It’s a hot day in early December, and the Tasmanian winds are fierce.
Firefighting teams are stretched, with blazes burning at both Dolphin Sands and St Helens on the east coast.
They’re mopping up at Dolphin Sands, where 19 homes have been lost, but the fire is still alive at St Helens.
Suddenly, a remote artificial intelligence camera spots a tiny plume of smoke a few kilometres away near St Mary’s, in the middle of tinder-dry bush.
The cameras came into assistance while firefighters were battling a blaze near St Helens in early December. (ABC News: Meg Whitfield)
It’s 8:30 in the morning. An alarm pings, the real-time pictures are checked, before fire headquarters is alerted.
A chopper is then deployed from the St Helens blaze to the exact coordinates, to douse the flames.
From the first alert to extinguish, two hours have passed.
For the tired firefighters still working on the coast, it’s a fire disaster averted.
The cameras have been developed by Indicium Dynamics, a software company based in southern Tasmania. (ABC News: Jasmine Snow)
Tech helps crews find blazes ‘really quickly’
The prompt response to the fire is a big relief for Shaun Suitor from Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT).
His organisation is one of the key agencies involved in firefighting across Tasmania’s remote regions, alongside the Parks and Wildlife Service.
“The early detection allowed the STT duty officer to send staff and equipment there to put it out really quickly,” Mr Suitor said.
Shaun Suitor says the cameras help firefighters respond to bushfires faster. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
The fire detection technology is developed by Indicium Dynamics, a software company based in southern Tasmania.
“The St Helens fire was spotted by remote cameras as well, although it was also called in by locals at the same time,” the company’s chief executive Rob Vernon said.
It’s the remote fires, some ignited by lightning, that this technology is really expected to be a game changer for.
Now with a $1.4 million federal government grant, STT and Indicium Dynamics will double their remote firefighting technology, by rolling out a new generation of remote cameras, drones, and supporting technology across Tasmania.
The technology provides firefighters with detailed information about the location of a growing fire. (ABC News: Jasmine Snow)
Camera detected blaze 130 kilometres away
Already, the trial of cameras has proved their worth.
“In the 2024/25 season, they detected more than 550 fires around the state; 123 of those went directly through to fire management agencies,” Mr Vernon said.
The trial cameras were placed on fire towers, already in place on hill tops and elevated areas, with clear views through to the horizon.
Installing the cameras atop existing fire towers means they have clear views of large swathes of landscape. (Supplied: Indicium Dynamics)
The fire towers are often manned by people fire spotting, in the fire risk season, although this tech may eventually replace the need for them.
“The fire towers have made natural sense for us to start there, given they have excellent, amazing views of the Tasmanian landscape,” Mr Vernon said.
The cameras patrol in 360 degrees, 24/7, analysing the landscape for smoke up to 30 kilometres away.
“The AI’s really good out to 20, 30 kilometres, but our daytime record is detecting fires 78 kilometres away,” he said.
“Our night time record is picking up a fire 130 kilometres away.”
Rob Vernon says one of the cameras once detected a blaze burning 130 kilometres away overnight. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
But it is not just the fire spotting that authorities like about the technology.
The images captured by the cameras are used alongside other data points, to paint a clear picture of the fire conditions.
“We’ve got access to the cameras themselves, we’ve got weather stations that are deployed and measuring wind speed and direction, and we’re subsequently able to stitch in satellite information,” Mr Vernon said.
Mr Vernon says the technology helps to “augment” the capabilities of fire crews on the ground. (Supplied: Gynes Ramsbottom-Isherwood)
Nation’s ‘biggest camera detection network’
The company is also developing portable, off-grid towers and cameras and remotely operated drones that can be sent into remote areas during fire risk periods.
“It will be the biggest camera detection network in Australia, and it will hopefully allow agencies to jump on fires a lot quicker,” Mr Suitor said.
“We need this investment to help our fire staff as much as possible.”
It is hoped the arsenal of next-generation technology will ensure Tasmania is ready to tackle the rising number of bushfires.
“We naturally still want and need brave women and men on the front lines of any fire, but our role is to augment their capabilities, and we’re really excited about our opportunity to do that,” Mr Vernon said.