The proposal generated great interest among environmental managers, park rangers and Chilean forest firefighters for its potential for early detection of fires in hard-to-reach areas.
The Interreg Sudoe SenForFire project, dedicated among other tasks to the prevention, detection and monitoring of fires through low-cost wireless sensor networks, has taken an important step towards its internationalisation with its recent presentation in Chile. Within the framework of a scientific collaboration, researcher Javier Madrigal, from the Institute of Forest Sciences of the Spanish National Research Council (ICIFOR-INIA CSIC), presented the progress and first results of the SenForFire project during a technical conference at the Río de los Cipreses National Reserve, in the O’Higgins Region.
Madrigal’s visit was carried out in the context of a project funded by the National Agency for Research and Development of Chile (ANID) and at the invitation of the E-CIFA group of the Federico Santa María University (USM), led by Dr. Fabián Guerrero, a specialist in Environmental Chemistry. This research team studies the flammability of Chilean native flora and the impact of its chemical compounds on fire behavior, with special attention to the protection of urban-forest interface areas.
During his stay, the Spanish researcher collaborated in the collection of samples and in the performance of laboratory tests in situ. In addition, he participated in the international seminar “From Science to Action: Strategies for a Resilient Future against Fires”, organized by the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) and E-CIFA. At this event, Madrigal presented studies on the influence of volatile compounds on the flammability of Mediterranean species, with emphasis on the European cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) and its possible application in the management of the Cordilleran cypress (Austrocedrus chilensis), an emblematic species of the Chilean reserve.
Expedition to search for specimens for on-site laboratory analysis in the Río de los Cipreses National Reserve, O’Higgings Region, Chile
One of the highlights of his presentation was the explanation of the SenForFire project, coordinated by the Institute of Physical and Information Technologies (ITEFI-CSIC), and its advances in the use of wireless sensor networks for early fire detection. Preliminary results obtained in wind tunnels and experimental burns carried out in Spain were presented, where volatile compound sensors proved to be highly effective in detecting the start of fire. The proposal generated great interest among Chilean environmental managers, park rangers and forest firefighters, who saw in this technology a valuable resource for the protection of hard-to-reach areas and urban zones vulnerable to fires.
Javier Madrigal presents the SENFORFIRE project in the Río Los Cipreses National Reserve (O’Higgins Region, Chile.)
Thanks to the positive impact of this initiative, the SenForFire consortium is evaluating the possibility of extending its research to other regions with a Mediterranean climate, which opens the door to future international collaboration with the E-CIFA group of the USM and CONAF, thus strengthening the fight against forest fires in Chile and other countries.
SenForFire: European Innovation
Funded by the Interreg Sudoe 2021-2027 programme, SenForFire brings together a multidisciplinary team to design technological solutions to prevent and detect forest fires more effectively. Its partners include research centres (ITEFI, INIA-ICIFOR, IMB-CNM of the CSIC, CIRIMAT and LAAS of the CNRS), international universities (Extremadura, Évora, Coimbra and Toulouse), meteorological and detection agencies (AEMET and AR+I) and companies specialising in environmental monitoring (Ray Ingeniería Electrónica and Arantec).
It also has the support of public administrations at different levels, from MITECO to the Regional Government of Extremadura, the Regional Government of Castilla y León, the Provincial Council of Ávila and local entities such as the Municipality of Fundão and the Intermunicipal Community of Alto Minho. This collaborative approach seeks to protect ecosystems and reduce the impact of fires in the Sudoe area, which covers Spain (except the Canary Islands), mainland Portugal, southern France and Andorra.
Contact
SenForFire Coordinator: Esther Hontañón Lavín|[email protected]| Institute of Physical and Information Technologies ITEFI. Spanish National Research Council CSIC. Madrid.
