasing invertebrate abundance and, in the adult population, this effect was most pronounced for females. There was strong support for a decline in growth rates in weight with time since fire. The results suggest that increased early-successional invertebrate abundance has filtered through to a higher trophic level with physiological benefits for insectivorous geckos. I integrated the new findings about trophic interactions into a general conceptual model of mechanisms underlying post-fire population dynamics based on a long-term research programme. The model highlights how greater food availability during early succession could drive rapid population growth by contributing to previously reported enhanced reproduction and dispersal. This study provides a framework to understand links between ecological and physiological traits underlying post-fire population dynamics.

Fire Detections and Fire Radiative Power Intercomparison Using Multiple Sensor Products over a Predominantly Gas Flaring Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, A.; Wang, J.

2014-12-01

Gas flaring is a global environmental hazard severely impacting climate, economy and public health. The associated emissions are frequently unreported and have large uncertainties. Prior studies have established a direct relationship between radiative energy released from fires and the biomass burned, making fire radiative power (FRP), i.e., the rate of radiative energy release, an important proxy to characterize emissions. In this study fire properties from four different satellite products were obtained over a 10⁰ x 10⁰ gas flaring region in Russia for all days of May 2013. The target area is part of Russia's biggest gas flaring region, Khanty-Mansiysk autonomous okrug. The objective of the study is to investigate the consistency of fire detections, FRP retrievals and effects of gridding FRP data from the region on a uniform grid. The four products used were: MODIS Terra level2 thermal anomalies (MOD14), MODIS Aqua level2 thermal anomalies (MYD14), VIIRS Active fire product and a recent NOAA Nightfire product. 1 km nominal resolution FRP from MOD14 AND MYD14, subpixel radiant heat (RH) from NOAA Nightfire product and fire detections from all four products were recorded on a 0.25⁰ x 0.25⁰ grid on a daily basis. Results revealed the Nightfire product had maximum detections, almost six times the number of detections by other products, mainly because of the use of M10 (1.6 µm) band as their primary detection band. The M10 band is highly efficient in identifying radiant emissions from hot sources during night-time. The correlation (after omitting outliers) between gridded NOAA Nightfire RH and corresponding MOD14 FRP and MYD14 FRP gave a moderate regression value, with MODIS FRP being mostly higher than RH. As an extension to this work, a comprehensive study for a larger temporal domain also incorporating viewing geometries and cloud cover would advance our understanding of flare detections and associated FRP retrievals not just for the target region but also gas flaring regions globally.

Early effects of forest fire on streamflow characteristics.

Treesearch

H.W. Berndt

1971-01-01

A comparison of streamflow records from three small mountain streams in north-central Washington before, during, and after a severe forest fire showed three immediate effects of destructive burning. These were: 1. Flow rate was greatly reduced while the fire was actively burning. 2. Destruction of vegetation in the riparian zone reduced...

Early fire history near Seguin Falls, Ontario

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Richard P. Guyette

1996-01-01

This report is one of a series of site-specfic fire histories being developed for red oak (Quercus rubra L.)-pine ecosystems in central Ontario. Collectively, these studies documents the role of fire in upland oak forests. this information also provides an ecological basis for developing silviculture prescriptions that use prescribed burning to...

Monitoring system of multiple fire fighting based on computer vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jinlong; Wang, Li; Gao, Xiaorong; Wang, Zeyong; Zhao, Quanke

2010-10-01

With the high demand of fire control in spacious buildings, computer vision is playing a more and more important role. This paper presents a new monitoring system of multiple fire fighting based on computer vision and color detection. This system can adjust to the fire position and then extinguish the fire by itself. In this paper, the system structure, working principle, fire orientation, hydrant's angle adjusting and system calibration are described in detail; also the design of relevant hardware and software is introduced. At the same time, the principle and process of color detection and image processing are given as well. The system runs well in the test, and it has high reliability, low cost, and easy nodeexpanding, which has a bright prospect of application and popularization.

Optical Flow Estimation for Flame Detection in Videos

PubMed Central

Mueller, Martin; Karasev, Peter; Kolesov, Ivan; Tannenbaum, Allen

2014-01-01

Computational vision-based flame detection has drawn significant attention in the past decade with camera surveillance systems becoming ubiquitous. Whereas many discriminating features, such as color, shape, texture, etc., have been employed in the literature, this paper proposes a set of motion features based on motion estimators. The key idea consists of exploiting the difference between the turbulent, fast, fire motion, and the structured, rigid motion of other objects. Since classical optical flow methods do not model the characteristics of fire motion (e.g., non-smoothness of motion, non-constancy of intensity), two optical flow methods are specifically designed for the fire detection task: optimal mass transport models fire with dynamic texture, while a data-driven optical flow scheme models saturated flames. Then, characteristic features related to the flow magnitudes and directions are computed from the flow fields to discriminate between fire and non-fire motion. The proposed features are tested on a large video database to demonstrate their practical usefulness. Moreover, a novel evaluation method is proposed by fire simulations that allow for a controlled environment to analyze parameter influences, such as flame saturation, spatial resolution, frame rate, and random noise. PMID:23613042

Analysis of toxic effluents released from PVC carpet under different fire conditions.

PubMed

Stec, A A; Readman, J; Blomqvist, P; Gylestam, D; Karlsson, D; Wojtalewicz, D; Dlugogorski, B Z

2013-01-01

A large number of investigations have been reported on minimising the PAH and PCDD/F yields during controlled combustion, such as incineration. This study is an attempt to quantify acute and chronic toxicants including PAH and PCDD/F in conditions relating to unwanted fires. This paper investigates distribution patterns of fire effluents between gas and aerosol phase, and the different particle size-ranges produced under different fire conditions. PVC carpet was selected as the fuel as a precursor for both PAH and PCDD/F. In order to generate fire effluents under controlled fire conditions, the steady-state tube furnace, was chosen as the physical fire model. Fire scenarios included oxidative pyrolysis, well-ventilated and under-ventilated fires. Fire effluent measurements included: carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen chloride, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated dibenzo-dioxins and furans and soot. The distribution patterns between gas and particle phase, and the size-ranges of the particles produced in these fires together with their chemical composition is also reported. Significant quantities of respirable submicron particles were detected, together with a range of PAHs. Lower levels of halogenated dioxins were detected in the fire residue compared with those found in other studies. Nevertheless, the findings do have implications for the health and safety of fire and rescue personnel, fire investigators, and other individuals exposed to the residue from unwanted fires. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does the presence of large down wood at the time of a forest fire impact soil recovery?

DOE PAGES

Smith, Jane E.; Kluber, Laurel A.; Jennings, Tara N.; ...

2017-02-23

Fire may remove or create dead wood aboveground, but it is less clear how high severity burning of soils affects belowground microbial communities and soil processes, and for how long. Here, we investigated soil fungal and bacterial communities and biogeochemical responses of severely burned red soil and less severely burned black soil from a burned forest on the eastern slope of the Cascade Range in Oregon. We examined the effects of burn severity on soil nutrients and microbial communi- ties for 14 years after wildfire. Soil nutrients were significantly reduced in red soils. Soil fungi and bac teria, assessed withmore » molecular methods, steadily colonized both burn severities and soil biodiversity increased throughout the study showing that microbial communities seem to have the capacity to quickly adjust to extreme disturbances. Although richness did not vary by soil type, the fungal and bacterial community compositions varied with burn severity. This difference was greatest in the early time points following the fire and decreased with time. But, nutrient-limited conditions of red soils were detected for four years after the wildfire and raise concern about soil productivity at these sites.« less

Does the presence of large down wood at the time of a forest fire impact soil recovery?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, Jane E.; Kluber, Laurel A.; Jennings, Tara N.

Fire may remove or create dead wood aboveground, but it is less clear how high severity burning of soils affects belowground microbial communities and soil processes, and for how long. Here, we investigated soil fungal and bacterial communities and biogeochemical responses of severely burned red soil and less severely burned black soil from a burned forest on the eastern slope of the Cascade Range in Oregon. We examined the effects of burn severity on soil nutrients and microbial communi- ties for 14 years after wildfire. Soil nutrients were significantly reduced in red soils. Soil fungi and bac teria, assessed withmore » molecular methods, steadily colonized both burn severities and soil biodiversity increased throughout the study showing that microbial communities seem to have the capacity to quickly adjust to extreme disturbances. Although richness did not vary by soil type, the fungal and bacterial community compositions varied with burn severity. This difference was greatest in the early time points following the fire and decreased with time. But, nutrient-limited conditions of red soils were detected for four years after the wildfire and raise concern about soil productivity at these sites.« less

Candle Flames in Microgravity Video

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

This video of a candle flame burning in space was taken by the Candle Flames in Microgravity (CFM) experiment on the Russian Mir space station. It is actually a composite of still photos from a 35mm camera since the video images were too dim. The images show a hemispherically shaped flame, primarily blue in color, with some yellow early int the flame lifetime. The actual flame is quite dim and difficult to see with the naked eye. Nearly 80 candles were burned in this experiment aboard Mir. NASA scientists have also studied how flames spread in space and how to detect fire in microgravity. Researchers hope that what they learn about fire and combustion from the flame ball experiments will help out here on Earth. Their research could help create things such as better engines for cars and airplanes. Since they use very weak flames, flame balls require little fuel. By studying how this works, engineers may be able to design engines that use far less fuel. In addition, microgravity flame research is an important step in creating new safety precautions for astronauts living in space. By understanding how fire works in space, the astronauts can be better prepared to fight it.

