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Some fire departments, including New York’s, use early-warning systems to flag dangerous buildings before fires occur. FDNY’s FireCast tool in 2017 reportedly improved the accuracy of fire inspections by 20%. Oakland, California, began developing a system that could help the city find dangerous buildings after a fire killed 36 people in a warehouse in 2016. The State of California is trying to use tech to get a handle on its wildfires, too — Gov. Gavin Newsom has approved contracts to test predictive modeling software and drones equipped with sensors to be used during active fires. Palo Alto, California, is also developing an early-warning system that one official told StateScoop could use infrared imaging and machine learning to detect blazes in the foothills around Silicon Valley.