FireWatch is an early forest fire detection system, which works on the principle of smoke recognition of smoke, i.e. the earliest phase of a wildfire.
FireWatch is a system that detects the slightest pall of smoke over long distances. At a distance of 10 kilometers, a pall of smoke with a size of 10 meters x 10 meters is sufficient to be recognized. Smoke detection within a distance of fifteen kilometers in the plains is not a problem. The surveillance zone of a sensor covers an area 700 km2. The sensor or the optical sensor system (OSS) is installed on towers (watchtowers, towers of mobile operators or specially made towers). If the sensor detects a pall of smoke, the system will send information about events to the control center. Information transmission can be realized in different ways. Staff is located in the control center, where they receive and processes the received messages.
The organization of the control center depends on many factors, but it standardly consists of one or a few work stations. The information that comes from the OSS is further analyzed by the staff. In case of doubt that the smoke was caused by a fire, the message is transmitted to the management. The event can be displayed on a large screen and therefore be discussed and analyzed. If there is a decision that the cause of the smoke is fire (there is a fire), the warning system is triggered.
The FireWatch system consists of the following components: optical sensor (OSS – Optical Sensor System), work stations, communication and management system. The OSS is installed in the surveillance area of the towers having an average distance of 12-15 km. Better overlapping of sensors is thus achieved. Sensors installed on the towers rotate in a 10-fold periodic step, automatically analyzing the images and sending them to the control center in case of suspicion of the presence of smoke.
The rotation angle of sensors is 360 degrees and they should be mounted high enough, i.e. not less than 10 m above the trees. Almost one hundred percent coverage of the surveillance zone is possible only with optimum installation of the systems. The location of each sensor is determined using advanced analysis tools.
The FireWatch system works in the same way both during the day and the night through smoke detection. The system can be complemented with a colour CCTV camera controlled by a joystick, and can be used for further surveillance of the fire.
The basis of the development of the OSS – the Optical Sensor System for smoke detection – is space research. The German aerospace center DLR (Deutsche Zentrum fur Luftund Raumfahrt) has developed a technology for the Rosetta project planning the research of the Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet.