WUI Protect: protecting communities against forest fires
Session: Fire impacts and lessons learnt
Presenters: Ferran Dalmau Rovira (M21- RTD Lab, Medi XXI GSA), David Caballero Valero (Medi XXI R+TD Lab coordinator)
Contact email: ferrandalmau@medixxi.com
Medi XXI GSA is an environmental engineering consulting company dedicated to proposing integral, integrated and sustainable solutions to the projects it develops. The team offer services to both public and private organizations and / or individuals. During the last 10 years Medi XXI GSA technical team has invested resources and time monitoring different forest fires so much in collaboration with the services of emergencies and since a point of view of analysis. The conditions that are generated during a forest fire are complex and are not easy to reproduce. Always with a premise of maximum security, have worked the 3 stairs: before fire (prevention), during fire (operation) and after fire (analysis of damages and restoration). The result of this experience was the SIDEINFO project (WUI Protect).
Link: www.medixxi.com
ABSTRACT: Medi XXI GSA (M21) is a Valencia-based SME providing consultancy services on wildfire risk assessment and prevention and mitigation management, more particularly focusing on the protection of communities in the so-called Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). M21 is permanently committed to the transfer of technology and scientific research results, in the form of services, products and patents. In this sense, M21 has developed tailored systems for the active defence of communities against forest fires, including but not limited to water deployment cannons (SIDEINFO) at three different scales, sensor networks and domotic (home automation) solutions. M21 is permanently aware of the evolution of fire campaigns in Spain and Europe, visiting the aftermath of the most relevant fire episodes and extracting from them lessons learnt but also many unknown processes and factors leading to house destruction and infrastructure damages. M21 also maintains a permanent communication channel with several research entities, transferring the needs and research lines for future implementation of solutions and services. This is possible thanks to the M21 R+TD Lab, a department devoted to the exploration, essay and development of new solutions. This complete cycle of technology transfer is presented in this forum, with special focus on specific successful examples. The presentation also outlines several of the future research lines proposed, which nowadays are in the agenda of M21, such as new paradigms for risk awareness and communication, new algorithms for pre-triage and house risk assessment in the WUI and the use of AR/VR solutions for educational purposes. M21 also elaborates a yearly agenda of new lines of improvement and update of the offered solutions, particularly the WUIProtect system with new approaches and developments.
