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AI-Powered Brush Fire Detection for NYC Parks

What it is for

Fire & Emergency
  • Provides early warning detection of brush fires and smoke in NYC parks and City-owned outdoor locations, enabling faster emergency response decisions by the FDNY.
Safety & Security
  • Reduces risk to public safety in City parks by providing continuous automated monitoring for signs of fire and smoke, reducing reliance on manual observation or public reporting.
Run by
Fire Department (FDNY)
Where
No fixed location
Kept
Not stated by the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation.
Shared with
Accountable organization
Your copy
You cannot see the data it holds about you. What you can do

What it is for

Fire & EmergencySafety & Security

This system uses solar-powered cameras mounted in New York City parks and City-owned properties to automatically detect signs of smoke or fire using artificial intelligence. When smoke or fire is detected, the system sends an alert with images to the FDNY Bureau of Fire Investigations and the Fire Department Operations Center, where human operators decide whether an emergency response is needed. No personal information about individuals is collected or used by this system.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

About a place
Anonymized data
  • Images of treetops captured by FDNY cameras mounted in City parks and other City-owned outdoor locations. The images capture vegetation and sky, not individuals. No identifying information about people is collected.

Processing

Computer Vision
  • The AI server analyzes camera images using computer vision to detect smoke and fire. It was trained on reference images of smoke and fire-related objects. The computation type is classification — determining whether detected visual patterns indicate a fire event.
Classification & Prediction
  • Classifies incoming camera images as containing smoke or fire indicators versus not. The model was trained on reference images of smoke and fire-related objects to learn the visual patterns associated with these events.

What it does

Sensing (Perceptive AI)
Human decides
  • The AI analyzes camera images to detect visual signs of smoke or fire (classification). Human operators at FDNY review alerts before any emergency response decision is made — the system is explicitly described as informative, not autonomous.
Deciding (Analytical AI)
Human decides
  • The server applies AI classification to determine whether images contain smoke or fire indicators. The output is a binary alert (fire or no fire), which is advisory — a human decides whether emergency response is warranted.

Outputs

A recommendation or prediction
Anonymized data
  • An email alert and associated camera images are sent to the FDNY Bureau of Fire Investigations and the Fire Department Operations Center when smoke or fire is detected. The alert is advisory — human operators view the camera feed and determine if emergency response is required.

Run by

Fire Department (FDNY)
  • The FDNY Bureau of Fire Investigations deploys and operates the brush fire detection camera system in City parks and other City-owned locations. Alerts generated by the AI are reviewed by the Bureau and the Fire Department Operations Center to determine whether emergency response is required.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report

Built by

Claro AI
  • Claro AI is the technology vendor that supplies the AI-powered brush fire detection system, offered as an off-the-shelf product through procurement. The vendor provides ongoing technical support for the system.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report

Kept for

Not stated by the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation.

Shared with

Not available to me
  • As an individual, you have no access to the alert data or camera images produced by this system. Outputs are sent exclusively to the FDNY Bureau of Fire Investigations and the Fire Department Operations Center.
Available to the accountable organization
  • Alert notifications and associated camera images are available to the FDNY Bureau of Fire Investigations and the Fire Department Operations Center, who use this information to determine whether emergency response is warranted.

Stored

Not stated by the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation.

How to read the colours

Can it identify you?

Anonymized data
Data about people with the link to who is broken. Stripped of identifiers, blurred, aggregated, or noised so this system can’t reasonably tie a record back to an individual.
Pseudonymous data
Each person’s data is tied to a token (hash, ID, template) that lets this system recognise the same person across events, but the token itself doesn’t reveal a name. Reidentification is possible with extra information.
Identifiable data
The data either contains a direct identifier (name, address, account name, recognisable face or voice, plate number) or carries a token this system uses to look up legal identity during processing.

Who completes the loop?

Human decides
This mode suggests; a person decides what to do next. The AI is always advisory — a human is in the loop on every decision. Example: a triage tool ranks cases for a clinician who chooses which to see first.
Human executes
This mode decides; a person carries out the result. Example: an optimizer plans the day’s trash-collection routes, and drivers run them.
Autonomous
This mode decides and acts on its own. No person reviews each decision or carries out the resulting action.

Definitions from the DTPR standard. Amber is about your data, violet about who decides. The fuller the shape and the deeper the colour, the more identifying the data or the less a person is involved.

What you can do

Ask about this system

Questions go to the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation, not the vendor.

Your rights

  • Right to Be Informed of AI UseThis AI system is disclosed in the NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report, available at the NYC Open Data portal. The system monitors outdoor City-owned spaces (parks and similar locations) for fire and smoke — not individuals. Members of the public may review the compliance report for details about this system's operation.
  • Right to Algorithmic TransparencyThe system's logic is disclosed at a high level in the NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report: it uses AI classification applied to camera images to detect smoke and fire, with all alert-response decisions made by human FDNY personnel. The vendor is identified as Claro AI. Detailed model documentation is not publicly provided in the current register entry.

Risks and safeguards

  • Civil liberties harmCamera systems deployed in public parks could be repurposed for surveillance of individuals, even if not the stated intent.Safeguard: The register explicitly states no identifying information is collected or disclosed. Camera placement focuses on treetop vegetation for fire detection. All emergency response decisions require human review before action is taken.