- Success Stories
- Satellite Science & Environmental Intelligence
Contributing to the Next Generation Fire System
CSS plays a key role on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Atmospheric Sciences and Technology Applications Fire Detection Team, contributing to the development and validation of next generation wildfire detection capabilities. Working alongside subject matter experts and scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, CSS Employee Owners support efforts to evaluate and improve experimental satellite fire detection capabilities within the Next Generation Fire System (NGFS) algorithm.
One of our ongoing efforts focuses on location analysis for NGFS, a system that currently operates at a coarse resolution of 2 kilometers. CSS helps refine this approach by verifying NGFS detections against high‑resolution data from Landsat 8 and 9—down to 30 meters. This work aims to confidently narrow fire locations from a 2 by 2 kilometer footprint to a more precise 1 by 1 kilometer area.
Since GOES satellites provide data every five minutes, enhanced location accuracy can help detect fires at their earliest stages. This supporting faster response and reduces risks to communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure. CSS contributions strengthen NOAA’s ability to deliver timely, actionable fire intelligence to partners and decision‑makers.
This work directly supports NOAA’s mission to help build safe, resilient communities in the face of increasing wildfire impacts.
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Supporting Safety In Higher Education Laboratories
In the past two years we’ve expanded our safety portfolio to supporting colleges and universities, ensuring their laboratories meet industrial hygiene and safety standards. Our staff member leading the effort is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and Certified Safety Professional (CSP), and member of the Remote Industrial Hygiene and Safety Support Team. Our short-term projects…
Supervisory Support for 2025 Southern California Wildfires Response Efforts
Long after wildfires are extinguished, ongoing efforts continue to assess long-term damage and contamination. CSS employee owners are often heavily involved in these efforts and follow up to ensure response operations do not impact the environment. Response efforts in South California continued throughout the year following the 2025 wildfires that devastated the Los Angeles area. CSS continued to support the damage assessment through a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency…
Assisting With Maui Wildfire Recovery
As part of our support to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 Superfund Technical Assessment & Response Team (START)—for which we are subcontracted through Weston Solutions, Inc.—CSS employee owners have been on-site in three-week rotations to assist throughout the rigorous recovery process.