By Alan M. Petrillo

A network of high-definition cameras is functioning in the Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin in Nevada to give fire agencies early warning of wildland fires in order to allow fast, tactical responses while fires are more manageable. The network is a cooperative effort between the University of Nevada—Reno (UNR) and the United States Forest Service (USFS).

The wildland fire camera system run by University of Nevada-Reno and the United States Forest Service has 15 cameras in a footprint called Alert Tahoe. (Photo courtesy of University of Nevada-Reno.)

Graham Kent, lab director at UNR's Nevada Seismological Laboratory, says the organization has two networks of differing styles, but at their core is the same principle, that is, early detection of wildland fires. "One network that has 15 cameras in its footprint is called Alert Tahoe and centers around the greater Lake Tahoe area, Truckee, Reno, and the western Sierra Nevada mountains," Kent says. "The second footprint is with the Bureau of Land Management, which is a larger area where the cameras are not so close together but are far away from urban environments. There are seven cameras in that footprint that allows us to catch fires early and gives firefighters the ability to scale their response to the demand."

Mac Heller, Camino Interagency manager for the USFS's Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management, says the USFS purchases the cameras and has them installed through UNR. "We added two cameras this past year at Echo Summit and Big Hill lookout tower," Heller points out. "The next two will be attached to lookout towers at Leeks Springs on the south part of the Eldorado National Forest, and Bunker Hill tower on the forest's northeast side."

Heller notes the cameras can be used in multiple ways. "We are using them to monitor burning projects for prescribed fires, as well as detecting wildland fires," he says. "When we get a smoke report, we use a camera to look at the area of the report and then use computer-aided dispatch for a wildland high, medium, or low dispatch plan."

A wildland high dispatch means two air tankers, an air attack and lead planes, a helicopter, six to eight engine companies, a couple of hand crews, a bulldozer, and water tenders, Heller says. "A wildland high dispatch puts a lot of assets at risk," he adds. "With monitoring by camera, we can tell what the smoke column is doing and maybe drop the dispatch down to an engine, a patrol unit, and a chief officer."

The UNR and USFS high definition camera system, which co-exists with UNR's seismological communication system, has proven helpful in early identification of wildland fires. (Photo courtesy of University of Nevada-Reno.)

Using the camera system means minimizing risk and providing for the safety of wildland pilots and firefighters, Heller says. "And, we are able to tailor a response, which can save money," he notes. "For example, it costs between $20,000 and $25,000 to launch the air segment of a wildland high dispatch."

Kent points out that traditional methods of tracking wildland fires, such as call-ins of smoke by civilians, often take much too long to confirm. "In urban interface areas, many smoke call-ins are not fires," he says. "They might be dust devils or something else, and we have to use resources to chase these false calls. And short of discovery of an actual fire, no matter what you do, it takes too long to confirm the actual fire, but with the hig

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In May 2016, the city of Henderson, Nevada, went live with a new, state-of-the-art automated fire station alerting system—and not a moment too soon. Just six weeks prior—right after the city signed a contract to purchase a new Phoenix G2 Fire Station Alerting System—its old 1970s-era alerting system suffered a catastrophic failure. “We literally woke up with all alerting down,” explains Deputy Chief Scott Vivier. “None of our stations had automated dispatching.”

Under those dire circumstances, the city had no choice but to expedite the installation of its new Phoenix G2 system.

The good news was that US Digital Designs, the system’s Arizona-based manufacturer, was on site in less than 72 hours. USDD immediately set up the Phoenix G2’s base configuration and hardware in one fire station. Then, in one week’s time, USDD’s third-party installation team installed four of the nine stations. By the fifth week, the entire implementation was complete. “It was a remarkable achievement under some very tight time challenges,” Deputy Chief Vivier says.

As Vivier notes, post-installation, each station was immediately “back to business as usual,” which meant that firefighters didn’t have to alter their workflow one bit. He continues, “As you can imagine, IT was concerned about interface and adding hardware onto a secure network. But, USDD’s preprogrammed interface between the Phoenix G2 system and our computer-aided dispatch system worked the first time. The city’s IT team doesn’t even really have to support our station alerting system. We are able to support it mostly by ourselves.”

Vivier explains that the Phoenix G2 “was one of the most seamless implementations of a technology product I’ve ever witnessed.” He also adds, “The training was quick and easy because the technology is so robust and intuitive. Thankfully, we had zero issues with the Phoenix G2.”

But with the implementation having gone so smoothly, how is the system functioning? “The biggest improvement,” Vivier reports, “is in our call processing time. We’ve decreased our response by more than 30 seconds—in all areas. With the former analog- and radio-based system, it could take 17 seconds from dispatch to the station and back to dispatch. Now with the Phoenix G2 system, it takes milliseconds to do all of the above. And, our average response time—from the first dispatch call to turnout—when the apparatus is en route—has decreased 17 percent to about one minute.”

And, as you can imagine, a one-minute reduction makes a huge difference. In many instances, it can be the difference between life and death. Vivier also points out that one of the biggest benefits of the new system is that its scrolling board and turnout timer features quickly deliver what the response crews need to safely prepare for the emergency at hand and get en route quickly.

He adds that that the peace of mind the Henderson fire squads and other team members have gained is immeasurable. “Previously, when we had the radio system, we didn’t have a fail-safe backup. Now with the Phoenix G2, we have a backup, and we can ensure that there’s no downtime.”

So just what set USDD’s station alerting system apart from the competition? Vivier says, “We assembled a diverse committee to review the RFPs, and found that the Phoenix G2 won based on features, performance, service, and price. We relied heavily on customer testimonia