ESA Fire CCI product assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heil, Angelika; Yue, Chao; Mouillot, Florent; Storm, Thomas; Chuvieco, Emilio; Kaiser, Johannes

2016-04-01

Vegetation fires are a major disturbance in the Earth System. Fires change the biophysical properties and dynamics of ecosystems and alter terrestrial carbon pools. By altering the atmosphere's composition, fire emissions exert a significant climate forcing. To realistically model past and future changes of the Earth System, fire disturbances must be taken into account. Related modelling efforts require consistent global burned area observations covering at least 10 to 20 years. Guided by the specific requirements of a wide range of end users, the ESA fire_cci project is currently computing a new global burned area dataset. It applies a newly developed spectral change detection algorithm upon the full ENVISAT-MERIS archive (2002 to 2012). The algorithm relies on MODIS active fire information as "seed". A first, formally validated version has been released for the period 2006 to 2008. It comprises a pixel burned area product (spatial resolution of 333 m) with date detection information and a biweekly grid product at 0.5 degree spatial resolution. We compare fire_cci burned area with other global burned area products (MCD64, GFED4(s), GEOLAND) and a set of active fires data (hotspots from MODIS, TRMM, AATSR and fire radiative power from GFAS). Output from the ongoing processing of the full MERIS timeseries will be incorporated into the study, as far as available. The analysis of patterns of agreement and disagreement between fire_cci and other products provides a better understanding of product characteristics and uncertainties. The intercomparison of the 2006-2008 fire_cci time series shows a close agreement with GFED4 data in terms of global burned area and the general spatial and temporal patterns. Pronounced differences, however, emerge for specific regions or fire events. Burned area mapped by fire_cci tends to be notably higher in regions where small agricultural fires predominate. The improved detection of small agricultural fires by fire_cci can be related to the increased spatial resolution of the MERIS sensor (333 m compared to 500 in MODIS). This is illustrated in detail using the example of the extreme 2006 spring fires in Eastern Europe.

Effects of Fire on Understory Vegetation Communities in Siberian Boreal Forests and Alaskan Tundra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pena, H., III; Alexander, H. D.; Natali, S.; Loranty, M. M.; Holmes, R. M.; Mack, M. C.; Schade, J. D.; Mann, P. J.; Davydov, S. P.; Frey, B.; Zimov, N.; Jardine, L. E.

2017-12-01

Fire is an important disturbance in Arctic ecosystems that is increasing in frequency and severity as a result of climate warming. Fire alters the landscape, changes soil conditions, and influences vegetation regrowth, favoring early-successional plants and those with well-established root systems capable of surviving fire. Post-fire vegetation establishment contributes to the recovery of the soil organic layer (SOL), which insulates the soil and protects soil and permafrost carbon pools. In order to better understand successional dynamics following fire in the Arctic we assessed the short-(years) and long-(decades) term effects of fire on vegetation communities, SOL depth, and thaw depth across fire-affected sites located in two regions of the Arctic- a 76-year old fire scar in a larch forest in Siberia near Cherskiy, Russia, and a 2-year old fire scar in tundra in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. We measured species diversity, plant carbon (C) pools, SOL conditions and NDVI at both study areas. As expected, there was a decline in vegetation C pools following fire in Alaskan tundra, and as a result of higher severity fire in Siberian boreal forests. Two years following fire in Alaskan tundra, vegetation C pools decreased six-fold from 600 g C m-2 at unburned areas, to 100 g C m-2 at the 2015 burn areas. In larch forests, understory C pools were three-times lower in stands with high intensity fires (135 g C m-2) compared to those with low intensity fires (415 g C m-2), due to the absence of dwarf birch (Betula nana). Our results illustrate how fire influences vegetation at both early and later stages of succession, which can have cascading effects on SOL development and permafrost integrity, with the potential for release of large C stocks that may further exacerbate climate warming.

Detection, mapping and estimation of rate of spread of grass fires from southern African ERTS-1 imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wightman, J. M.

1973-01-01

Sequential band-6 imagery of the Zambesi Basin of southern Africa recorded substantial changes in burn patterns resulting from late dry season grass fires. One example from northern Botswana, indicates that a fire consumed approximately 70 square miles of grassland over a 24-hour period. Another example from western Zambia indicates increased fire activity over a 19-day period. Other examples clearly define the area of widespread grass fires in Angola, Botswana, Rhodesia and Zambia. From the fire patterns visible on the sequential portions of the imagery, and the time intervals involved, the rates of spread of the fires are estimated and compared with estimates derived from experimental burning plots in Zambia and Canada. It is concluded that sequential ERTS-1 imagery, of the quality studied, clearly provides the information needed to detect and map grass fires and to monitor their rates of spread in this region during the late dry season.

Detecting post-fire salvage logging with Landsat change maps and national fire survey data

Treesearch

Todd A. Schroeder; Michael A. Wulder; Sean P. Healey; Gretchen G. Moisen

2012-01-01

In Canadian boreal forests, wildfire is the predominant agent of natural disturbance often with millions of hectares burning annually. In addition to fire, nearly one quarter of Canada's boreal forest is also managed for industrial wood production. Post-fire logging (or salvage harvesting) is increasingly used to minimize economic losses from fire, notwithstanding...

46 CFR 161.002-12 - Manual fire alarm systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

.... (a) General. A manual fire alarm system shall consist of a power supply, a control unit on which are... using manually operated fire alarm boxes. (3) Other types as may be developed. (c) Power supply. The power supply shall be as specified for automatic fire detecting system by § 161.002-9. (d) Manual fire...

46 CFR 161.002-12 - Manual fire alarm systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

.... (a) General. A manual fire alarm system shall consist of a power supply, a control unit on which are... using manually operated fire alarm boxes. (3) Other types as may be developed. (c) Power supply. The power supply shall be as specified for automatic fire detecting system by § 161.002-9. (d) Manual fire...

Development of hypersynchrony in the cortical network during chemoconvulsant-induced epileptic seizures in vivo.

PubMed

Cymerblit-Sabba, Adi; Schiller, Yitzhak

2012-03-01

The prevailing view of epileptic seizures is that they are caused by increased hypersynchronous activity in the cortical network. However, this view is based mostly on electroencephalography (EEG) recordings that do not directly monitor neuronal synchronization of action potential firing. In this study, we used multielectrode single-unit recordings from the hippocampus to investigate firing of individual CA1 neurons and directly monitor synchronization of action potential firing between neurons during the different ictal phases of chemoconvulsant-induced epileptic seizures in vivo. During the early phase of seizures manifesting as low-amplitude rhythmic β-electrocorticography (ECoG) activity, the firing frequency of most neurons markedly increased. To our surprise, the average overall neuronal synchronization as measured by the cross-correlation function was reduced compared with control conditions with ~60% of neuronal pairs showing no significant correlated firing. However, correlated firing was not uniform and a minority of neuronal pairs showed a high degree of correlated firing. Moreover, during the early phase of seizures, correlated firing between 9.8 ± 5.1% of all stably recorded pairs increased compared with control conditions. As seizures progressed and high-frequency ECoG polyspikes developed, the firing frequency of neurons further increased and enhanced correlated firing was observed between virtually all neuronal pairs. These findings indicated that epileptic seizures represented a hyperactive state with widespread increase in action potential firing. Hypersynchrony also characterized seizures. However, it initially developed in a small subset of neurons and gradually spread to involve the entire cortical network only in the later more intense ictal phases.

Management and climate contributions to satellite-derived active fire trends in the contiguous United States

PubMed Central

Lin, Hsiao-Wen; McCarty, Jessica L; Wang, Dongdong; Rogers, Brendan M; Morton, Douglas C; Collatz, G James; Jin, Yufang; Randerson, James T

2014-01-01

Fires in croplands, plantations, and rangelands contribute significantly to fire emissions in the United States, yet are often overshadowed by wildland fires in efforts to develop inventories or estimate responses to climate change. Here we quantified decadal trends, interannual variability, and seasonality of Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations of active fires (thermal anomalies) as a function of management type in the contiguous U.S. during 2001–2010. We used the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity database to identify active fires within the perimeter of large wildland fires and land cover maps to identify active fires in croplands. A third class of fires defined as prescribed/other included all residual satellite active fire detections. Large wildland fires were the most variable of all three fire types and had no significant annual trend in the contiguous U.S. during 2001–2010. Active fires in croplands, in contrast, increased at a rate of 3.4% per year. Cropland and prescribed/other fire types combined were responsible for 77% of the total active fire detections within the U.S and were most abundant in the south and southeast. In the west, cropland active fires decreased at a rate of 5.9% per year, likely in response to intensive air quality policies. Potential evaporation was a dominant regulator of the interannual variability of large wildland fires, but had a weaker influence on the other two fire types. Our analysis suggests it may be possible to modify landscape fire emissions within the U.S. by influencing the way fires are used in managed ecosystems. Key Points Wildland, cropland, and prescribed fires had different trends and patterns Sensitivity to climate varied with fire type Intensity of air quality regulation influenced cropland burning trends PMID:26213662

Management and climate contributions to satellite-derived active fire trends in the contiguous United States.

