Open Source Software for
Wildland Firefighting
Emxsys
is the home of CPS, a software application based on The
Campbell Prediction System: A Wildland Fire Prediction and Communication
System. CPS is free open-source software built for the wildland firefighting
community by Bruce Schubert with expert guidance from the
author of the The Campbell Prediction System book: Doug
Campbell.
Background:
The Campbell Prediction System teaches you how to determine where the potential fire behavior will likely exceed a suppression resources' threshold of control. This determination is made by analyzing the observed fire signatures in conjunction with the alignment of forces within the fire behavior. Understanding where the thresholds are enables strategists to:
- Apply firefighting resources into areas where they will be most effective
- Avoid areas where there is a potential that firefighters will be harmed
Mission and Vision:
The CPS software merges the art of wildland firefighting and the science of fire behavior. It couples the language and logic of The Campbell Prediction System with the fire behavior algorithms by Richard Rothermel that are embodied in USFS BEHAVE. The CPS software is designed to predict the potential fire behavior of a wildland fire so that firefighting strategies can be adjusted to ensure the safety of firefighters and the effective use of suppression resources.
The initial goal of the software is to aid in the training and education of wildland firefighters and students of fire behavior. Subsequent goals include performing escape fire analysis in prescribed fire plans, and generating fire prediction maps for active wildland fires.
Several
open source software technologies are used in the creation of the CPS software.
Including: