The Regional District of East Kootenay’s (RDEK) Board of Directors voted down a pilot project that would have used artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and monitor wildfires.
The Alberta-based company Skymount Firemark AI requested $156,000 per year for two monitoring stations, with options for additional stations at $66,000 per year.
Board Chair Rob Gay says the program would cost significantly more than what the RDEK is willing to pay.
“This is over what we would normally do for a direct contract. For our business, anything over $75,000 will go out to the public for a bid,” explained Gay.
“We know there are at least 29 companies that are working on this technology, so it’s not just this one company.”
Gay says wildfire fighting and detection are not under the RDEK’s jurisdiction.
“Our role with wildfires is to look after our residents rather than fighting the fires,” said Gay.
“Some of the directors brought up that this is leading-edge stuff and maybe it takes rural municipalities and regional districts to get on board.”
Kimberley Mayor and RDEK Director Don McCormick says the RDEK should keep an open mind about new opportunities and technologies.
“Although we have chosen not to move forward with this request for proposal (RFP), looking at an RFP or other communities around the province that have chosen to go at it alone is a pretty good idea,” said McCormick.
“We could be looking for early best practices on how we can better protect our communities.”
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