PARIS, FRANCE – A new civic reflex is emerging on Twitch: Watching over France’s forests while waiting for your favorite streamer to go live. This summer, an army of viewers is helping firefighters through cleverly repurposed waiting screens.
Every summer, the same scenario plays out: a cigarette butt, a spark—and entire hectares can go up in flames. In 2025, as climate change increases the risk of wildfires across the country, the French Fire and Rescue Services and Havas Play are launching an unprecedented initiative: FireCatchers, a real-time citizen detection system… on Twitch.
TWITCH, THE NEW FOREST WATCHTOWER
Conceived by Havas Play, an agency known for creating formats rooted in platform culture, FireCatchers hijacks a key Twitch moment: the streamer’s waiting screen—that 5-to-10-minute window before each live starts.
Instead of a generic animated loop, viewers now see a live stream from high-risk forest areas:
- If suspicious smoke appears, viewers can report it in the chat.
- When multiple alerts are flagged, a notification is sent directly to the local emergency operations center (CODIS).
- Human moderation and 24/7 monitoring are handled jointly by Twitch teams and on-the-ground firefighters.
A COMMUNITY UNITED FOR COLLECTIVE PREVENTIONAlready active in the soft launch phase in the Hérault region (since July 14), the first wave of participating streamers collectively reaches nearly 600,000 followers:
- Aypierre – 477K followers
- KRL_stream – 107K followers
- ZeSadPanda – 44K followers
- Lamhua – 35K followers
Viewers are guided through educational visuals to help them identify signs of a potential wildfire and contribute to the detection effort. The system is non-intrusive, playful, and collaborative by design.
A TECH-POWERED RESPONSE TO A CLIMATE EMERGENCY
Using radio wave cameras, real-time moderation, and alert systems synced with regional fire services (SDIS), FireCatchers strengthens monitoring without adding strain to existing infrastructure.
Currently, only a few forested areas are equipped with aerial patrols or dedicated watchtowers. The rest depends on human reporting. FireCatchers fills that critical gap, adding a digital link where eyes are missing. It helps save those vital minutes by engaging a new generation of digital citizens—tomorrow’s climate sentinels.
A SUMMER 2025 THAT’S ALREADY RAISING CONCERNS
- 500 hectares already burned near Narbonne (Aude)
- Over 700 hectares scorched in suburban zones around Marseille
- 70% of wildfires need to be contained before they reach 10 hectares. Every minute counts.
With 250,000 firefighters mobilized annually in France, FireCatchers brings hundreds of thousands more into the effort, transforming passive viewers into active protectors.
🔴 Follow the experience live on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/sapeurspompiersdefrance
