Real-time Fire Detection Research Articles

Computer vision based method for real-time fire and flame detection

This paper proposes a novel method to detect fire and/or flames in real-time by processing the video data generated by an ordinary camera monitoring a scene. In addition to ordinary motion and color clues, flame and fire flicker is detected by analyzing the video in the wavelet domain. Quasi-periodic behavior in flame boundaries is detected by performing temporal wavelet transform. Color variations in flame regions are detected by computing the spatial wavelet transform of moving fire-colored regions. Another clue used in the fire detection algorithm is the irregularity of the boundary of the fire-colored region. All of the above clues are combined to reach a final decision. Experimental results show that the proposed method is very successful in detecting fire and/or flames. In addition, it drastically reduces the false alarms issued to ordinary fire-colored moving objects as compared to the methods using only motion and color clues.

Real-time AVHRR forest fire detection in Mexico (1998-2000)

Using our NOAA satellite ground receiving station we have implemented a real-time multispectral fire detection procedure. The Mexican territory is divided into five regions. For each region, time-dependent dynamic temperature threshold values are determined. To avoid solar contamination, nocturnal and early morning Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Local Area Coverage (LAC) images are used. The model determines hot points using channel 3 data. Channel 4 data are used for determining the environmental (surface) temperature. Channel 1 data are used to detect smoke and pixels having a high albedo (4-7%) due to clouds and ground features. Channel 2 data are used to identify land irregularities. Detected hot points are then brought into a geographic information system for ecosystem classification on a national vegetation map which identifies natural protected areas, fragmented forest and agricultural areas. Two daily reports were delivered during 1999 and 2000 to the corresponding national and state authorities so they could take immediate actions. The fire season of 1998 was the most severe season. Satellite imagery detected many fires not only in Mexico but also in Guatemala and Honduras during April and May. South-westerly winds transported the smoke haze over the Gulf of Mexico reaching the USA from New Mexico to southern Florida and sometimes as far north as over the Great Plains. Comparison of the results show that affected areas have been reduced by 7.3 ha per event (1998), 4.0 ha per event (1999) and 2.8 ha per event (2000), respectively. The most affected regions of the country were as follows--in the south: States of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Quintana Roo; in the centre: Estado de México, Guerrero, Jalisco, Zacatecas and Tamaulipas; in the north-east: Coahuila, Nuevo León; and in the north-west: Chihuahua and Sonora. The areas classified as Fragmented Forest show the maximum number of events (80%). This may be because these areas tend to have considerable agricultural activities. It is important to take measures to eliminate these activities.

Combining AVHRR and ATSR satellite sensor data for operational boreal forest fire detection

The potential to combine data from two different satellite systems was studied to increase fire detection sensitivity and image acquisition frequency in real-time fire detection and fire control. A fully automatic fire detection algorithm was applied to all scenes that were acquired using both satellite systems. Local fire authorities were notified about each detected fire in their territory using real-time fire reports that were sent by telefax. The average time from the start of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) image acquisition until the sending of a telefax fire report was 25 min. During the straw-burning season in April 2000, the Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) instrument detected twice as many fires as the AVHRR per unit image area. The main reason for this may be the average resolution cell of the ATSR, which is half the size of that of the AVHRR in terms of area. The response from fire authorities was used to estimate the number of correct alerts and false alarms. A false alarm rate of 12% and 7% was obtained in the fire seasons of 1999 and 2000, respectively.

Satellite-based forest fire detection for fire control in boreal forests

Forest fires in large sparsely populated areas in the boreal forest zone are difficult to detect by ground based means. Satellites can be a viable source of information to augment air-borne reconnaissance. The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensor aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites has been used to detect and map fires in the past mainly in the tropics and mainly for environmental monitoring purposes. This article describes real-time forest fire detection where the aim is to inform local fire authorities on the fire. The fire detection is based on the 3.7 mu m channel of the NOAA AVHRR sensor. In the fire detection algorithm, imaging geometry is taken into account in addition to the data from the near-infrared and thermal infrared channels. In an experiment in summer 1995, 16 fires were detected in Finland. One was a forest fire, 11 were prescribed burnings and 4 false alarms. Three of the false alarms were due to steel factories. We conclude that satellite-based fire detection for fire control is feasible in the boreal forest zone if the continuous supply of frequent middle-infrared data can be guaranteed in the future.