PubMed

Lin, Hsiao-Wen; McCarty, Jessica L; Wang, Dongdong; Rogers, Brendan M; Morton, Douglas C; Collatz, G James; Jin, Yufang; Randerson, James T

2014-04-01

Fires in croplands, plantations, and rangelands contribute significantly to fire emissions in the United States, yet are often overshadowed by wildland fires in efforts to develop inventories or estimate responses to climate change. Here we quantified decadal trends, interannual variability, and seasonality of Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations of active fires (thermal anomalies) as a function of management type in the contiguous U.S. during 2001-2010. We used the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity database to identify active fires within the perimeter of large wildland fires and land cover maps to identify active fires in croplands. A third class of fires defined as prescribed/other included all residual satellite active fire detections. Large wildland fires were the most variable of all three fire types and had no significant annual trend in the contiguous U.S. during 2001-2010. Active fires in croplands, in contrast, increased at a rate of 3.4% per year. Cropland and prescribed/other fire types combined were responsible for 77% of the total active fire detections within the U.S and were most abundant in the south and southeast. In the west, cropland active fires decreased at a rate of 5.9% per year, likely in response to intensive air quality policies. Potential evaporation was a dominant regulator of the interannual variability of large wildland fires, but had a weaker influence on the other two fire types. Our analysis suggests it may be possible to modify landscape fire emissions within the U.S. by influencing the way fires are used in managed ecosystems. Wildland, cropland, and prescribed fires had different trends and patternsSensitivity to climate varied with fire typeIntensity of air quality regulation influenced cropland burning trends.

Development of a multiple gas analyzer using cavity ringdown spectroscopy for use in advanced fire detection.

PubMed

Fallows, Eric A; Cleary, Thomas G; Miller, J Houston

2009-02-01

A portable cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) apparatus was used to detect effluents from small test fires in the Fire Emulator/Detector Evaluator (FE/DE) and a small room in the Building Fire and Research Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The output from two lasers is combined to detect four combustion gases, CO, CO(2), HCN, and C(2)H(2), near simultaneously using CRDS. The goal of this work was to demonstrate the feasibility of using a CRDS sensor as a fire detector. Fire effluents were extracted from several test facilities and measurements of CO, CO(2), HCN, and C(2)H(2) were obtained every 25-30 s. In the FE/DE test, peak concentrations of the gases from smoldering paper were 420 parts in 10(6) (ppm) CO, 1600 ppm CO(2), 530 parts in 10(9) (ppb) HCN, and 440 ppb C(2)H(2). Peak gas concentrations from the small room were 270 ppm CO, 2100 ppm CO(2), and 310 ppb C(2)H(2).

Avian community responses to post-fire forest structure: Implications for fire management in mixed conifer forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Angela M.; Manley, Patricia N.; Tarbill, Gina; Richardson, T.L.; Russell, Robin E.; Safford, Hugh D.; Dobrowski, Solomon Z.

2015-01-01

Fire is a natural process and the dominant disturbance shaping plant and animal communities in many coniferous forests of the western US. Given that fire size and severity are predicted to increase in the future, it has become increasingly important to understand how wildlife responds to fire and post-fire management. The Angora Fire burned 1243 hectares of mixed conifer forest in South Lake Tahoe, California. We conducted avian point counts for the first 3 years following the fire in burned and unburned areas to investigate which habitat characteristics are most important for re-establishing or maintaining the native avian community in post-fire landscapes. We used a multi-species occurrence model to estimate how avian species are influenced by the density of live and dead trees and shrub cover. While accounting for variations in the detectability of species, our approach estimated the occurrence probabilities of all species detected including those that were rare or observed infrequently. Although all species encountered in this study were detected in burned areas, species-specific modeling results predicted that some species were strongly associated with specific post-fire conditions, such as a high density of dead trees, open-canopy conditions or high levels of shrub cover that occur at particular burn severities or at a particular time following fire. These results indicate that prescribed fire or managed wildfire which burns at low to moderate severity without at least some high-severity effects is both unlikely to result in the species assemblages that are unique to post-fire areas or to provide habitat for burn specialists. Additionally, the probability of occurrence for many species was associated with high levels of standing dead trees indicating that intensive post-fire harvest of these structures could negatively impact habitat of a considerable proportion of the avian community.

Measurement of inter- and intra-annual variability of landscape fire activity at a continental scale: the Australian case

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williamson, Grant J.; Prior, Lynda D.; Jolly, W. Matt; Cochrane, Mark A.; Murphy, Brett P.; Bowman, David M. J. S.

2016-03-01

Climate dynamics at diurnal, seasonal and inter-annual scales shape global fire activity, although difficulties of assembling reliable fire and meteorological data with sufficient spatio-temporal resolution have frustrated quantification of this variability. Using Australia as a case study, we combine data from 4760 meteorological stations with 12 years of satellite-derived active fire detections to determine day and night time fire activity, fire season start and end dates, and inter-annual variability, across 61 objectively defined climate regions in three climate zones (monsoon tropics, arid and temperate). We show that geographic patterns of landscape burning (onset and duration) are related to fire weather, resulting in a latitudinal gradient from the monsoon tropics in winter, through the arid zone in all seasons except winter, and then to the temperate zone in summer and autumn. Peak fire activity precedes maximum lightning activity by several months in all regions, signalling the importance of human ignitions in shaping fire seasons. We determined median daily McArthur forest fire danger index (FFDI50) for days and nights when fires were detected: FFDI50 varied substantially between climate zones, reflecting effects of fire management in the temperate zone, fuel limitation in the arid zone and abundance of flammable grasses in the monsoon tropical zone. We found correlations between the proportion of days when FFDI exceeds FFDI50 and the Southern Oscillation index across the arid zone during spring and summer, and Indian Ocean dipole mode index across south-eastern Australia during summer. Our study demonstrates that Australia has a long fire weather season with high inter-annual variability relative to all other continents, making it difficult to detect long term trends. It also provides a way of establishing robust baselines to track changes to fire seasons, and supports a previous conceptual model highlighting multi-temporal scale effects of climate in shaping continental-scale pyrogeography.

Fire Safety in Extraterrestrial Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedman, Robert

1998-01-01

Despite rigorous fire-safety policies and practices, fire incidents are possible during lunar and Martian missions. Fire behavior and hence preventive and responsive safety actions in the missions are strongly influenced by the low-gravity environments in flight and on the planetary surfaces. This paper reviews the understanding and key issues of fire safety in the missions, stressing flame spread, fire detection, suppression, and combustion performance of propellants produced from Martian resources.

Fire history of Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve, southern Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Thomas J.; Foster, Ann M.; Jones, John W.

2015-01-01

Fire has been used as a management tool in various ecosystems around the world. Prairies, grasslands, and savannas are fire-maintained ecosystems where fire is used to deter invasion by shrubs and trees (Grant and others, 2009; Scheintaub and others, 2009). Similarly, fire plays an important role in woodlands and forests by influencing species composition and succession such, as the use of fire in coniferous forests to prevent encroachment by hardwoods (Phillippe and others, 2011). Fire also has been used to manage wetland ecosystems for more than 50 years (Lynch, 1941; Frost, 1995). Uses have included returning marshes to early successional states, increasing forage for wildlife (Lynch, 1941). In all fire-influenced ecosystems, prescribed burns are routinely used to reduce fuel loads, reducing the possibility of catastrophic fires.

The influence of burn severity on post-fire vegetation recovery and albedo change during early succession in North American boreal forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Y.; Randerson, J. T.; Goetz, S. J.; Beck, P. S.; Loranty, M. M.; Goulden, M.

2011-12-01

Severity of burning can influence multiple aspects of forest composition, carbon cycling, and climate forcing. We quantified how burn severity affected vegetation recovery and albedo change during early succession in Canadian boreal regions by combining satellite observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Canadian Large Fire Data Base (LFDB). We used the difference Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) and changes in spring albedo derived from MODIS 500m albedo product as measures of burn severity. We found that the most severe burns had the greatest reduction in summer EVI in first year after fire, indicating greater loss of vegetation cover immediately following fire. By 5-7 years after fire, summer EVI for all severity classes had recovered to within 90-110% of pre-fire levels. Burn severity had a positive effect on the increase of post-fire spring albedo during the first 7 years after fire, and a shift from low to moderate or moderate to severe fires led to amplification of the post-fire albedo increase by approximately 30%. Fire-induced increases in both spring and summer albedo became progressively larger with stand age from years 1-7, with the trend in spring albedo likely driven by continued losses of needles and branches from trees killed by the fire (and concurrent losses of black carbon coatings on remaining debris), and the summer trend associated with increases in leaf area of short-stature herbs and shrubs. Our results suggest that increases in burn severity and carbon losses observed in some areas of boreal forests (e.g., Turetsky et al., 2011) may be at least partly offset by increases in negative forcing associated with changes in surface albedo.

46 CFR 115.810 - Fire protection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... extinguisher, semiportable fire extinguisher, and fixed gas fire extinguishing system to check for excessive... testing of alarms and ventilation shutdowns, for each fixed gas fire extinguishing system and detecting... gas to ensure it has been tested and marked in accordance with § 147.60 in subchapter N of this...

46 CFR 115.810 - Fire protection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... extinguisher, semiportable fire extinguisher, and fixed gas fire extinguishing system to check for excessive... testing of alarms and ventilation shutdowns, for each fixed gas fire extinguishing system and detecting... gas to ensure it has been tested and marked in accordance with § 147.60 in subchapter N of this...

Role of burning season on initial understory vegetation response to prescribed fire in a mixed conifer forest

Treesearch

Eric E. Knapp; Dylan W. Schwilk; Jeffrey M. Kane; Jon E. Keeley

2007-01-01

Although the majority of fires in the western United States historically occurred during the late summer or early fall when fuels were dry and plants were dormant or nearly so, early-season prescribed burns are often ignited when fuels are still moist and plants are actively growing. The purpose of this study was to determine if burn season influences postfire...

Fire and Deforestation near the Xingu River

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-07-07

Numerous fires occurred near the headwaters of the Xingu River and the Xingu Indigenous Peoples Reserve in Mato Grosso, Brazil, during late June and early July, 2004, as seen by NASA Terra spacecraft.

Infrared Instrument for Detecting Hydrogen Fires

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Youngquist, Robert; Ihlefeld, Curtis; Immer, Christopher; Oostdyk, Rebecca; Cox, Robert; Taylor, John

2006-01-01

The figure shows an instrument incorporating an infrared camera for detecting small hydrogen fires. The instrument has been developed as an improved replacement for prior infrared and ultraviolet instruments used to detect hydrogen fires. The need for this or any such instrument arises because hydrogen fires (e.g., those associated with leaks from tanks, valves, and ducts) pose a great danger, yet they emit so little visible light that they are mostly undetectable by the unaided human eye. The main performance advantage offered by the present instrument over prior hydrogen-fire-detecting instruments lies in its greater ability to avoid false alarms by discriminating against reflected infrared light, including that originating in (1) the Sun, (2) welding torches, and (3) deliberately ignited hydrogen flames (e.g., ullage-burn-off flames) that are nearby but outside the field of view intended to be monitored by the instrument. Like prior such instruments, this instrument is based mostly on the principle of detecting infrared emission above a threshold level. However, in addition, this instrument utilizes information on the spatial distribution of infrared light from a source that it detects. Because the combination of spatial and threshold information about a flame tends to constitute a unique signature that differs from that of reflected infrared light originating in a source not in the field of view, the incidence of false alarms is reduced substantially below that of related prior threshold- based instruments.

Influence of contemporary carbon originating from the 2003 Siberian forest fire on organic carbon in PM2.5 in Nagoya, Japan.

PubMed

Ikemori, Fumikazu; Honjyo, Koji; Yamagami, Makiko; Nakamura, Toshio

2015-10-15

In May 2003, high concentrations of organic carbon (OC) in PM2.5 were measured in Nagoya, a representative metropolitan area in Japan. To investigate the influence of possible forest fires on PM2.5 in Japan via long-range aerosol transport, the radiocarbon ((14)C) concentrations of PM2.5 samples from April 2003 to March 2004 were measured. (14)C concentrations in total carbon (TC) from May to early June showed higher values than those in other periods. The OC/elemental carbon (EC) ratios from May to early June were also significantly higher than the ones in other periods. In addition, OC concentrations from May to early June were typically high. These results indicate that the abundant OC fraction from May to early June in Nagoya consisted predominantly of contemporary carbon. Furthermore, simulations of diffusion and transport of organic matter (OM) in East Asia showed that abundant OM originating from East Siberia spread over East Asia and Japan in May and early June. Backward air mass trajectories from this time frame indicate that the air mass in Nagoya likely first passed through East Siberia where fire events were prevalent. However, the backward trajectories showed that the air mass after early June did not originate mainly from Siberia, and correspondingly, the (14)C and OC concentrations showed lower values than those from May to early June. Therefore, the authors conclude that contemporary carbon originating from the forest fire in East Siberia was transported to Nagoya, where it significantly contributed to the high observed concentrations of both OC and (14)C. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The paleoecology of fire and oaks in eastern forests

Treesearch

William A. III Patterson

2006-01-01

Oaks (Quercus spp.) currently dominate eastern deciduous forests, but are widely perceived as declining, with regeneration inadequate to perpetuate many stands. Most stands regenerated following fire in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and a lack of recent fire is viewed as contributing to the shortage of sapling and pole-size stands. But paleoecological studies...

Wildfire management in the U.S. Forest Service: a brief history.

Treesearch

Geoffrey H. Donovan; Thomas C. Brown

2005-01-01

Forest and rangeland fire was once a common land management tool. Native Americans as well as early settlers and prospectors used fire for various purposes. But as the country gradually filled with more settlers, and as forest resources became more precious, fire began to be viewed as more of a problem than a tool.

Fire and fish: A synthesis of observation and experience

Treesearch

Bruce Rieman; Robert Gresswell; John Rinne

2012-01-01

The effects of wildfire on aquatic systems and fishes occurring in them has been linked to the direct or immediate influence of the fire on water quality and the indirect or subsequent effects on watershed characteristics and processes that influence water quality and quantity, stream channels, and aquatic biota (Gresswell 1999). Early research linking fire and aquatic...

Analysing Forst Fores in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casanova, Jose-Luis; Sanz, Julia; Garcia, Miguel; Salvador, Pablo; Quin, Xianlin; Li, Zengyuan; Yin, Lingyu; Sun, Guifen; Goldammer, Johann

2016-08-01

Forest fires are a major concern in China because of the economical and biodiversity looses and because the emission of trace gases into the atmosphere. During 12 years LATUV has been working in the development of forest fires products, especially in North China. A catalogue of products has been generated like: forest fire detection, burnt area mapping, gas emissions, severity and burnt biomass.Forest fires can be detected by different platforms and sensor but the rate of false alarms is high because of industrial activity. The gas emissions are important, because of the forest fires inside China and because the forest fires between China and Russia that have a considerable impact in the atmosphere composition in China.The availability of new sensors on board sentinel 2 and sentinel 3 platforms will increase the product catalogue with new products more accurate and increasing the periodicity information.

Fire safety applications for spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedman, Robert; Olson, Sandra L.

1989-01-01

Fire safety for spacecraft is reviewed by first describing current practices, many of which are adapted directly from aircraft. Then, current analyses and experimental knowledge in low-gravity combustion, with implications for fire safety are discussed. In orbiting spacecraft, the detection and suppression of flames are strongly affected by the large reduction in buoyant flows under low gravity. Generally, combustion intensity is reduced in low gravity. There are some notable exceptions, however, one example being the strong enhancement of flames by low-velocity ventilation flows in space. Finally, the future requirements in fire safety, particularly the needs of long-duration space stations in fire prevention, detection, extinguishment, and atmospheric control are examined. The goal of spacecraft fire-safety investigations is the establishment of trade-offs that promote maximum safety without hampering the useful human and scientific activities in space.

Techniques for fire detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bukowski, Richard W.

1987-01-01

An overview is given of the basis for an analysis of combustable materials and potential ignition sources in a spacecraft. First, the burning process is discussed in terms of the production of the fire signatures normally associated with detection devices. These include convected and radiated thermal energy, particulates, and gases. Second, the transport processes associated with the movement of these from the fire to the detector, along with the important phenomena which cause the level of these signatures to be reduced, are described. Third, the operating characteristics of the individual types of detectors which influence their response to signals, are presented. Finally, vulnerability analysis using predictive fire modeling techniques is discussed as a means to establish the necessary response of the detection system to provide the level of protection required in the application.

Burning in Banksia Woodlands: How Does the Fire-Free Period Influence Reptile Communities?

PubMed Central

Valentine, Leonie E.; Reaveley, Alice; Johnson, Brent; Fisher, Rebecca; Wilson, Barbara A.

2012-01-01

Fire is an important management tool for both hazard reduction burning and maintenance of biodiversity. The impact of time since last fire on fauna is an important factor to understand as land managers often aim for prescribed burning regimes with specific fire-free intervals. However, our current understanding of the impact of time since last fire on fauna is largely unknown and likely dependent on vegetation type. We examined the responses of reptiles to fire age in banksia woodlands, and the interspersed melaleuca damplands among them, north of Perth, Western Australia, where the current prescribed burning regime is targeting a fire-free period of 8–12 years. The response of reptiles to fire was dependent on vegetation type. Reptiles were generally more abundant (e.g. Lerista elegans and Ctenophorus adelaidensis) and specious in banksia sites. Several species (e.g. Menetia greyii, Cryptoblepharus buchananii) preferred long unburnt melaleuca sites (>16 years since last fire, YSLF) compared to recently burnt sites (<12 YSLF). Several of the small elapids (e.g. the WA priority listed species Neelaps calonotus) were only detected in older-aged banksia sites (>16 YSLF). The terrestrial dragon C. adelaidensis and the skink Morethia obscura displayed a strong response to fire in banksia woodlands only. Highest abundances of the dragon were detected in the recently burnt (<7 YSLF) and long unburnt (>35 YSLF) banksia woodlands, while the skink was more abundant in older sites. Habitats from a range of fire ages are required to support the reptiles we detected, especially the longer unburnt (>16 YSLF) melaleuca habitat. Current burning prescriptions are reducing the availability of these older habitats. PMID:22496806

Burning in banksia woodlands: how does the fire-free period influence reptile communities?

PubMed

Valentine, Leonie E; Reaveley, Alice; Johnson, Brent; Fisher, Rebecca; Wilson, Barbara A

2012-01-01

Fire is an important management tool for both hazard reduction burning and maintenance of biodiversity. The impact of time since last fire on fauna is an important factor to understand as land managers often aim for prescribed burning regimes with specific fire-free intervals. However, our current understanding of the impact of time since last fire on fauna is largely unknown and likely dependent on vegetation type. We examined the responses of reptiles to fire age in banksia woodlands, and the interspersed melaleuca damplands among them, north of Perth, Western Australia, where the current prescribed burning regime is targeting a fire-free period of 8-12 years. The response of reptiles to fire was dependent on vegetation type. Reptiles were generally more abundant (e.g. Lerista elegans and Ctenophorus adelaidensis) and specious in banksia sites. Several species (e.g. Menetia greyii, Cryptoblepharus buchananii) preferred long unburnt melaleuca sites (>16 years since last fire, YSLF) compared to recently burnt sites (<12 YSLF). Several of the small elapids (e.g. the WA priority listed species Neelaps calonotus) were only detected in older-aged banksia sites (>16 YSLF). The terrestrial dragon C. adelaidensis and the skink Morethia obscura displayed a strong response to fire in banksia woodlands only. Highest abundances of the dragon were detected in the recently burnt (<7 YSLF) and long unburnt (>35 YSLF) banksia woodlands, while the skink was more abundant in older sites. Habitats from a range of fire ages are required to support the reptiles we detected, especially the longer unburnt (>16 YSLF) melaleuca habitat. Current burning prescriptions are reducing the availability of these older habitats.

The rise of fire: Fossil charcoal in late Devonian marine shales as an indicator of expanding terrestrial ecosystems, fire, and atmospheric change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rimmer, Susan M.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Scott, Andrew C.; Cressler, Walter L.

2015-01-01

Fossil charcoal provides direct evidence for fire events that, in turn, have implications for the evolution of both terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. Most of the ancient charcoal record is known from terrestrial or nearshore environments and indicates the earliest occurrences of fire in the Late Silurian. However, despite the rise in available fuel through the Devonian as vascular land plants became larger and trees and forests evolved, charcoal occurrences are very sparse until the Early Mississippian where extensive charcoal suggests well-established fire systems. We present data from the latest Devonian and Early Mississippian of North America from terrestrial and marine rocks indicating that fire became more widespread and significant at this time. This increase may be a function of rising O2 levels and the occurrence of fire itself may have contributed to this rise through positive feedback. Recent atmospheric modeling suggests an O2 low during the Middle Devonian (around 17.5%), with O2 rising steadily through the Late Devonian and Early Mississippian (to 21–22%) that allowed for widespread burning for the first time. In Devonian-Mississippian marine black shales, fossil charcoal (inertinite) steadily increases up-section suggesting the rise of widespread fire systems. There is a concomitant increase in the amount of vitrinite (preserved woody and other plant tissues) that also suggests increased sources of terrestrial organic matter. Even as end Devonian glaciation was experienced, fossil charcoal continued to be a source of organic matter being introduced into the Devonian oceans. Scanning electron and reflectance microscopy of charcoal from Late Devonian terrestrial sites indicate that the fires were moderately hot (typically 500–600 °C) and burnt mainly surface vegetation dominated by herbaceous zygopterid ferns and lycopsids, rather than being produced by forest crown fires. The occurrence and relative abundance of fossil charcoal in marine black shales are significant in that these shales may provide a more continuous record of fire than is preserved in terrestrial environments. Our data support the idea that major fires are not seen in the fossil record until there is both sufficient and connected fuel and a high enough atmospheric O2 content for it to burn.

Fire history in interior ponderosa pine communities of the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA

Treesearch

Peter M. Brown; Carolyn Hull Sieg

1996-01-01

Chronologies of fire events were reconstructed from crossdated fire-scarred ponderosa pine trees for four sites in the south-central Black Hills. Compared to other ponderosa pine forests in the southwest US or southern Rocky Mountains, these communities burned less frequently. For all sites combined, and using all fires detected, the mean fire interval (MFI), or number...

Wildland fire in ecosystems: fire and nonnative invasive plants

Treesearch

Kristin Zouhar; Jane Kapler Smith; Steve Sutherland; Matthew L. Brooks

2008-01-01

This state-of-knowledge review of information on relationships between wildland fire and nonnative invasive plants can assist fire managers and other land managers concerned with prevention, detection, and eradication or control of nonnative invasive plants. The 16 chapters in this volume synthesize ecological and botanical principles regarding relationships between...

Alaska and Yukon Fires

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2014-05-15

article title:  Smoke Signals from the Alaska and Yukon Fires   ... the Yukon Territory from mid-June to mid-July, 2004. Thick smoke particles filled the air during these fires, prompting Alaskan officials to issue air quality warnings. Some of the smoke from these fires was detected as far away as New Hampshire. These ...

Is Your School Truly Fire-Safe?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saunders, Carol Silverman

1995-01-01

Though most people assume that their schools are protected by smoke alarms and sprinkler systems, many are not. Older schools can fall through fire-code loopholes. Some schools have insufficient fire detection systems. Sprinkler systems can be too expensive for schools. Parents should educate themselves and insist on fire safety. (SM)

Stay or Go?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kroll, Karen

2003-01-01

Discusses whether U.S. schools equipped with fire sprinklers and fire detection and intercom systems should be able to use a delayed evacuation policy when it comes to fire drills or actual fires. A controversial project in Minnesota is examining that question. The paper discusses concerns about delayed evacuation, the impact of delayed evacuation…

49 CFR 176.69 - General stowage requirements for hazardous materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... equipped with a fixed fire extinguishing and fire detection system, the freight containers or barges need... by paragraph (a) of this section if fire fighting equipment capable of reaching and piercing the..., their removal from a potentially dangerous situation, and the removal of packages in case of fire. (b...

Automated Wildfire Detection Through Artificial Neural Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Jerry; Borne, Kirk; Thomas, Brian; Huang, Zhenping; Chi, Yuechen

2005-01-01

Wildfires have a profound impact upon the biosphere and our society in general. They cause loss of life, destruction of personal property and natural resources and alter the chemistry of the atmosphere. In response to the concern over the consequences of wildland fire and to support the fire management community, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS) located in Camp Springs, Maryland gradually developed an operational system to routinely monitor wildland fire by satellite observations. The Hazard Mapping System, as it is known today, allows a team of trained fire analysts to examine and integrate, on a daily basis, remote sensing data from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite sensors and generate a 24 hour fire product for the conterminous United States. Although assisted by automated fire detection algorithms, N O M has not been able to eliminate the human element from their fire detection procedures. As a consequence, the manually intensive effort has prevented NOAA from transitioning to a global fire product as urged particularly by climate modelers. NASA at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland is helping N O M more fully automate the Hazard Mapping System by training neural networks to mimic the decision-making process of the frre analyst team as well as the automated algorithms.

Acute toxicity of fire-retardant and foam-suppressant chemicals to early life stages of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buhl, Kevin J.; Hamilton, Steven J.

1998-01-01

Laboratorys studies were conducted to determine the acute toxicity of three fire retardants (Fire-Trol GTS-R, Fire-Trol LCG-R, and Phos-Chek D75-F), and two fire-suppressant foams (Phos-Chek WD-881 and Ansul Silv-Ex) to early life stages of chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, in hard and soft water. Regardless of water type, swim-up fry and juveniles (60 and 90 d posthatch) exhibited similar sensitivities to each chemical and these life stages were more sensitive than eyed eggs. Foam suppressants were more toxic to each life stage than the fire retardants in both water types. The descending rank order of toxicity for these chemicals tested with swim-up fry and juveniles (range of 96-h median lethal concentrations [LC50s]) was Phos-Chek WD-881 (7–13 mg/L) > Ansul Silv-Ex (11–22 mg/L) > Phos-Chek D75-F (218–305 mg/L) > Fire-Trol GTS-R (218–412 mg/L) > Fire-Trol LCG-R (685–1,195 mg/L). Water type had a minor effect on the toxicity of these chemicals. Comparison of acute toxicity values with recommended application concentrations indicates that accidental inputs of these chemicals into stream environments would require substantial dilution (237- to 1,429-fold) to reach concentrations equivalent to their 96-h LC50s.

An evaluation of image based techniques for wildfire detection and fuel mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabbert, Dustin W.

Few events can cause the catastrophic impact to ecology, infrastructure, and human safety of a wildland fire along the wildland urban interface. The suppression of natural wildland fires over the past decade has caused a buildup of dry, dead surface fuels: a condition that, coupled with the right weather conditions, can cause large destructive wildfires that are capable of threatening both ancient tree stands and manmade infrastructure. Firefighters use fire danger models to determine staffing needs on high fire risk days; however models are only as effective as the spatial and temporal density of their observations. OKFIRE, an Oklahoma initiative created by a partnership between Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma, has proven that fire danger assessments close to the fire - both geographically and temporally - can give firefighters a significant increase in their situational awareness while fighting a wildland fire. This paper investigates several possible solutions for a small Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) which could gather information useful for detecting ground fires and constructing fire danger maps. Multiple fire detection and fuel mapping programs utilize satellites, manned aircraft, and large UAS equipped with hyperspectral sensors to gather useful information. Their success provides convincing proof of the utility that could be gained from low-altitude UAS gathering information at the exact time and place firefighters and land managers are interested in. Close proximity, both geographically and operationally, to the end can reduce latency times below what could ever be possible with satellite observation. This paper expands on recent advances in computer vision, photogrammetry, and infrared and color imagery to develop a framework for a next-generation UAS which can assess fire danger and aid firefighters in real time as they observe, contain, or extinguish wildland fires. It also investigates the impact information gained by this system could have on pre-fire risk assessments through the development of very high resolution fuel maps.

Strong Gradients in Forest Sensitivity to Climate Change Revealed by Dynamics of Forest Fire Cycles in the Post Little Ice Age Era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drobyshev, Igor; Bergeron, Yves; Girardin, Martin P.; Gauthier, Sylvie; Ols, Clémentine; Ojal, John

2017-10-01

The length of the fire cycle is a critical factor affecting the vegetation cover in boreal and temperate regions. However, its responses to climate change remain poorly understood. We reanalyzed data from earlier studies of forest age structures at the landscape level, in order to map the evolution of regional fire cycles across Eastern North American boreal and temperate forests, following the termination of the Little Ice Age (LIA). We demonstrated a well-defined spatial pattern of post-LIA changes in the length of fire cycles toward lower fire activity during the 1800s and 1900s. The western section of Eastern North America (west of 77°W) experienced a decline in fire activity as early as the first half of the 1800s. By contrast, the eastern section showed these declines as late as the early 1900s. During a regionally fire-prone period of the 1910s-1920s, forests in the western section of Eastern boreal North America burned more than forests in the eastern section. The climate appeared to dominate over vegetation composition and human impacts in shaping the geographical pattern of the post-LIA change in fire activity. Changes in the atmospheric circulation patterns following the termination of the LIA, specifically changes in Arctic Oscillation and the strengthening of the Continental Polar Trough, were likely drivers of the regional fire dynamics.

Late-glacial and Holocene records of fire and vegetation from Cradle Mountain National Park, Tasmania, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stahle, Laura N.; Chin, Hahjung; Haberle, Simon; Whitlock, Cathy

2017-12-01

Fire activity was reconstructed at five sites and vegetation history at three sites in northwest Tasmania, Australia in order to examine the climate and human drivers of environmental change in the region. Watershed-scale reconstructions of fire were compared to regional vegetation history. Fire activity was very low until ca. 12,000 cal yr BP. An early-Holocene fire maximum, ca. 11,800-9800 cal yr BP, occurred during the warmest interval of the Holocene as recorded by regional paleoclimate proxy records. This period of elevated burning was also coincident with an increase in arboreal sclerophyll plant taxa. A maximum in rainforest taxa occurred at ca. 8500-5800 cal yr BP concurrent with sharply diminished biomass burning compared with the early Holocene. The increase in rainforest taxa is attributed to elevated effective moisture during this period. Conditions were drier and variable in the late Holocene as compared with earlier periods. A rise in fire activity at ca. 4800-3200 cal yr BP was accompanied by an increase in sclerophyll taxa and decline of rainforest and subalpine taxa. Elevated palynological richness during the late Holocene co-occurred with high levels of charcoal suggesting that fires promoted high floristic diversity. At Cradle Mountain, there is no clear evidence that fire regimes or vegetation were extensively modified by humans prior to European settlement. Climate was the primary driver of fire activity over millennial timescales as explained by the close relationship between charcoal and climate proxy data.

Using GRACE-Derived Water and Moisture Products as a Predictive Tool for Fire Response in the Contiguous United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rousseau, N. J.; Jensen, D.; Zajic, B.; Rodell, M.; Reager, J. T., II

2015-12-01

Understanding the relationship between wildfire activity and soil moisture in the United States has been difficult to assess, with limited ability to determine areas that are at high risk. This limitation is largely due to complex environmental factors at play, especially as they relate to alternating periods of wet and dry conditions, and the lack of remotely-sensed products. Recent drought conditions and accompanying low Fuel Moisture Content (FMC) have led to disastrous wildfire outbreaks causing economic loss, property damage, and environmental degradation. Thus, developing a programmed toolset to assess the relationship between soil moisture, which contributes greatly to FMC and fire severity, can establish the framework for determining overall wildfire risk. To properly evaluate these parameters, we used data assimilated from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and data from the Fire Program Analysis fire-occurrence database (FPA FOD) to determine the extent soil moisture affects fire activity. Through these datasets, we produced correlation and regression maps at a coarse resolution of 0.25 degrees for the contiguous United States. These fire-risk products and toolsets proved the viability of this methodology, allowing for the future incorporation of more GRACE-derived water parameters, MODIS vegetation indices, and other environmental datasets to refine the model for fire risk. Additionally, they will allow assessment to national-scale early fire management and provide responders with a predictive tool to better employ early decision-support to areas of high risk during regions' respective fire season(s).

Forest Fire Management: A Comprehensive And Operational Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fabrizi, Roberto; Perez, Bruno; Gomez, Antonio

2013-12-01

Remote sensing plays an important role in obtaining rapid and complete information on the occurrence and evolution in space and time of forest fires. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of fire events through Earth Observation data for early warning, crisis monitoring and post-event damage assessment or a synthesis of the fire event, both in a wide spatial range (local to regional) and temporal scale (short to long term). The fire products are stored and distributed by means of a WebGIS and a Geoportal with additional auxiliary geospatial data. These products allow fire managers to perform analysis and decision making in a more comprehensive manner.

30 CFR 56.4230 - Self-propelled equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... other persons in the area, a fire extinguisher shall be on the equipment or within 100 feet of the... size that can extinguish fires of any class in their early stages which could originate from the...

46 CFR 161.002-2 - Types of fire-protective systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... systems will be considered to consist of normal and emergency power supplies, a fire detecting control... subpart, manual fire alarm systems will be considered to consist of normal and emergency power supplies, a...

46 CFR 161.002-2 - Types of fire-protective systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... systems will be considered to consist of normal and emergency power supplies, a fire detecting control... subpart, manual fire alarm systems will be considered to consist of normal and emergency power supplies, a...

Smoke Detection: Critical Element of a University Residential Fire Safety Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Donald A.

1979-01-01

A program at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst to assess the fire protection needs of its residential system is described. The study culminated in a multiphase fire safety improvement plan. (JMF)

Holocene Vegetation and Fire Dynamics on the Chilcotin Plateau, BC, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, K. J.; Hebda, R.; Hawkes, B.

2014-12-01

The Chilcotin Plateau is a high elevation plateau in the west central interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is characterised by a continental climate and located in a rainshadow setting. Pine-dominated forests dominate. The region is prone to frequent fires and mountain pine beetle outbreaks. Several surface sediment cores and an overlapping Livingstone sediment core were collected from centrally-located Scum Lake and analysed for pollen, charcoal and insect remains. During the early-Holocene warm-dry interval, a non-arboreal vegetation community dominated by grass and sage dominated and surface fire disturbance was frequent. Model predictions suggest that non-arboreal vegetation may expand in this region in the future, suggesting that the fire regime will likewise change as in the early-Holocene. In the mid-Holocene, pine, possibly Pinus ponderosa, increased in abundance, suggesting that a surface fire regime persisted at that time. Pinus contorta pollen increased in the late-Holocene, representing the establishment of the modern forest and mixed/crown fire regime. Fire return intervals typically ranged between 20-100 years, consistent with tree-ring based observation (40-70 years). Analyses of the surface cores revealed that identifiable mountain pine beetle remains were rare, suggesting that alternative approaches may be required to assess to insect disturbance through time.

Brief communication: Reaction to fire by savanna chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Fongoli, Senegal: Conceptualization of "fire behavior" and the case for a chimpanzee model.

PubMed

Pruetz, Jill D; LaDuke, Thomas C

2010-04-01

The use and control of fire are uniquely human traits thought to have come about fairly late in the evolution of our lineage, and they are hypothesized to correlate with an increase in intellectual complexity. Given the relatively sophisticated cognitive abilities yet small brain size of living apes compared to humans and even early hominins, observations of wild chimpanzees' reactions to naturally occurring fire can help inform hypotheses about the likely responses of early hominins to fire. We use data on the behavior of savanna chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Fongoli, Senegal during two encounters with wildfires to illuminate the similarities between great apes and humans regarding their reaction to fire. Chimpanzees' close relatedness to our lineage makes them phylogenetically relevant to the study of hominid evolution, and the open, hot and dry environment at Fongoli, similar to the savanna mosaic thought to characterize much of hominid evolution, makes these apes ecologically important as a living primate model as well. Chimpanzees at Fongoli calmly monitor wildfires and change their behavior in anticipation of the fire's movement. The ability to conceptualize the "behavior" of fire may be a synapomorphic trait characterizing the human-chimpanzee clade. If the cognitive underpinnings of fire conceptualization are a primitive hominid trait, hypotheses concerning the origins of the control and use of fire may need revision. We argue that our findings exemplify the importance of using living chimpanzees as models for better understanding human evolution despite recently published suggestions to the contrary. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

46 CFR 91.20-15 - Scope of inspection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... appliances, fire-detecting and extinguishing equipment, pilot boarding equipment, pollution prevention... accordance with approved plans, and determine that the vessel is in possession of a valid certificate issued... applicable regulations in subchapter H (Passenger Vessels) of this chapter. For example, fire-detecting...

46 CFR 91.20-15 - Scope of inspection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... appliances, fire-detecting and extinguishing equipment, pilot boarding equipment, pollution prevention... accordance with approved plans, and determine that the vessel is in possession of a valid certificate issued... applicable regulations in subchapter H (Passenger Vessels) of this chapter. For example, fire-detecting...

46 CFR 91.20-15 - Scope of inspection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... appliances, fire-detecting and extinguishing equipment, pilot boarding equipment, pollution prevention... accordance with approved plans, and determine that the vessel is in possession of a valid certificate issued... applicable regulations in subchapter H (Passenger Vessels) of this chapter. For example, fire-detecting...

46 CFR 91.20-15 - Scope of inspection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... appliances, fire-detecting and extinguishing equipment, pilot boarding equipment, pollution prevention... accordance with approved plans, and determine that the vessel is in possession of a valid certificate issued... applicable regulations in subchapter H (Passenger Vessels) of this chapter. For example, fire-detecting...

46 CFR 91.20-15 - Scope of inspection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... appliances, fire-detecting and extinguishing equipment, pilot boarding equipment, pollution prevention... accordance with approved plans, and determine that the vessel is in possession of a valid certificate issued... applicable regulations in subchapter H (Passenger Vessels) of this chapter. For example, fire-detecting...

Pattern and process of prescribed fires influence effectiveness at reducing wildfire severity in dry coniferous forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

Arkle, Robert S.; Pilliod, David S.; Welty, Justin L.

2012-01-01

We examined the effects of three early season (spring) prescribed fires on burn severity patterns of summer wildfires that occurred 1–3 years post-treatment in a mixed conifer forest in central Idaho. Wildfire and prescribed fire burn severities were estimated as the difference in normalized burn ratio (dNBR) using Landsat imagery. We used GIS derived vegetation, topography, and treatment variables to generate models predicting the wildfire burn severity of 1286–5500 30-m pixels within and around treated areas. We found that wildfire severity was significantly lower in treated areas than in untreated areas and significantly lower than the potential wildfire severity of the treated areas had treatments not been implemented. At the pixel level, wildfire severity was best predicted by an interaction between prescribed fire severity, topographic moisture, heat load, and pre-fire vegetation volume. Prescribed fire severity and vegetation volume were the most influential predictors. Prescribed fire severity, and its influence on wildfire severity, was highest in relatively warm and dry locations, which were able to burn under spring conditions. In contrast, wildfire severity peaked in cooler, more mesic locations that dried later in the summer and supported greater vegetation volume. We found considerable evidence that prescribed fires have landscape-level influences within treatment boundaries; most notable was an interaction between distance from the prescribed fire perimeter and distance from treated patch edges, which explained up to 66% of the variation in wildfire severity. Early season prescribed fires may not directly target the locations most at risk of high severity wildfire, but proximity of these areas to treated patches and the discontinuity of fuels following treatment may influence wildfire severity and explain how even low severity treatments can be effective management tools in fire-prone landscapes.

Spacecraft Fire Safety: A Human Space Flight Program Perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pedley, Michael D.

2003-01-01

This paper presents viewgraphs on the International Space Station's fire safety program from a human space flight perspective. The topics include: 1) Typical Manned Spacecraft Materials; 2) Typical Flammable Hardware Protection; 3) Materials Flammability; 4) Fire Retardants; 5) Nonflammable Foam Cushion Material; 6) Electrical Wire and Cable; 7) Russian Solid-Fuel Oxygen Generator (SFOG); 8) GOX Ignition Mechanisms; 9) Fire Detection; and 10) Fire Suppression.

Repetitive deliberate fires: Development and validation of a methodology to detect series.

PubMed

Bruenisholz, Eva; Delémont, Olivier; Ribaux, Olivier; Wilson-Wilde, Linzi

2017-08-01

The detection of repetitive deliberate fire events is challenging and still often ineffective due to a case-by-case approach. A previous study provided a critical review of the situation and analysis of the main challenges. This study suggested that the intelligence process, integrating forensic data, could be a valid framework to provide a follow-up and systematic analysis provided it is adapted to the specificities of repetitive deliberate fires. In this current manuscript, a specific methodology to detect deliberate fires series, i.e. set by the same perpetrators, is presented and validated. It is based on case profiles relying on specific elements previously identified. The method was validated using a dataset of approximately 8000 deliberate fire events collected over 12 years in a Swiss state. Twenty possible series were detected, including 6 of 9 known series. These results are very promising and lead the way to a systematic implementation of this methodology in an intelligence framework, whilst demonstrating the need and benefit of increasing the collection of forensic specific information to strengthen the value of links between cases. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, Benjamin M.; Grosse, Guido; Arp, Christopher D.

Fire-induced permafrost degradation is well documented in boreal forests, but the role of fires in initiating thermokarst development in Arctic tundra is less well understood. Here we show that Arctic tundra fires may induce widespread thaw subsidence of permafrost terrain in the first seven years following the disturbance. Quantitative analysis of airborne LiDAR data acquired two and seven years post-fire, detected permafrost thaw subsidence across 34% of the burned tundra area studied, compared to less than 1% in similar undisturbed, ice-rich tundra terrain units. The variability in thermokarst development appears to be influenced by the interaction of tundra fire burnmore » severity and near-surface, ground-ice content. Subsidence was greatest in severely burned, ice-rich upland terrain (yedoma), accounting for -50% of the detected subsidence, despite representing only 30% of the fire disturbed study area. Microtopography increased by 340% in this terrain unit as a result of ice wedge degradation. Increases in the frequency, magnitude, and severity of tundra fires will contribute to future thermokarst development and associated landscape change in Arctic tundra regions.« less

Fire and bats in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic: more questions than answers?

Treesearch

Timothy C. Carter; W. Mark Ford; Michael A. Menzel

2002-01-01

The role and impact of fire in Southeastern ecosystems has changed dramatically from pre-European and early settlement times through present day. Regionally, pre-settlement fires were caused either by Native Americans throughout the year or by lighting-caused wildfires during the growing season. Today, much of the prescribed burning for forest and game management...

Persistent effects of fire severity on early successional forests in interior Alaska

Treesearch

Aditi Shenoy; Jill F. Johnstone; Eric S. Kasischke; Knut Kielland

2011-01-01

There has been a recent increase in the frequency and extent of wildfires in interior Alaska, and this trend is predicted to continue under a warming climate. Although less well documented, corresponding increases in fire severity are expected. Previous research from boreal forests in Alaska and western Canada indicate that severe fire promotes the recruitment of...

What ignited Forest Service interest in nonmarket valuation in fire economics?

Treesearch

John B. Loomis; Armando González-Cabán

2009-01-01

This paper traces the origin and evolution of the application of nonmarket valuation techniques to fire management within the USDA Forest Service. The motivation for contingent valuation (CVM) studies that quantify existence value is traced to the need for monetary benefits of protecting spotted owl old-growth forest habitat from fire in the early 1990s. Two large...

Effects of fire severity on plant nutrient uptake reinforce alternate pathways of succession in boreal forests

Treesearch

A. Shenoy; K. Kielland; J.F. Johnstone

2013-01-01

Fire activity in the North American boreal region is projected to increase under a warming climate and trigger changes in vegetation composition. In black spruce forests of interior Alaska, fire severity impacts residual organic layer depth which is strongly linked to the relative dominance of deciduous versus coniferous trees in early succession. These alternate...

Prescribed fire, soil inorganic nitrogen dynamics, and plant responses in a semiarid grassland

Treesearch

David J. Augustine; Paul Brewer; Dana M. Blumenthal; Justin D. Derner; Joseph C. von Fischer

2014-01-01

In arid and semiarid ecosystems, fire can potentially affect ecosystem dynamics through changes in soil moisture, temperature, and nitrogen cycling, as well as through direct effects on plant meristem mortality. We examined effects of annual and triennial prescribed fires conducted in early spring on soil moisture, temperature, and N, plant growth, and plant N content...

Precipitation regime classification for the Mojave Desert: Implications for fire occurrence

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tagestad, Jerry; Brooks, Matthew L.; Cullinan, Valerie; Downs, Janelle; McKinley, Randy

2016-01-01

Long periods of drought or above-average precipitation affect Mojave Desert vegetation condition, biomass and susceptibility to fire. Changes in the seasonality of precipitation alter the likelihood of lightning, a key ignition source for fires. The objectives of this study were to characterize the relationship between recent, historic, and future precipitation patterns and fire. Classifying monthly precipitation data from 1971 to 2010 reveals four precipitation regimes: low winter/low summer, moderate winter/moderate summer, high winter/low summer and high winter/high summer. Two regimes with summer monsoonal precipitation covered only 40% of the Mojave Desert ecoregion but contain 88% of the area burned and 95% of the repeat burn area. Classifying historic precipitation for early-century (wet) and mid-century (drought) periods reveals distinct shifts in regime boundaries. Early-century results are similar to current, while the mid-century results show a sizeable reduction in area of regimes with a strong monsoonal component. Such a shift would suggest that fires during the mid-century period would be minimal and anecdotal records confirm this. Predicted precipitation patterns from downscaled global climate models indicate numerous epochs of high winter precipitation, inferring higher fire potential for many multi-decade periods during the next century.

Algorithm and assessment work of active fire detection based on FengYun-3C/VIRR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Z.; Chen, F.

