Bushfire detection cameras installed in NSW trial to try to prevent Black Saturday inferno
Bushfire detection cameras installed in NSW trial to try to prevent Black Saturday inferno
09 February 2010
published by www.dailytelegraph.com.au
Australia — Following on from Sunday’s Black Saturday anniversary, federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland said early detection of bushfires was critical.
“The terrible tragedy of Black Saturday has shown that we need to pursue all possible avenues to better protect Australian communities from bushfire,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“The camera technology has the potential to substantially improve our ability to prevent and respond to bushfires before they develop into infernos like those we saw on Black Saturday last year.”
On February 7, 2009 raging bushfires tore through Victoria, claiming the lives of 173 people.
The state’s worst natural disaster destroyed more than 2100 properties, damaged a further 1500 properties and cost $1 billion in insurance payments.
Mr McClelland said the cameras were developed by the German Aerospace Centre and were able to tell the difference between smoke and dust even at night.
Three cameras – each developed by a different contractor – would be installed on a telegraph tower on Mt Tumorrama, near Tumut in southern NSW. Twelve more would operate at four sites in Victoria.
“Each camera is able to monitor approximately 10,000 square kilometres, scanning 360-degrees every six minutes non-stop,” Mr McClelland said.
The cameras have been in use for nearly a decade in Germany and aim to provide exact information on where a fire is, how big it is and how fire fighters can get to it in the shortest possible time before it becomes an inferno.
Mr McClelland said the cameras would be trialled under “controlled conditions”in NSW.
He said that would include test burning to evaluate the system’s performance.
The Federal Government will fund the $3 million trial.
