With the UN Calling For Urgent Action, Could This Company's Technology Be The Global Solution To Help Keep People Safe From Wildfires?

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Over the years, governments and state agencies have deployed strategies to decrease the impact of wildfires on the environment, people and wildlife. While some have yielded positive results, others have not.

In 1935, the U.S. Forest Service created a policy to suppress wildfires. The effects of the policy not only changed ecosystems, but made forests more prone to devastating fires.

The increased severity and impact of fires in recent years have posed a significant threat to wildlife, forests and human lives. The 2020 bushfires in Australia wiped out an estimated 3 billion domesticated and wild animals. In the western United States, the 2020 wildfires burned more than 10 million acres, razed 10,000 buildings, and took the lives of 37 people.

A Burning World

The fate of forests and wildlife still hang in the balance as wildfires continue to rage across the globe. A recent report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) warned of the danger if nothing is done to avert the increasing rate of these fires. The UNEP projections estimate that wildfires are likely to increase 14% by 2030 and spike to 33% by 2050. 

To avert this dire development, the UN body has called on governments to adopt a new Fire Ready Formula.

The new formula envisions 66% of spending be devoted to wildfire planning, prevention, preparedness and recovery while the remaining 34% would be spent on response. Currently, direct responses to wildfires receive over half of the related expenditure, with less than 1% allocated for planning and prevention.

The UNEP has also called for stronger international standards for the safety and health of firefighters and for reducing the threats they face on the job.

Raising awareness of firefighter risks from smoke inhalation, minimizing the potential for life-threatening entrapments, and providing access to adequate hydration, nutrition, rest and recovery between shifts, should be addressed, the UNEP report urged.

Providing Fire Ready Formula

Increasing wildfire threats present a unique opportunity for an industry that includes players like Genasys Inc. GNSS, Everbridge Inc. EVBG, and Cadre Holdings Inc. CDRE. Genasys’ products, which are focused on planning, prevention, preparedness, alerting, evacuation management, and recovery, could fit perfectly into the Fire Ready Formula.

For more than 27 years, the San Diego-based company has been a global provider of critical communications systems and solutions that help keep people safe during emergencies. Industries the company serves include government, utilities, enterprise and nonprofit.

Genasys systems are in service in more than 100 countries in diverse applications, including public safety, emergency warning, mass notification, critical event management, defense, law enforcement and homeland security.

Because of the company’s expansive global reach, several countries, including Australia and Slovenia, are implementing Genasys SaaS solutions to save lives during wildfires, flooding, and other critical events.

In the aftermath of the deadly Black Saturday bushfires that claimed 173 lives in 2009, the Australian government worked with Genasys and mobile telecom providers to create a national public warning system to help save lives during bushfires, flooding, severe weather, and other crisis situations. Since 2013, Genasys’ National Emergency Warning System (NEWS) has delivered more than 200 million SMS emergency notifications throughout Australia to help protect and keep people safe.

Slovenia recently announced it had selected NEWS to help keep more than 2 million residents and 3 million annual visitors safe and informed during emergencies and other critical events.

Genasys’ Zonehaven™ is another SaaS solution that is proving effective in keeping people safe during wildfires. Zonehaven’s critical evacuation planning, alerting and real-time life safety information are being utilized by first responders, emergency services agencies, and more than 10 million residents in the U.S. Genasys is the only provider in the space with a full featured evacuation software solution.

The company believes empowering countries and communities with its emergency alerting and evacuation solutions will create a safer world for everyone.

This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice.