North Macedonia Tests AI System to Detect Landfill Fires

By Suad Seferi · 27 September 2026

North Macedonia is preparing a pilot system that will use cameras, intelligent video analytics and artificial intelligence to detect smoke, fires and other hazards at landfills. The Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, the Crisis Management Center and Skopje-based technology company Modirum Platforms signed a memorandum on September 26 establishing the framework for the project. Under the pilot, landfills will be monitored through cameras connected to video-analysis technology capable of identifying signs of smoke, fire and other potential risks. The Crisis Management Center will provide 24-hour monitoring and alert the relevant institutions when the system identifies a potential danger, according to the ministry statement reported by KOHA. The aim is to shorten the time between the first signs of a fire and the response from emergency and environmental authorities. One-year pilot Modirum Platforms will provide the equipment for temporary use for a period of one year as part of the pilot. The government has not yet announced which landfill sites will be included in the first phase, nor how many cameras or monitoring points will be deployed. Results from the trial will be used to assess whether the system should later be expanded across the country. The project comes at a time when fires at landfills and other open areas remain a recurring problem in North Macedonia. On September 25 alone, the Crisis Management Center reported fires involving waste at several locations, including the Krasta landfill near Kumanovo and an area near Veles. Two days earlier, landfill fires were also reported among a wider series of open-space fires across the country. AI for early warning The technology being tested is a relatively practical use of AI. Instead of relying only on a person watching multiple camera feeds, computer-vision systems can analyse video continuously and flag patterns that may indicate smoke or fire. The final decision and response would still sit with the Crisis Management Center and other responsible institutions. That distinction is important because the pilot is not an autonomous emergency-response system. AI is being introduced as an additional detection and monitoring layer. If it works as intended, the main value would be earlier identification of incidents, particularly at locations where fires can spread before authorities receive a report. Part of a wider fire-risk problem North Macedonia has faced significant pressure from wildfires and open-area fires in recent years. A recent State Audit Office assessment found weaknesses in the country's disaster protection and rescue system, including limited investment in equipment and modernization. The audit also highlighted forest fires as one of the country's major disaster risks. The new landfill-monitoring pilot addresses only one part of that broader problem. It does, however, provide a concrete example of AI being introduced into a public-safety workflow in North Macedonia rather than being discussed only through conferences, strategies or experimental applications. The next test will be practical: whether the system can reliably detect incidents early enough to improve response times, and whether the results justify extending the technology beyond the initial pilot.