Collaborative Research: FIRE-NET: Improving Fire Response Time through a Unified Data-Driven Geographical Approach: Decision-Support Data Integration Network sYstem (DeSDINY)

Due to an increase in wildfire frequency, firefighters must often fight multiple fires simultaneously on a regular basis. Firefighting agencies face decision making and information integration challenges, as they have become deluged with data and information from different sources and interfaces. Their top priority is data and information integration, yet they are often hindered by the lack of unified information architecture, cognitive overload, and systems networking among data and users. A unified data and information integration system would reduce firefighting response time, mitigate damage and save lives. This project uses Human-Centered Design research on user engagement across platforms and data to build a Decision-Support Data Integration Network sYstem (DeSDINY). The research team convenes a networked Conference of Fire Chiefs across multiple agencies to support the development of wildland fire data integration, designed to maximize impact across fire agencies. The project focuses on the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), one of the largest fire agencies in the U.S., serving over 2 million people. The network-building focus will allow expansion of its outreach to communities and agencies throughout the United States to work towards achieving a more resilient future. This project aims to achieve significant broader impacts by saving lives, mitigating property damage, and unifying knowledge ecosystems by improving speed and accuracy of decision-making. Three main science questions drive the research. First, how can synergies and differences in decision-making across fire agencies be mapped and interfaced to improve the entire ecosystem of fire data integration? Second, how do discrepancies in data and information content, resolutions, accuracies/uncertainties, and timing impact wildfire decision-making? Finally, how can wildfire decision-making be accelerated? The three core objectives for the project are: 1) Convene a Conference of Fire Chiefs through a series of workshops to develop an Information Architecture for data and information integration and optimization; 2) Prototype a Decision-Support Data Integration Network sYstem (DeSDINY) to improve decision-making speed, confidence, and accuracy; and 3) Conduct a quantitative Impact Assessment to determine the improvement in decision-making speed, confidence, and accuracy. Achievement of these objectives will lead to important advances in: 1) wildfire situational awareness; 2) wildfire decision-making across fire agencies; and 3) access to code and software that is freely available to the public. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.