Firefighters are our best defence against bushfires in Australia and help the country battle the 50,000 fires it suffers each year. They are extremely difficult to stop but speed and information are firefighters’ best weapon in managing their destruction. And that’s exactly what NRMA Fireblanket was built to do: detect early and communicate instantly.

In our research into bushfires, we discovered that sight was the most common method of detecting fires. This is fine when fires are large and near, but many bushfires start off small, slow and at night. The truth is you can smell smoke before you see a fire, especially at night.

NRMA Fireblanket was developed as an always-on bushfire monitoring and detection network. It uses calibrated dust particle sensor nodes (that talk to one another) to smell, pinpoint, track but also predict where bushfires will spread.

NRMA Fireblanket; a network of sensor ‘nodes’ that analyse the air for bushfire smoke and monitors live weather data. Placed on existing infrastructure, they form a blanket over at-risk communities. It’s a powerful combination of proprietary hardware and software working in harmony.

When smoke is detected, a fan kicks-in to ensure consistent airflow and an accurate reading. The nodes then communicate with one-another over the network to triangulate the source of the smoke. Authorities are alerted, whilst the modeling software – called SPARK – tracks and then predicts the course of the fire.

On the outside, the nodes are injection moulded polycarbonate which delivers heat-resistance plus it will self-extinguish, rather than accelerate the fire. Whilst stainless-steel woven mesh on the inside protects the sensors and circuitry. At the heart dust particle (PM2.5/10) and CO/CO2 sensors that are calibrated to distinguish a bushfire from a BBQ (bushfires consist of unique compounds due to the flora). Overall it’s designed for easy access and maintenance

Previously, the SPARK software relied on historical data to predict fire spread – but Fireblanket

Community:

Over the last 12 months, NRMA Fireblanket has passed two milestones:

- March 2017, The Australian Government's Scientific agency, CSIRO validated the prototype.

- September 2017, Infield trials with the Rural Fire Service demonstrated Fireblanket could detect bushfires faster than current methods.

Currently, NRMA Fireblanket is undergoing evaluation by councils and property developers with the aim to be protecting at-risk communities.

Brand:

NRMA Fireblanket was introduced to over 2 million NRMA Customers in January 2017.

Since the announcement, over 9.3 million Australians have engaged with NRMA Fireblanket.

Since revealing, Fireblanket has successfully changed NRMA Insurance brand perception. NRMA experienced a 61% lift in brand awareness that NRMA is innovating to help protect communities.

NRMA Fireblanket, helped NRMA insurance shift from a remedy based business into a preventive one.

To communicate our higher purpose to all Australians, that NRMA Insurance wants to ‘make the world a safer place’, we needed to do something, not say something – because when it comes to keeping homes safe, actions speak louder.

It’s also true that after a disaster is when people feel the most vulnerable, so if we really wanted to make people feel safe – we needed to do something before-hand. To build resilience, rather than help in the aftermath.

We could’ve gone up against any occurrence that erodes Australians’ sense of safety, but bushfires cause deep hurt to all Aussies. They directly endanger 1-in-10 each year – and since 2000, they’ve killed 198 people. They’ve destroyed 4000 homes and cost the economy over $4billion. 68% of Australians are now concerned about their community’s resilience.

The PR-angle was baked into the product. It was a topic news outlets wanted to feature.

In 2016, 59% of Australians who didn’t have home-insurance blamed a ‘lack of trust’. And for those covered, it’s a grudge purchase. NRMA Insurance, as Australia’s largest insurer, had most to gain if we could turn this around and show insurance’s more helpful side. To show that we were trying to ‘make the world a safer place’ (their brand purpose).

We needed a solution that showed NRMA wanted to protect Australians. To build resilience to anything that challenged their communities, not just helps rebuild them.

We went up against bushfires. A natural disaster that has destroyed thousands of Australian homes.. Nothing has consistently caused more devastation to the nation and its animals, and when a bushfire ravages one community – all of Australia hurts.

Our solution has completed a successful in field demonstration with Royal Fire Service where it proved it can detect bushfire faster than current methods.