Nighttime Fire Research Articles

Nighttime fire smoke detection system based on machine vision

A real-time machine vision-based nighttime fire smoke detection method that can be incorporated into a surveillance system for early fire alert is proposed in this paper. Nowadays, video surveillance-based early fire smoke detection is crucial to the prevention of large fires and the protection of life and goods. However, many of the known video smoke detection methods require that minimum illumination be provided for the cameras to recognize the existence of fire smoke in a scene. To overcome the nighttime limitations of video smoke detection methods, a laser light is projected into the monitored field of view, and the returning projected light section image is analyzed in order to fire smoke. If the fire smoke appears within the monitoring zone created from the diffusing or scattering projected light path, the camera sensor receives a corresponding signal. The successive processing steps of proposed real-time algorithm are using the spectral, diffusing, and scattering characteristics of the fire smoke regions in the image sequences to register the possible smoke position in a video. Characterization of smoke is carried out by calculating accumulative deviation from the extracted feature vectors, and a classification method using a fuzzy reasoning system is applied to assign a score to the potential fire smoke candidate. Experimental results in a variety of nighttime conditions demonstrate that the proposed fire smoke detection method can successfully and reliably detect fire smoke.

Forest fire monitoring and burnt area mapping using satellite data: a study over the forest region of Kerala State, India

The present study describes the night-time active forest fire detection capabilities of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program – Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) satellite data over the forest region of Kerala State, India in 2004. Kerala State had a high incidence of forest fires during 2004 because of the extended dry season, with the unusual absence of intermittent rainfall from January to April. DMSP-OLS data were processed to detect active night-time forest fires over Kerala State and validated with ground data and fine-resolution Indian Remote Sensing (IRS)-P6 Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) satellite imagery. DMSP-OLS-derived night-time fire products were compared with synchronous Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-derived daytime fire products to check for the spatial agreement and continuity of fires. To estimate the burnt areas, different atmospheric correction algorithms were applied to the IRS-P6 AWiFS dataset; these included the cosine approximation model (COST), ATCOR2 in ERDAS Imagine and the Second Simulation of a Satellite Signal in the Solar Spectrum (6S) code. Atmospheric corrections to the satellite data indicated significant improvement in burnt area estimates. The results of the study suggest a good correlation between AWiFS data-derived burnt areas, DMSP-OLS-derived fire counts and MODIS-derived fire products. The fire occurrences derived from DMSP-OLS and MODIS data were validated with field records on fire occurrences over the study area.

Statistical Analyses On Fatalities Characteristics Of Residential Fires

Fire death patterns in residences in Japan were examined through the statistical analyses of fire deaths data base made by Fire Defense Agency. It was identified that there are two typical fire death patterns in residences such as "Disaster-Vulnerable People and Daytime Fire" pattern and "Non Disaster-Vulnerable People and Night-time Fire" pattern. The former pattern can be described typically as the case that a person who needs help to move encountered a fire and failed to escape without any help while he was alone during daytime. The latter pattern can be also described typically as the case that a person who has normal physical function was killed in a fire mainly due to delay of detection while he was drunk or asleep at night. For the purpose of fire deaths reduction, the "Disaster-Vulnerable People and Daytime Fire" pattern should be noticed, because the fire death rate of this fire death pattern is much higher than the another fire death pattern and further the population of those disaster-vulnerable people like aged people 65 or older is increasing rapidly in the recent years and the near future in Japan. KEYWORDS: residential fire, fire death, statistics, life loss risk, pattern analysis.

Statistical Analyses on Fatalities Characteristics of Residential Fires

Fire death patterns in residences in Japan were examined through the statistical analyses of fire deaths data base made by Fire Defense Agency. It was identified that there are two typical fire death patterns in residences such as “Disaster-Vulnerable People and Daytime Fire” pattern and “Non Disaster-Vulnerable People and Night-time Fire” pattern. The former pattern can be described typically as the case that a person who needs help to move encountered a fire and failed to escape without any help while he was alone during daytime. The latter pattern can be also described typically as the case that a person who has normal physical function was killed in a fire mainly due to delay of detection while he was drunk or asleep at night. For the purpose of fire deaths reduction, the “Disaster-Vulnerable People and Daytime Fire” pattern should be noticed, because the fire death rate of this fire death pattern is much higher than the another fire death pattern and further the population of those disaster-vulnerable people like aged people 65 or older is increasing rapidly in the recent years and the near future in Japan.

The acquisition and maintenance of emergency evacuation skills with mildly to moderately retarded adults in a community living arrangement

This study investigated the effects of behavioral training on the acquisition, maintenance, and transfer of fire evacuation skills with mentally retarded adult subjects. Four subjects residing in a moderately supervised community living setting were taught to evacuate their apartments in the event of fire emergencies. A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to evaluate the impact of training on subjects' performance. Training components included instructions, modeling, behavioral rehearsal, feedback, and reinforcement. To facilitate maintenance of responding, all subjects received behavioral programming. Additional training was provided to facilitate responding during actual nighttime fire drills. To enhance the likelihood of generalization, all subjects were trained in their own apartments with actual and simulated fire cues. Assessment was carried out during daytime and nighttime hours. Day and night assessment of responding after treatment termination was also conducted. The results indicated a high level of mastery by all subjects across acquisition and response maintenance training, although only moderate levels of responding were noted during the nighttime period. Implications for future research efforts in the area of emergency responding in community settings are discussed.

Emergency fire-safety skills for blind children and adolescents. Group training and generalization.

The efficacy of group emergency fire-safety skills training for blind adolescents was examined. Eight subjects in a residential school were trained to respond to an emergency fire situation under simulated conditions. The intervention consisted of instructions, explicit corrective feedback, behavior rehearsal, social and token reinforcement, and verbal and behavioral reviews. Participants' fire-emergency responses were assessed in simulated emergency situations as well as during unannounced nighttime fire drills. A multiple-baseline analysis across subjects showed high levels of skill acquisition in all subjects during emergency simulations. Further, behaviors generalized to actual fire drills in six of the eight subjects. Results are discussed in terms of: (1) the cost-effectiveness of the group treatment strategy, and (2) the need for additional research in emergency safety skills with the visually handicapped. Limitations of the present methodology are indicated; suggestions for directions future investigations might take are offered.