Online bushfire information system receives national award

Landgate and Edith Cowan University were awarded a prestigious national award for their work in developing a website that delivers bushfire information to people living and travelling in regional communities.

Known as MyFireWatch and FireWatch Pro, the cutting-edge technology was announced the winner in the Regional Category of the Society Domain at the iAward ceremony held in Melbourne on Friday 29 August. 

Landgate Chief Executive Mike Bradford said the project was a collaborative effort with Landgate providing the technology and Edith Cowan University carrying out the relevant research.

"Although professional fire and emergency personnel in regional areas have been using Landgate's FireWatch service since the late 1990s, this new project has resulted in a more user-friendly service that can be accessed by anyone on a range of devices," Mr Bradford said.

MyFireWatch uses information received from satellites to map the location of fire hotspots. The service displays fire-related information and, in the case of lightning activity, the updates are as frequent as every ten minutes.

The new website provides information from satellites, whenever available, during the day and includes previously burned areas, greenness of vegetation, weather observations and links back to the relevant state or territory government agency responsible for emergency services alerts.

Mr Bradford said MyFireWatch and the updated FireWatch Pro are examples of Landgate's focus on developing innovative, technologically advanced online information systems.

MyFireWatch and FireWatch Pro recently won the Regional Category at the 2014 Western
Australian Information Technology and Telecommunications Awards (WAiTTA), which made it
eligible as a finalist for the iAwards.

Landgate is Western Australia's primary source of land information and geographic data, providing the accuracy Government, business and individuals rely on.