2017-12-01

The wildfire is one of the most destructive and uncontrollable disasters and causes huge environmental, ecological, social effects. To better serve scientific research and practical fire management, an algorithm and corresponding validation work of active fire detection based on FengYun-3C/VIRR data, which is an optical sensor onboard the Chinese polar-orbiting meteorological sun-synchronous satellite, is hereby introduced. While the main structure heritages the `contextual algorithm', some new concepts including `infrared channel slope' are introduced for better adaptions to different situations. The validation work contains three parts: 1) comparing with the current FengYun-3C fire product GFR; 2) comparing with MODIS fire products; 3) comparing with Landsat series data. Study areas are selected from different places all over the world from 2014 to 2016. The results showed great improvement on GFR files on accuracy of both positioning and detection rate. In most study areas, the results match well with MODIS products and Landsat series data (with over 85% match degree) despite the differences in imaging time. However, detection rates and match degrees in Africa and South-east Asia are not satisfied (around 70%), where the occurrences of numerous small fire events and corresponding smokes may strongly affect the results of the algorithm. This is our future research direction and one of the main improvements requires achieving.

10 CFR 36.27 - Fire protection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Fire protection. 36.27 Section 36.27 Energy NUCLEAR... Requirements for Irradiators § 36.27 Fire protection. (a) The radiation room at a panoramic irradiator must... become fully shielded if a fire is detected. (b) The radiation room at a panoramic irradiator must be...

Recent Arctic tundra fire initiates widespread thermokarst development.

PubMed

Jones, Benjamin M; Grosse, Guido; Arp, Christopher D; Miller, Eric; Liu, Lin; Hayes, Daniel J; Larsen, Christopher F

2015-10-29

Fire-induced permafrost degradation is well documented in boreal forests, but the role of fires in initiating thermokarst development in Arctic tundra is less well understood. Here we show that Arctic tundra fires may induce widespread thaw subsidence of permafrost terrain in the first seven years following the disturbance. Quantitative analysis of airborne LiDAR data acquired two and seven years post-fire, detected permafrost thaw subsidence across 34% of the burned tundra area studied, compared to less than 1% in similar undisturbed, ice-rich tundra terrain units. The variability in thermokarst development appears to be influenced by the interaction of tundra fire burn severity and near-surface, ground-ice content. Subsidence was greatest in severely burned, ice-rich upland terrain (yedoma), accounting for ~50% of the detected subsidence, despite representing only 30% of the fire disturbed study area. Microtopography increased by 340% in this terrain unit as a result of ice wedge degradation. Increases in the frequency, magnitude, and severity of tundra fires will contribute to future thermokarst development and associated landscape change in Arctic tundra regions.

Recent Arctic tundra fire initiates widespread thermokarst development

PubMed Central

Jones, Benjamin M.; Grosse, Guido; Arp, Christopher D.; Miller, Eric; Liu, Lin; Hayes, Daniel J.; Larsen, Christopher F.

2015-01-01

Fire-induced permafrost degradation is well documented in boreal forests, but the role of fires in initiating thermokarst development in Arctic tundra is less well understood. Here we show that Arctic tundra fires may induce widespread thaw subsidence of permafrost terrain in the first seven years following the disturbance. Quantitative analysis of airborne LiDAR data acquired two and seven years post-fire, detected permafrost thaw subsidence across 34% of the burned tundra area studied, compared to less than 1% in similar undisturbed, ice-rich tundra terrain units. The variability in thermokarst development appears to be influenced by the interaction of tundra fire burn severity and near-surface, ground-ice content. Subsidence was greatest in severely burned, ice-rich upland terrain (yedoma), accounting for ~50% of the detected subsidence, despite representing only 30% of the fire disturbed study area. Microtopography increased by 340% in this terrain unit as a result of ice wedge degradation. Increases in the frequency, magnitude, and severity of tundra fires will contribute to future thermokarst development and associated landscape change in Arctic tundra regions. PMID:26511650

Recent Arctic tundra fire initiates widespread thermokarst development

DOE PAGES

Jones, Benjamin M.; Grosse, Guido; Arp, Christopher D.; ...

2015-10-29

Fire-induced permafrost degradation is well documented in boreal forests, but the role of fires in initiating thermokarst development in Arctic tundra is less well understood. Here we show that Arctic tundra fires may induce widespread thaw subsidence of permafrost terrain in the first seven years following the disturbance. Quantitative analysis of airborne LiDAR data acquired two and seven years post-fire, detected permafrost thaw subsidence across 34% of the burned tundra area studied, compared to less than 1% in similar undisturbed, ice-rich tundra terrain units. The variability in thermokarst development appears to be influenced by the interaction of tundra fire burnmore » severity and near-surface, ground-ice content. Subsidence was greatest in severely burned, ice-rich upland terrain (yedoma), accounting for -50% of the detected subsidence, despite representing only 30% of the fire disturbed study area. Microtopography increased by 340% in this terrain unit as a result of ice wedge degradation. Increases in the frequency, magnitude, and severity of tundra fires will contribute to future thermokarst development and associated landscape change in Arctic tundra regions.« less

Recent Arctic tundra fire initiates widespread thermokarst development

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, Benjamin M.; Grosse, Guido; Arp, Christopher D.; Miller, Eric K.; Liu, Lingli; Hayes, Daniel J.; Larsen, Christopher F.

2015-01-01

Fire-induced permafrost degradation is well documented in boreal forests, but the role of fires in initiating thermokarst development in Arctic tundra is less well understood. Here we show that Arctic tundra fires may induce widespread thaw subsidence of permafrost terrain in the first seven years following the disturbance. Quantitative analysis of airborne LiDAR data acquired two and seven years post-fire, detected permafrost thaw subsidence across 34% of the burned tundra area studied, compared to less than 1% in similar undisturbed, ice-rich tundra terrain units. The variability in thermokarst development appears to be influenced by the interaction of tundra fire burn severity and near-surface, ground-ice content. Subsidence was greatest in severely burned, ice-rich upland terrain (yedoma), accounting for ~50% of the detected subsidence, despite representing only 30% of the fire disturbed study area. Microtopography increased by 340% in this terrain unit as a result of ice wedge degradation. Increases in the frequency, magnitude, and severity of tundra fires will contribute to future thermokarst development and associated landscape change in Arctic tundra regions.

APDS: Autonomous Pathogen Detection System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Langlois, R G; Brown, S; Burris, L

An early warning system to counter bioterrorism, the Autonomous Pathogen Detection System (APDS) continuously monitors the environment for the presence of biological pathogens (e.g., anthrax) and once detected, it sounds an alarm much like a smoke detector warns of a fire. Long before September 11, 2001, this system was being developed to protect domestic venues and events including performing arts centers, mass transit systems, major sporting and entertainment events, and other high profile situations in which the public is at risk of becoming a target of bioterrorist attacks. Customizing off-the-shelf components and developing new components, a multidisciplinary team developed APDS,more » a stand-alone system for rapid, continuous monitoring of multiple airborne biological threat agents in the environment. The completely automated APDS samples the air, prepares fluid samples in-line, and performs two orthogonal tests: immunoassay and nucleic acid detection. When compared to competing technologies, APDS is unprecedented in terms of flexibility and system performance.« less

Characterization of a mine fire using atmospheric monitoring system sensor data.

PubMed

Yuan, L; Thomas, R A; Zhou, L

2017-06-01

Atmospheric monitoring systems (AMS) have been widely used in underground coal mines in the United States for the detection of fire in the belt entry and the monitoring of other ventilation-related parameters such as airflow velocity and methane concentration in specific mine locations. In addition to an AMS being able to detect a mine fire, the AMS data have the potential to provide fire characteristic information such as fire growth - in terms of heat release rate - and exact fire location. Such information is critical in making decisions regarding fire-fighting strategies, underground personnel evacuation and optimal escape routes. In this study, a methodology was developed to calculate the fire heat release rate using AMS sensor data for carbon monoxide concentration, carbon dioxide concentration and airflow velocity based on the theory of heat and species transfer in ventilation airflow. Full-scale mine fire experiments were then conducted in the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division's Safety Research Coal Mine using an AMS with different fire sources. Sensor data collected from the experiments were used to calculate the heat release rates of the fires using this methodology. The calculated heat release rate was compared with the value determined from the mass loss rate of the combustible material using a digital load cell. The experimental results show that the heat release rate of a mine fire can be calculated using AMS sensor data with reasonable accuracy.

Performance of a fire detector based on a compact laser spectroscopic carbon monoxide sensor.

PubMed

Hangauer, A; Chen, J; Strzoda, R; Fleischer, M; Amann, M-C

2014-06-02

In this paper we show the suitability of a miniaturized tunable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS)-based carbon-monoxide (CO) sensor for fire detection applications. The sensor utilizes a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) and inherent calibration scheme with reference gas filled in the photodetector housing. The fire-detection experiments are carried out under realistic conditions as described in the European standard EN54. The CO generation of all class C fires (according to EN54) could be well resolved. The cross-sensitivity to other substances was found to be very low: the maximum CO false response from cigarette smoke, hairspray and general aerosols reaches a low value of a few μL/L and only if the substance is directly applied into the sensor gas inlet. Therefore this sensor overcomes the disadvantage of high false alarm rate given by smoke detectors and is also in small size which is suitable for household and industrial applications. Hence, the VCSEL-based TDLS sensor is shown to have sufficient performance for fire-detection. It has advantages such as capability for fail-safe operation and, low cross-sensitivities as compared to existing point fire detector technology which is presently limited by these factors.