Halifax firefighters armed with new tool in their fight against wildfires: AI cameras

Jordan McGee reacts while searching for belongings in the ruins of his family's home after it was destroyed in a wildfire earlier this month in Hammonds Plains, N.S. outside of Halifax on Thursday, June 22, 2023. (Darren Calabrese / The Canadian Press)

Halifax firefighters, desperate for solutions following the devastation of last year’s wildfire season, have a new tool at their disposal as communities continue to rebuild. As part of a pilot project, the Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Service (HRFE) installed artificial intelligence cameras on cell phone towers. The new AI cameras serve as a high-level, visual smoke detector that covers a massive area.

"We have three of them right now in place, and they continuously scan the landscape and they are looking for smoke," said HRFE Fire Deputy Chief Roy Hollett. "If the camera’s program senses it is a wildfire, it sends it to a Fire Scout staff member and that person looks at it and we send out a fire crew to investigate."

The three high-tech cameras are in Hammond's plains, Middle Sackville and Mosquodoboit Harbour, all in the Halifax area. Hollett said they would closely monitor the cameras.

Eleven months ago, Nova Scotia was in the midst of a wildfire nightmare.

In the Tantallon area in suburban Halifax, more than 16,000 residents were evacuated, 200 buildings and 151 homes were destroyed in late May and early June 2023,

"In my neighbourhood we lost 30 homes and they were all within a block or block and a half of one another,” said Dustin O'Leary, who was evacuated from his home for 12 days. "It cut our community in half."

O’Leary applauded the implementation of the cameras but he also wants improved wildfire evacuation plans put into place.

"Like, how do we move people out of the neighbourhood, if they have an issue," said O'Leary.

Halifax’s director of Emergency Management has overall fears that extend beyond just wildfires.

"Flooding is our number one concern in the city because of our floodplains, the way our infrastructure is built and the amount of storm damage we sustained last year," said Erica Fleck, who added some flooding damage from previous storms has yet to be repaired. “Every hurricane we do get, or major weather event, weakens things a little bit more."

With hurricane season starting in June, Fleck said her flood concerns are going to increase; given Nova Scotia has experience with hurricanes and tropical storms, especially in recent years.

"New culverts and roads haven't had time to settle," said Fleck. "The next storm that comes in causes a little but more damage so wee need people to be prepared for whatever risks they have, where they live."

Fleck added, there are basic safety measures people can take to prepare for wildfires, flooding and other natural disasters.