Against Wildfires, AI Comes to the Aid of Firefighters

FireTracking has developed an algorithm capable of detecting a wildfire in just three minutes, with a very low false alarm rate. Successfully tested in New Caledonia, the system is being deployed this year in Indre-et-Loire, France. Some 27,000 hectares are reduced to ashes each year on average in New Caledonia — a heavy toll paid to wildfires. By comparison, this is more than the total burned area for mainland France in 2023, 2020, and 2019 combined, even though this overseas territory — a biodiversity jewel home to hundreds of endemic species — represents only 3% of France’s total land area. This alarming fact struck Jean-Simon Chaudier, who fell under New Caledonia’s spell while on assignment there for Capgemini. A consultant specializing in the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI), Chaudier decided to put his expertise at the service of wildfire prevention. He brought together a team including Guillaume Cier, an experienced entrepreneur in the high-tech sector; Aimé Lachapelle, president of the incubator Kaukana Ventures; and Franck Abihssira, a partner at digital data consulting firm Emerton Data. With their support, Chaudier was able to recruit the talent needed to found FireTracking in 2022, headquartered between Paris, Avignon, and Nouméa.