From California to the Mediterranean and all the way to northern Europe, forest fires are increasingly making local headlines. The growing vulnerability to fire of regions once considered low-risk makes the case for urgent action and for developing new, innovative firefighting technologies. Although forest fires are nothing unusual, industry experts warn that climate change has substantially altered their frequency and intensity, increasing the threat they pose to the population. According to a report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Norwegian environmental centre GRID-Arendal Spreading like Wildfire, the number of forest fires is projected to rise by 50% by the end of the century as a result of the climate crisis and changes in land use.
Marko Hassinen, a forest fire research specialist and entrepreneur at Fire and Rescue Innovation Finland Ltd., points out that fires break out faster and spread into areas previously thought to be safe: “Climate change does not just mean that it is getting warmer and that more fires therefore break out. It creates longer hot and dry spells, which considerably increase the likelihood of fires starting and make them harder to control.”
In Spain, Portugal and Greece, devastating fires are already reported almost daily during the summer. The Nordic countries, usually protected from fire by shorter warm seasons and abundant green vegetation, have also seen prolonged periods of drought of late. The forest fire season is therefore becoming longer, and fires are becoming more dangerous in places previously considered less exposed to the risk of ignition. “In future, forest fires may break out faster and spread into areas that were previously relatively safe,” explains M. Hassinen.
The hose cartridge – a revolution in firefighting
Marko Hassinen, who holds a doctorate in cyber security from the University of Eastern Finland, worked for more than ten years in research and education at the Emergency Services Academy Finland. Over the past three years, with support from the ELY Centre (the Finnish government agency responsible for regional development and for implementing the European Union's regional policy objectives), he has developed a new, revolutionary forest firefighting system that makes it possible to bring extensive forest fires under control quickly with only a small number of personnel.
The system is based on a method in which the fire suppression and containment line is created automatically using equipment towed by an off-road vehicle. At the heart of the system is an “off-road vehicle” with a water tank and a special flat platform for hose reels. The hose reels, designed to be mounted on vehicles, allow the hoses to be pressurised and water to be pumped immediately while the fire containment line is being created. This allows firefighting work to continue without interruption, as the tank can be refilled continuously. The water supply is provided by a fire service tanker or a natural water source. “Lighter equipment is easier to move and requires fewer personnel, which makes this method a practical addition to the rescue services' toolkit,” M. Hassinen emphasises.
Access to water – a strategic advantage
Southern Europe frequently experiences very extensive and devastating forest fires. Firefighting operations often use aeroplanes and helicopters, as well as specially developed drones. In Finland, natural water resources such as lakes and rivers are a significant advantage, but the terrain is difficult. The system developed by Marko Hassinen is currently at the trial stage and is ready to be adapted to customers' needs. Its introduction to the market is still ahead, but the new system's unique feature – generating pressure while the hose is being laid – is certain to attract interest. M. Hassinen notes that two firefighters can lay around 600 metres of hose in an hour, but with the new system that capacity triples, and water is available immediately.
Better results with fewer firefighters
The new system's most significant advantage relates to human resources.
“When you are driving the vehicle and everything else happens automatically, it is possible to carry out operations effectively with fewer people involved,” Marko Hassinen emphasises. This is very important, particularly in situations where only a small number of rescue workers can reach the scene. According to M. Hassinen, the new system considerably speeds up the entire firefighting process.
The forest firefighting vehicle is used not only to put out fires, but also to protect surrounding areas and buildings, as well as various sites such as piles of biological waste or wood chips at timber processing plants. Containment lines prevent fire from spreading into inhabited areas. Traditional methods, on the other hand, such as building various barriers or using bulldozers, are slow and difficult in Nordic conditions, hampered by uneven terrain and dense vegetation. This makes the case particularly strongly for the importance and usefulness of introducing the new technology.
The forest firefighting equipment developed in Finland has attracted international interest. This innovation shows that, as forest fires grow in number and scale, new technologies are needed.
“It certainly makes it possible to carry out suppression work far faster than before, considerably speeding up the entire process,” Marko Hassinen concludes.
The work continues
This summer's long heatwave in Finland was a reminder of the reality – regions once considered low-risk are now becoming increasingly exposed to forest fires. July 2025 was one of the hottest months on record, with temperatures in Finland and Sweden remaining above +30 °C for extended periods. These are conditions that sharply increase the risk of ignition and place a heavy burden on firefighting resources.
Similar trends were observed worldwide. In southern Europe, devastating forest fires occurred at a time when air temperatures exceeded +45 °C, destroying more than 292,000 hectares of forest and forcing thousands of people to be evacuated, according to Global Climate Risks data. The World Meteorological Organization warns that longer dry seasons and unstable weather conditions are turning manageable fires into serious catastrophes affecting every region. The UN Economic Commission for Europe, meanwhile, stresses that fire risk must be built into national climate strategies, especially now, as countries prepare for the COP30 conference in Brazil.
For Finland, this summer was a clear signal – proactive fire prevention and new rapid-response technologies are no longer optional, but essential. As climate volatility intensifies, countries must invest in smarter firefighting systems, better forecasting and adaptable innovation in order to stop initially small fires from growing into serious disasters.
Alongside solutions on the ground, attention is also turning to the skies. In future, drones controlled by artificial intelligence could detect forest fires in good time, transmit data on their spread in real time and forecast how a fire will develop over the next hour or even longer. This approach is also being studied in Finland, in work led by Professor Eija Honkavaara of the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute.
“In the years ahead, autonomous drone systems will be used more in firefighting,” she emphasises. “Finland has very high-level expertise in this area. In the FireMan project we developed methods for the early detection of fires and for monitoring their spread; we demonstrated real-time fire detection using a small camera and computer carried by an unmanned aircraft. This shows that Finnish scientific research into drone applications is internationally at the forefront of the firefighting field,” E. Honkavaara explains. She highlights the greatest advantage of drones, namely that they allow digital and adaptable solutions to be used for rapid fire detection and situational awareness. “If a fire is detected at an early stage, it has no time to develop and become uncontrollable. Situational awareness makes it possible to take action where it is most useful,” says Professor Honkavaara.
The study, which concluded at the end of 2024, also used a digital twin – a computerised model of the real environment – to forecast the spread of a fire and to plan matters such as the placement of firebreaks to contain it.
According to the professor, research into forest fire prevention continues both in Finland and elsewhere in the world. Larger drone models, for example, are being developed. In future, thousands of drones could work together to transport large volumes of water for firefighting. Eija Honkavaara reports that new solutions for improving fire safety, such as preventing fires from spreading, are being actively developed in Finland. Local companies are involved in the development work, and some products have already reached the market.
Work on drone development also continues
“At present each drone has its own pilot; the aim is to increase the autonomy of drones and to make it possible to use several drones at once. Airspace management, legislation and fires in remote locations, where mobile networks do not always work, also have to be considered,” Professor Honkavaara explains. Drones must be able to communicate with one another and transmit information to air traffic control.
“I expect that in five years we will have moved much further forward; we are still in the research phase, but through demonstrations and cooperation with companies the applications can be put into practice. In the years ahead, more autonomous drone systems will be used in firefighting,” says E. Honkavaara, stressing the urgency. Forest fires are a global threat – in Europe alone around half a million hectares of forest burned last year – and they are becoming ever more frequent as the climate grows warmer and dry spells longer. The risk is rising in Finland too. In southern Europe, vast areas already burn every year, which is why effective methods based on new technologies must be introduced as quickly as possible.