Safers will make it possible to better fight the increasing number of fires, particularly in Spain (photo) and France (photo: B.L.).
EU. Fourteen partners (see below) from seven European countries* will work together in the new Safers platform (Structured Approaches for Forest Fire Emergencies in Resilient Societies), designed to "build a comprehensive emergency management system" to better fight forest fires.
They are meeting on 8 and 9 October 2020 under the aegis of the Links Foundation based in Turin and charged with coordinating this new project. In 2019, intense heat and drought were responsible for the spread of more than 1,600 fires, more than three times the average for the decade. France and Spain are the two countries most affected by this increase.
Safers will aggregate "Earth observation data and services offered by the EU's Copernicus programme, data from social networks and other applications used by citizens and emergency personnel, real-time data from accurate sensors to detect smoke or fires", as stated in a press release from Semide (Euro-Mediterranean Information System on Water Know-How), one of the French partners.
They are meeting on 8 and 9 October 2020 under the aegis of the Links Foundation based in Turin and charged with coordinating this new project. In 2019, intense heat and drought were responsible for the spread of more than 1,600 fires, more than three times the average for the decade. France and Spain are the two countries most affected by this increase.
Safers will aggregate "Earth observation data and services offered by the EU's Copernicus programme, data from social networks and other applications used by citizens and emergency personnel, real-time data from accurate sensors to detect smoke or fires", as stated in a press release from Semide (Euro-Mediterranean Information System on Water Know-How), one of the French partners.
3.25 M€ over three years
The platform will benefit from an advanced algorithm based on artificial intelligence that will generate "risk maps and early warnings in the preparation phase, estimate the extension of forest fires and their propagation according to the weather and soil conditions forecast in the intervention phase, calculate the impacts of a fire extinguished in terms of economic losses and monitor soil recovery in the post-event phase".
The project will gather all these data and services on an open platform for forest fire management. The proposed services will be validated in four pilots including field demonstrations in Italy, France, Spain and Greece.
With a budget of €3.25 million over three years, Safers is co-financed mainly by the EU (€2.899 million), as part of the European Horizon 2020 programme, and the fourteen partners.
* Italy, Greece, France, Spain, Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The project will gather all these data and services on an open platform for forest fire management. The proposed services will be validated in four pilots including field demonstrations in Italy, France, Spain and Greece.
With a budget of €3.25 million over three years, Safers is co-financed mainly by the EU (€2.899 million), as part of the European Horizon 2020 programme, and the fourteen partners.
* Italy, Greece, France, Spain, Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The 14 partners of the Safers platform
| PARTNER | COUNTRY | EU CONTRIBUTION |
| Fondazione Links - Leading Innovation & Knowledge For Society (LINKS) | Italy (Turin) | €546,300 |
| Centro Internazionale in Monitoraggio Ambientale - Fondazione CIMA (CIMA) | Italy (Savona) | €247,112.50 |
| Ethniko Kentro Erevnas Kai Technologikis Anaptyxis (CERTH) | Greece (Thermi Thessaloniki) | €272,425 |
| Riscognition GMBH | Germany (Geltendorf) | €215,915 |
| Ilmatieteen Laitos (FMI) | Finland (Helsinki) | €185,200 |
| Stevenson Astrosat Limited (Astro) | United Kingdom (Musselburgh) | €296,511.25 |
| Waterview SRL (WV) | Italy (Turin) | €118,702.50 |
| Alpha Consultants (UK) LTD (ALPHA) | United Kingdom (London) | €190,907.50 |
| Unité Technique Du Semide GEIE (SEMIDE) | France (Sophia-Antipolis) | €204,291.25 |
| Fundacio D'ecologia Del Foc I Gestio D'incendis Pau Costa Alcubierre (PCF) | Spain (Taradell) | €137,487.50 |
| Consorzio Per Il Sistema Informativo (CSI PIEMONTE) | Italy (Turin) | €193,812.50 |
| Service départemental d'incendie et de secours de la Haute-Corse | France (Furiani) | €120,237.50 |
| Elliniki Omada Diasosis Somateio (HRT) | Greece (Thessaloniki) | €90,775 |
| Ministère de la Défense nationale, Grèce | Greece (Athens) | €80,000 |
