The Orange County Fire Authority reached an agreement with Paladin Industries to test software that simulates how firefighters’ actions could change the course of a Fire in Orange County. The work is expected to begin this winter after the two sides finalized the agreement the previous week.
Mike Sheehan, a division chief with the Orange County Fire Authority, said the software could help commanders revisit historical wildfires and test different responses in a safe environment. He said predictive modeling already shows where a fire could be in an hour, three hours or 10 hours if firefighters do nothing, but the new system is meant to compare actions such as containment lines or fire retardant before crews deploy them.
Rep. Young Kim roundtable
The effort was discussed on Tuesday, Oct. 13, during a wildfire technology roundtable hosted by Rep. Young Kim. Orange County Fire Authority is also working with FireWERX on a separate competition offering up to $300,000 in funding to develop technology to track firefighters working in remote areas where communications are unreliable.
Jackson Yip, founder of Paladin Industries, said Orange County Fire Authority is the company’s first fire agency partner in Southern California. He also said the company finalized its agreement with Orange County Fire Authority the previous week, setting up the winter testing phase.
Paladin Industries software
Yip said Paladin Industries does not use AI in the software. “We don’t use AI,” he said. “We’re intentionally not using AI because then we can dig into the reasons why decisions were made, the reasons why the fire spread the way it did.”
The software models wildfire spread and tests how different responses affect its path. Sheehan said that could be particularly useful in places with a history of wildfires, including along Laguna Canyon Road, where commanders could compare strategies before deciding how to respond.
He said the same simulations could help build fire plans and pre-planning, and could also be used to show homeowners associations and fire safety councils how fire-resistant vegetation could affect a wildfire’s behavior.
Orange County Fire Authority plans
The Fire Authority already can track the locations of engines and other vehicles, but keeping track of individual firefighters after they leave those vehicles remains difficult, especially in remote areas. The Paladin project is aimed at response planning first, with winter testing set to determine how the software can be used in practice.
Sheehan said, “Certainly the actions that we take, some are going to be more effective than others,” and added, “So, to be able to test that in a safe environment … is going to help build our fire plans, our pre-planning out, to where we can better respond to these incidents and protect homes better.”
