Dave Clayton

About

 

During the bushfire crisis of 2020, I went camping to an unfamiliar location and encountered a very real problem- I did not know which fire forecast district I was in. and was unable to determine if it was safe to light a fire. 

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This didn't make sense to me. Surely we should be able to determine the fire forecast by GPS location? This information could be crucial for anyone planning a bbq a or a hike, and potentially prevent bushfires.

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After doing some research, I discovered that the mapping data was controlled by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Whereas the fire danger ratings were issued by the NSW RFS, But no one had bothered to merge the two data sources.

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I enlisted a developer friend to help me. We made a data request to BOM for mapping data, Then built an API for fire danger from the same daily update service used for automated signage around NSW.

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The App

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We built the app in just a couple of days.

I created a simple one page design, that displayed Fire ban and Fire Danger info for your location, over a colour coded background that matches the existing danger ratings.

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Users can see the available forecast for their location for Today and Tomorrow.
 

We plan to add location search and notification before the next bushfire season.

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Check it out on the app store

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My Role

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Co-Creator, Product Design, Wireframes, UI