Design and Function of the European Forest Fire Information System

The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) is a modular decision support system that monitors forest fires at a continental scale. It delivers real-time, multi-dimensional data on forest fires to civil protection and fire fighting services in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle-East. Since its inception in 2001, EFFIS has evolved into the central reference point for pan-European forest and wildfire information, and this paper describes and current applications demonstrate the state-of-the-art fire information systems that provide data to civil protection authorities across Europe. The objective of EFFIS is to provide accurate data in order to assess and mitigate the impacts of wildfire events on society and the environment. Furthermore, EFFIS provides real-time information on critical fires, supporting decision making for international collaboration on forest fire fighting activities. Its goal is to make these data readily available using Web-based standards and protocols.