Technical innovations in the field of firefighting technology lead to new or improved resources and processes for hazard prevention and to the increased use of machines (e.g. drones in situation reconnaissance). In view of this development, emergency services are increasingly required to gain a quick overview of the variety of processes, technologies (e.g., drones, ground robots, sensors) and models, to select the right ones and to use them appropriately. Newly generated data must be assessed under time and action pressure and integrated into the situation assessment. In addition, large parts of relevant knowledge (e.g., operational experience) are personal, not systematically documented and are often only passed on informally. This knowledge is currently often not directly available in the field, which can drastically reduce the performance of the emergency organizations in the field. Accordingly, systematic documentation and, based on this, efficient search and access options for relevant knowledge by humans and machines are indispensable.

In the course of FireWISE, a proof of function for a novel knowledge management system is provided using the use case Wildfire, which maps the dynamics and complexity of knowledge in hazard prevention in human and machine-readable form. For this, concepts from the areas of data catalog for the automated cataloging and integration of metadata are used. The virtual data integration is achieved through the use of semantic technologies in the form of a specialist data model.

Since the success of knowledge management systems largely depends on their integration into the practice of the users, the acceptance conditions are analyzed parallel to the technical implementation. A socio-scientific analysis raises the (user) acceptance and acceptance conditions of innovative technologies in the Austrian fire brigades using the example of selected reference technologies with the aim of anchoring the knowledge management system socio-culturally.

FireWISE thus contributes to the optimization of structures and deployment strategies in the Austrian fire brigades. With the data and knowledge base prepared in this way, FireWISE creates the basis for a low-threshold and efficient transfer of knowledge, a successful and effective use of firefighting technology and the assessment of the cost-benefit ratio when purchasing cost-intensive resources.

Project partners:

• Software Competence Center Hagenberg GmbH
• nast consulting ZT GmbH
• Landesfeuerwehrverband Oberösterreich, ÖBFV-Kompetenzzentrum für wissensbasierte Gefahrenabwehr 
• Disaster Competence Network Austria - Kompetenznetzwerk für Katastrophenprävention
• Rosenbauer International AG

The project is funded through the KIRAS program of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance.