Fire Watch

Team Name

LAMP

Team Members

Project Description

The recent Australian bushfire disaster has caused a huge amount of damage to communities across the nation, killing many people and animals and destroying many homes. These persistent disasters call for an immediate solution which uses reliable data to alert people about nearby fires. In order to fulfil this rising demand, Team LAMP has proposed for the development of the new application Fire Watch. This incredible and innovative program utilises the most recent data from the NSW data portal to alert users of when they are about to enter fire prone areas, burnt areas and areas with a bushfire history. In order to make this app better, however, we will need real time data as this is absolutely critical for future development and sustainability.

Data Story

Our application currently utilises GIS data from the NSW data portal with the datasets NSW Bush Fire Prone Land, NSW Fire History and NSW Burnt Areas. For air quality the app scrapes from the API of Windy.com. The global forecasting service uses Satellite sensors in conjunction with the Global Forecast System to estimate air quality at a user’s location.

To make our app more applicable to future wildfire crises we will need real time data on the spread of bushfires. This persistent data quality issue is highlighted particularly during bushfire seasons where alerts on the rapid spread of wildfires may become inaccurate. Alternatively, integrating current distribution prediction models could fill the information gap. Without real time data, our app will still be able to accurately inform and alert users on bushfire history, bushfire prone areas and air quality.