At least 20 Fort McMurray firefighters – even as they helped save the homes of countless others from a wildfire that raged through their northern Alberta city – had their own hearts broken as their homes burned to the ground. The Toronto Star talked to ten of them.
In 2004, in Haines Junction, Yukon, the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM) identified the need for a new, strategic approach to wildland fire management, based on a risk-management framework. In 2005, at the CCFM meeting in Saskatoon, the ministers signed the Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy.
When you’re fighting fires, you want as many weapons as possible at your disposal. Now, augmented reality glasses are helping firefighters navigate extreme working conditions.
When thousands fled the flames in Fort McMurray and were wondering if they would ever see their homes again, James O’Reilly wasn’t one of them. He knew for sure he had lost his home of almost 20 years after watching it burn to the ground on his iPhone. The original five minute video has been sped up.
It was the largest airship ever built; over eight hundred feet long from its nose to its massive tail fins. It was the height of luxury travel. It was called the Hindenburg and in the space of 37 seconds it was destroyed in a fire that killed a third of its crew and passengers and left spectators crying in horror.
Ontario’s coroner called for stricter fire inspection rules and a system that would “red flag” any property that has a history of violating fire codes following the inquest into two deadly house fires.
A study that examined more than 80 fires over the last 25 years in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. concluded that pine beetle and western spruce budworm infestations did not increase the severity of wildfires, but actually decreased the intensity.
While there are many ways to prevent forest fires, creators in Spain have a new tool – the Birdhouse alarm. The alarm uses a smoke detector, capable of identifying smoke within 20 metres. A geo-located message is then sent through a 3G connection to the local fire department. The alarm is made of recycled material and fit with a rechargeable battery and solar panel.
Dozens of seniors in Laval will be transferred to a new nursing home because the Quebec government and firefighting officials are worried for their safety. Manoir Chomedey will be stripped of its certification of compliance because the building’s fire safety standards are not up to date.
B.C.could better battle wildfires if it installed early detection cameras on top of its mountains like California has done, argues an American researcher. The AlertSoCal project is being piloted in Southern California, where 65 high-resolution cameras have been installed on top of 16 different mountain tops to help with ealy detection of wildires.