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REMSAT Revolutionizes Emergency Management
Satellite communications and earth observation battle forest fires
By Brad Foster For organizations and professionals dedicated to the task of disaster and emergency management, there is nothing more important than access to timely and accurate information about the situation they are working to contain. Without precise information, lives and property are endangered, and often so is the crew performing the rescue or containment operation. This particularly applies to disasters that take place in large and inaccessible areas, and in situations where the existing communications infrastructure has been disrupted.
In an effort to improve the efficiency and usefulness of emergency and resource management organizations worldwide, the European Space Agency (ESA) financed a partnership between MacDonald Dettwiler (MDA) of Richmond, British Columbia, and the British Columbia Forest Service (BCFS) Protection Program, to build Real-time Emergency Management via Satellite (REMSAT). Although the first REMSAT demonstration focuses on forest fire suppression, REMSAT will, in time, be made compatible with the needs of other emergency categories such as earthquakes, floods, heavy winter conditions, and hazardous material emergencies, among others.
The objective of REMSAT is to demonstrate the use of satellite communications and Earth observation technologies to enhance the effectiveness of the planning and execution of emergency management operations. Specifically, REMSAT is tasked with providing real-time updates of tactical information, timely delivery of geospatial information, support for daily strategic planning activities, and the dissemination and communication of maps, status, and plans to emergency headquarters.
To achieve this kind of flexibility in varied emergency situations, REMSAT was developed in accordance with the organizational structure employed by the BCFS and other organizations throughout North America known as the Incident Command System (ICS) structure. ICS has been adopted as a standard organizational structure for managing all types of emergency operations including fires, floods, earthquakes, and disease outbreaks. ICS is based on the premise that all activities in any emergency situation can be managed under one of the following functions: Incident Command Operations (Fire Boss), Planning, Logistics, and Finance Officers.
Under this structure, the operational concept for REMSAT is an integration of BCFS operational experience with existing communications channels, geospatial and Earth Observation (EO) data, and MDA experience with GIS, EO satellites, and communication satellites.
Stanley Wu, REMSAT project manager for MDA says, "The partnership between MDA and the BCFS is mutually beneficial. The BCFS helps MDA to understand the parameters and key concepts necessary to make REMSAT useful in the field, and MDA helps the BCFS understand satellite technology and how to apply it to all the variables of large-scale fire fighting."
The BCFS has the mammoth responsibility of ensuring that every tree in 95 million hectares of isolated forest wilderness is kept free from the threat of wildfire. Recognized internationally as one of the world's leading emergency management programs, the BCFS responds to over 3000 fires annually and protects timber resources that represent $15 billion of annual economic activity. This is done in a province that boasts some of the most rugged and often unreachable terrain on the globe. And until recently, the BCFS had to do it using a resource management system with limited capabilities for supporting isolated large-scale project fires.
Prior to the development of REMSAT, the BCFS was already well recognized for its forest fire management processes, real-time Resource Management System (RMS), and decision support structure. Through the development of computer-based RMS, the BCFS increased the efficiency of tactical and decision-making functions, which resulted in the capability to manage and control a large number of response teams at multiple fire events during even the busiest fire season. Over a private Intranet in real-time from a central data-server located at the provincial Fire Headquarters in Victoria, B.C., the RMS provides critical decision support information to six regional fire centers located throughout the province.
The existing RMS is notable for its effectiveness against smaller fires that make up the bulk of the fire calls throughout the fire season.
These fires usually call for no more than a three-person crew and aerial support from a single tanker that can be dispatched from one of the six regional offices. Over 95 percent of reported fires are suppressed at this stage. Where limitations begin to arise is when the RMS is applied to larger fires or Project Fires-fires that exceed 100 hectares in size and burn for days or weeks. These fires require a larger commitment of resources, a flexible command arrangement, and the establishment of a Fire Camp near the fire site. Due to the typical inaccessibility of these Fire Camps, the tactical information that is provided by the existing RMS is not readily available. Instead, fire camps are limited to the use of VHF and UHF radio, paper maps, aerial photography, and rough sketches of the area under attack-none of which offers the real-time support needed to subdue a raging wildfire. In the context of a fire that can travel at several kilometers per hour, hard-copy information can become irrelevant before it even reaches the fire camp.
