From July 19 to July 28, 2024, Valentina Bacciu of the National Research Council of Italy undertook an STSM at the University of Lisbon and the National Authority of Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) in Portugal. This mission, supported financially by the COST Action NERO (CA22164), aimed to deepen her understanding of real-time fire suppression decision-making and to identify best practices and transferable elements to other contexts.
Hosted by the School of Agriculture at the University of Lisbon and integrated into the National Wildfire Decision Support Cell (NAD-AIR) of ANEPC, Valentina’s mission was part of a formal collaboration between the two institutions on wildfire analysis. Her goal during the mission was to learn how fire and environmental data support operational decisions and to understand the intricacies of fire management decision-making.
Following an orientation session on ANEPC’s organizational structure and technological resources, Valentina dived into some real-time decision-making processes. She familiarized herself with routine tasks at NAD-AIR, such as monitoring weather conditions, interpreting fire indices from the Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA), and developing strategic fire analyses. Her hands-on involvement included analyzing the Alcabideche-Cascais wildfire, which provided a practical example of her work. She evaluated field data, built fire progressions, and interpreted strategic fire suppression decisions, culminating in a detailed report that identified best practices and areas for improvement.
Valentina’s background is primarily research-oriented, making this mission an invaluable opportunity to gain operational insights and foster new collaboration opportunities between researchers and practitioners. Her achievements during the mission include a comprehensive understanding of real-time fire management decision-making, the impact of real-time information systems and decision support tools, near real-time wildfire prediction, and enhanced interpretation skills for operational decisions.
This STSM will significantly contribute to the broader objectives of the NERO COST Action. The reconstructed fire progression from her analysis will be proposed for inclusion in the European NERO fire database, and the methodologies learned will be applied to Italian fires to support the study of extreme fire behavior across Europe. The decision-making processes and data integration methodologies tested in Portugal will be shared with local stakeholders and NERO researchers to highlight best practices and potential improvements for anticipating and preparing for extreme fires.
Valentina will present her findings and perspectives in a dedicated webinar in October 2024, aiming to maximize NERO’s impact through effective communication and outreach.
Read the full report of Valentina’s STSM here.
