FIRECATCHERS

Wildfires are becoming more frequent and destructive across France, and the first minutes after ignition are often the most critical. While hundreds of surveillance cameras monitor high-risk forests, there are not enough operators to watch every feed continuously. At the same time, millions of people already spend focused attention online every day, especially on platforms like Twitch where viewers naturally observe, react, and spot small details. The opportunity was to transform existing attention into a real-world safety resource. Developed by Havas Play France for the Sapeurs-Pompiers de France, "FireCatchers" turned Twitch’s “Starting Soon” screen into a live wildfire detection network. Instead of showing a traditional waiting animation before streams, creators displayed live feeds from forest surveillance cameras and invited viewers to report suspicious smoke directly through chat. The idea transformed a passive digital ritual into a collective act of vigilance, using existing behaviours to create a new layer of human-powered monitoring. The pilot launched in July 2025 in Hérault during peak wildfire season. Four major French Twitch creators replaced their usual pre-stream screens with real-time forest camera feeds, accompanied by simple guidance explaining how to identify early signs of smoke. When viewers noticed something suspicious, they shared the camera number in the chat. Multiple reports triggered verification by the local emergency operations centre (CODIS). Moderation tools helped reduce false alerts, while the initiative naturally expanded as hundreds of additional creators joined voluntarily, turning individual audiences into a distributed surveillance community. "FireCatchers" proved that cultural habits and digital communities can create tangible public impact. The initiative mobilised more than 600,000 followers, generated 2,190 hours of additional live surveillance, detected 5 fires, and helped protect 1,700 more hectares compared to 2024. What started as a local experiment is now scaling nationally, with adoption planned in other European countries. By transforming a moment of waiting into a moment of action, "FireCatchers" demonstrated how platform-native creativity and fandom can become a powerful tool for collective protection. CREDITS Client: Sapeurs-Pompiers de France. Creative Agency: Havas Play, Paris.