Despite this, fire camps still rely heavily on geospatial information from whatever resources are available. For an effective assault on a fire, fire camps need to have a clear picture of how all the BCFS fire resources are working together in order to plan their next move. What is the position of the air tankers? What is the exact location of the fire crews? What are the weather conditions on the front line? Where is the closest body of water? Without coordinates and real-time answers to these basic questions, fire camps are like quarterbacks playing blindfolded. What REMSAT does, in effect, is remove the blindfold.
John Flanagan, fire operations specialist for the BCFS says, "The REMSAT system provides timely information for the field operations staff to assist in the decision-making process. The ability to obtain information on dwellings, hazards, and weather conditions in real time will benefit the emergency response organization and the stakeholders. Earth observation data will be an invaluable asset for the field commander to make informed decisions in a rapidly changing emergency situation."
REMSAT integrates several recent advances in satellite technology to improve the ability to provide current, spatially accurate digital and hard-copy map products for use in briefings and distribution to field crews and support planning operations. This includes delivery of real-time position and status information on all resources such as aircraft, equipment, and personnel. In addition, the system can provide geostationary (GEO) and low Earth-orbit (LEO) communications services, digital mapping imagery, Earth observation (EO) products and services, and EO data archives. This, combined with powerful software, can integrate EO and digital map data to produce 2D and 3D visualization capabilities.
During a fire or emergency situation, the REMSAT system can be broken down into three primary points of contact and information dissemination. Command Center Terminal
First is the REMSAT Command Center Terminal (CCT). This complex of computers and satellite communications equipment located at Provincial fire headquarters is responsible for the current HQ resource dispatch function as well as selecting, acquiring, preparing, and integrating digital map and EO data for distribution to the fire camp. This includes baseline information, which can be derived from archived data, and subsequent updates containing newly acquired data obtained to tackle the emergency. Intermediate Mobile Terminal
Second is the REMSAT Intermediate Mobile Terminal (IMT). This is the mobile unit that can be dropped or carried directly to the Fire Camp. The IMT provides the 'missing' communications link between the fire camp and the provincial headquarters. It becomes the 'telephone booth' for the fire camp. The IMT includes a resource management system dispatch workstation for tactical support and is the central information relay source that is responsible for handling digital map and EO image functions in support of strategic planning activities not handled by the RMS. This is the most important capability in the REMSAT system because EO data provides the greatest added value to emergency management operations through its integration with digital map and elevation data. Hand Held User Terminals
Third are the Hand Held User Terminals (HUT) that are provided to field crews and working equipment. HUTS provide data and GPS positioning information to the IMT and CCT. VHF radios still remain in use for voice communication.
Once these three levels of organization are activated and in full operation, the BCFS fire command has the tools to establish a clear, accurate, and up-to-date picture of exactly how the fire is acting and how the individual teams' members, including air tankers, fire crews and the fire camps are functioning as a whole. In short, fire command is provided with the information they need to analyze and attack a large-scale fire.
According to Flanagan, "The localization aspect of REMSAT will not only greatly improve the safety of fire crews, but will provide a clear picture of which control strategies are appropriate and which are not." This, he says, benefits all parties involved in major fire containment including the incident commander, politicians, and the general public.
REMSAT was demonstrated on 16 September 1999, in Abbotsford, B.C., with excellent results. Minor technical bugs notwithstanding, it was made clear that the variety of existing Earth observation satellite sensors can serve as important information sources for fire crews and emergency management crews worldwide.
Wu claims that, "We are already receiving interest from the Alberta fire service and, once the evaluation process for the system is complete, we expect worldwide interest in REMSAT."
REMSAT's integration with existing emergency guidelines and its proven application in isolated settings will revolutionize how emergency planners react to disastrous situations. Once this technology is made available for global distribution, emergency teams will have some solace in the fact that they will have immediate access to an unprecedented and extremely powerful source of information about the situations they are risking their lives to contain.
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