The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced today that MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. has entered into an agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the B.C. Forest Service to undertake demo testing of the use of satellite technologies for emergency planning and management of forest fires in the province.

The contract has been made possible through the Canada-ESA Partnership Program of the CSA.

ESA's Real-time Emergency Management via Satellite (REMSAT) project is focussed on bridging the gap between technology and users. MacDonald Dettwiler and the B.C. Forest Service will work with ESA to provide a pilot demonstration of multiple technologies that prove the value of space data and services for emergency management.

The Honorable Raymond Chan, MP for Richmond B.C. and Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) stated that: ``This year was particularly bad for forest fires in the province of British Columbia due to the dry weather. The opportunity that Canada's Space Program is providing to MacDonald Dettwiler to advance cutting-edge space technologies is not only good for industry, but will prove instrumental in assisting the B.C. Forest Service in emergency management operations.''

Enthusiasm for the project was also expressed by the Honourable David Zirnhelt, B.C. Minister of Forests: ``B.C.'s forest protection program is world-class. Together with MacDonald Dettwiller, ESA and CSA, we can demonstrate to the world the necessity and importance of applying satellite technology like REMSAT in fighting forest fires.''

The B.C. Forest Service Protection Program is tasked with fighting forest fires in B.C. Managing timber resources in an area of over 1 million square kilometres, the Forest Service responds to on average over 3,000 fires annually. B.C.'s timber resources, which represent $15 billion of annual economic activity, must be protected with a reliable emergency management information system.

The B.C. Forest Service Protection Program is internationally- recognized as one of the world's leading emergency management programs. Teaming with MacDonald Dettwiler and ESA, themselves leaders in the satellite technology markets of the world, it is anticipated that the B.C. REMSAT program will bridge the gap between satellite service providers and emergency management end- users. In addition to enhancing the level of emergency management in B.C. while protecting a primary environmental resource, the program will advance Canada's technology export capabilities.

MacDonald Dettwiler has identified several key requirements for more effective emergency management: enhanced local field communications (between fire crews in the field and firefighting control centres), augmented with data, video images and geographic location capabilities; up-to-date position and status information for all resources, including aircraft, heavy equipment and fire crews for fire attack planning; high-speed communications between mobile fire control centres and the B.C. Provincial Fire Centre for enhanced management and suppression of large fires; and additional background information on the fire area, in the form of satellite or air photo imagery for aid in fire modelling, prediction and suppression of large fires.

The resulting REMSAT-based system will be a model for other emergency management systems, capable of being implemented anywhere in the world. The field simulation and tests are scheduled to be conducted in the summer months, when an average of 25 new fires occur across B.C. each day. On completion of the pilot demonstration and evaluation, the system will be fully tested through deployment to support fighting a major fire.

The opportunity for MacDonald Dettwiler to bid on the ESA project is a result of the CSA's cooperative agreement with ESA. The Canada-ESA Partnership Program, managed by the CSA, provides opportunities to Canadian companies to bid for and obtain technology development contracts from ESA and to participate in major European space projects. The competition for the REMSAT project was open to all Canadian suppliers.

1998 marks the 20th anniversary of the partnership between ESA and Canada. For more than 60 Canadian companies and organizations, this co-operative agreement has resulted in over 400 ESA contracts worth in excess of C$250M. In addition to the industrial, economic, and technological benefits of this co-operation, Canada's long-standing participation in ESA programs has provided, and continues to provide, a window into an organization composed of 14 European Member States holding a budget of C$4.9 billion and employing some 1800 people (1996 figures).

The Canadian Space Agency is committed to leading the development and application of space knowledge for the benefit of Canadians and humanity.

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